“Just one year after a weak, unfit and unfit president and commander-in-chief of the United States, the world has become less safe. Instead of peace through strength, we are witnessing Joe Biden’s foreign policy of war through weakness. In the past year, our opponents around the world have been assessing And they measure Joe Biden’s leadership on the world stage, and he has failed miserably on every metric.From kinetic and lethal attacks on our allies and partners, to the disastrous withdrawal and surrender in Afghanistan, to the cyberattacks that crippled American industry and infrastructure, to today’s Russian invasion of Ukraine, Joe Biden and his administration have failed America. and the world.”
While Stefanik went on to describe Putin as a “war criminal” and a “deranged thug,” the bulk of her statement was devoted to criticizing Biden.
A decade ago, the idea of labeling a US president “unfit” in the wake of the most serious invasion of Europe since World War II was unthinkable for members of either side.
But Trump’s four years in office have changed all accounts of how to conduct politics – even in a moment of war.
Trump himself went to Fox late Wednesday night to give an armchair back – and take the blame – for the situation. “Well, that’s something that should never have happened,” he said. “This would not have happened during my administration. It would not have happened and would not have happened now.”
When told that Biden was “monitoring” the situation in the White House, Trump replied, “I don’t think he’s watching. I think he’s asleep,” before adding again that “this is horrible that should never have happened…”
What Trump has done – and continues to do – for the Republican Party is to put the idea of acceptable rhetoric down. Stefanik has made a political sensation her willingness to support Trump at every turn. She was promoted to the GOP leadership in the House of Representatives after Representative Liz Cheney was removed from her position as convention chairwoman for criticizing Trump’s actions over the January 6, 2021 rebellion.
Stefanik released a statement like this because she knows the MAGA wing of the Republican Party (and Trump himself) is likely to devour her. She appears either unaware or uninterested in the kind of message she’s sending to the country and the world when she refers to the US president as “inappropriate” in wartime.