CNN host Jake Tapper called out South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott for accusing President Biden of “dragging his feet” on Ukraine, Mediaite reported.
Tapper interviewed Senator Scott during the February 18 broadcast of CNN’s “State of the Union” where the two discussed Ukraine, Biden’s foreign policy, and Donald Trump’s recent anti-NATO rhetoric.
Scott told Tapper that it was without question that President Biden had been “dragging his feet” since the start of the war in Ukraine two years ago. He said what the country saw from President Biden during the bungled withdrawal of Afghanistan it continued to see from him during the Ukraine war.
Scott added that under Biden’s leadership, there has also been “instability” in the Indo-Pacific region and “conflict in the Middle East.”
Tapper defended President Biden, arguing that he couldn’t understand how Senator Scott could accuse Biden of dragging his feet when Donald Trump has been urging Republicans not to provide further funding to aid Ukraine.
Tapper brought up Trump’s comments during a recent campaign event when he claimed that he once told the NATO leader he would let Russia do “whatever the hell it wants” to NATO countries that don’t pay what they should.
Tapper brought up the fall of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka and noted that President Volodymyr Zelesnky said the loss was due to a deficit in military aid from the West and pleaded with Congress to pass additional funding for his country.
Tapper reminded Senator Scott that he had said after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel that President Biden had “blood on his hands” because he failed to aggressively confront Iran. He asked the Republican senator if, by his reasoning, Congress also has “blood on its hands” because it failed to “support Ukraine right now in the fight against Russia.”
Senator Scott countered that Congress has already approved more than $100 billion in aid for Ukraine. He clarified his comments, explaining that the president “dragged his feet” in the very beginning. He said following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden was slow to get involved, instead following Germany’s lead.