Bob Woodward’s upcoming book *War* is making waves before it’s even hit the shelves, as it reportedly details how the Biden-Harris administration is blaming the Obama era for the Ukraine-Russia war. According to excerpts, Woodward unveils tense moments from a July 4th meeting where Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the roots of the conflict, suggesting that Obama’s 2014 response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea wasn’t enough to deter Putin.
The book offers insights into Biden’s inner circle, revealing Biden’s frustrations with Obama’s approach to Russia. In private conversations, Biden reportedly argued that Obama “never took Putin seriously,” pointing out that while sanctions were imposed following the Crimea invasion, military action was off the table. For Biden, it seems this diplomatic approach allowed Putin to push his luck, ultimately leading to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to Woodward, Biden’s team believes that the stakes are now much higher, with a real concern that Putin could turn to nuclear weapons.
Woodward also delves into the bizarre relationship between Putin and Trump, which the Biden team claims complicates U.S.-Russia relations. The administration suggests that Trump and Putin might still be in contact, although Trump’s team flatly denies this. Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson, dismissed Woodward’s claims as fiction, saying, “None of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true.” But whether or not these claims hold any water, they do speak to Biden’s tendency to draw comparisons between his handling of foreign policy and those of his predecessors, both Republican and Democrat.
To add to the intrigue, Woodward references Obama’s own take on Putin. In his memoir, Obama likened Putin to a “ward boss” of old Chicago politics—street-smart, calculating, and completely unsentimental. Obama noted that while Putin wasn’t exactly a modern statesman, he wielded power effectively and ruthlessly, seeing corruption, fraud, and violence as fair game in his political playbook.
Woodward’s *War* promises to peel back the layers on the Obama-Biden dynamic, exposing how the current administration views the geopolitical inheritance from the last. As Biden tries to handle the Ukrainian conflict and threats from Russia, it’s clear that he believes Obama’s approach left a lot to be desired. How this will play out as tensions continue to escalate globally remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Biden is willing to put the blame anywhere but on his own administration.
It’s clear that Biden is willing to put the blame anywhere but on his own administration. Yup, nothing new here, that has been Biden’s M.O. for his entire political career.