On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight,” host Don Lemon reacted to news that President Joe Biden warned that the world is at risk of “Armageddon” by wondering if the White House had walked the President’s comments back, given Biden’s history of making statements on foreign policy that have ended up being walked back.
While speaking with CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins, Lemon asked, “I’ve got to ask you, Kaitlan, because we’ve discussed this before, I remember the President…was in Poland, he made some comments on Ukraine. The White House walked it back. He’s made other comments the White House walked back. No one’s walking back this?”
Collins responded, “Not yet.”
She continued, “I have asked, several hours ago — the President is actually on his way back to the White House now — I’ve asked if there is any kind of clarity that U.S. officials could add. They have not added anything on the record yet. I will note that I did speak to an official who said that statement that the Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, made on Tuesday saying that they do not believe Russia has changed its nuclear posture, that still stands. So, that is what they are saying, it hasn’t changed. But clearly, President Biden is taking this very seriously. He says he doesn’t believe President Putin is bluffing and he believes, essentially, that because his military is underperforming, he’s kind of being backed into this corner where those threats should be taken seriously.”
Earlier in the segment, Collins stated that officials told her that “he’s basically just making clear how seriously they are taking Putin’s threats.”
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