During a portion of an interview with CNN released on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that Vladimir Putin “is a rational actor” but “his objectives” in invading Ukraine “were not rational.”
Biden said, “I think he is a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly. I think he thought — you may recall, I pointed out that they were going to invade, that all those 100,000 or more troops there — and no one believed that he was going to invade Ukraine. You listen to what he says, if you listen to the speech he made after — when that decision was being made, he talked about the whole idea of he was — needed to be the leader of Russia that united all of the Russian [speakers]. I mean, it’s just — I just think it’s irrational.”
Host Jake Tapper then asked, “So, if he’s not rational, and –.”
Biden cut in to say, “I didn’t say he’s not rational.”
Biden added, “I think the speech — his objectives were not rational. I think he thought — Jake, I think he thought he was going to be welcomed with open arms, that this was the home of mother Russia in Kyiv and he was going to be welcomed and I think he just totally miscalculated.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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