Biden speech today: President wants Russia removed from G20, hopes to visit refugees in Poland

Joe Biden snapped at a CBS News reporter who questioned why new sanctions would have an impact on Russia changing course in Ukraine when previous sanctions failed to determine an invasion.

“That’s not what I said. You’re playing a game with me, ”Mr Biden responded during a press conference in Brussels.

Journalist Christina Ruffini had asked how more sanctions would help in Ukraine when “deterrance didn’t work”.

The Independent’s Justin Vallejo reports

The US State Department has announced fresh sanctions on entities and people in North Korea after Pyongyang conducted the first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in five years.

The people and organizations accused of “transferring sensitive items to North Korea’s missile program” have been sanctioned, according to a State Department statement.

“These measures are part of our ongoing efforts to impede the DPRK’s ability to advance its missile program and they highlight the negative role Russia plays on the world stage as a proliferator to programs of concern,” the statement said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with South Korean foreign minister Chung Eui-yong on Thursday evening to reaffirm the US’s support for Seoul.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that president Joe Biden is risking the complete “collapse” of his support among young voters and progressives and this could be a concern as mid-term elections are approaching.

Speaking to NY1, she said all is not lost as Mr Biden can bounce back if he delivers some of his promises, including canceling student debt.

“We need to acknowledge that this is not just about the middle of the road, increasingly narrow band of independent voters,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez said.

“But, this is really about the collapse of support among young people, among Democratic base, feeling like they worked overtime to get this president elected and they are not necessarily being seen,” she said.

“It is Biden’s power and ability to cancel student debt, and nobody else’s.”

Kremlin described pressure to remove Russia from the G20 summit in Indonesia as “blatant and undiplomatic” and reminded that it was a multilateral format.

“It is a well-known fact that the US exerts blatant and undiplomatic pressure on all states regarding all-encompassing countering of our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

“As for G20, it is a multilateral format, different opinions exist there. It is clear that the Americans will continue pressing various states, but, as we see, a number of states prefer to adhere to their own independent, sovereign point of view, ”the spokesman added.

Joe Biden has pitched for Ukraine to be welcomed at future G20 meets and suggested ousting Russia.

First Lady Jill Biden appeared on Sesame Street and talked to fuzzy puppets about the importance of kindness. Somehow, a number of conservatives found this objectionable.

The children’s show posted the cameo on its Twitter account on Monday. In the video, the first lady introduces the word of the day: “Kindness.”

“When we do things for others, it makes us feel good too,” Ms Biden tells Elmo and two other Muppets. “It’s important that we are kind to every person, monster, animal, and the environment.”

Read Nathan Place’s report

Joe Biden warned that Nato “would respond” in case Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine.

“We would respond if he uses it. The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use, ”he said.

The president was asked whether there would be a military response to the use of chemical weapons by Russian president Vladimir Putin. Mr Biden said that it would “trigger a response in kind”.

He did not elaborate on his warning.

This comes as the White House has set up a national security team focused on the response to Russia’s potential launch of a chemical attack, amid rising fears that Moscow is preparing the grounds to do so.

Joe Biden is expected to announce plans to supply additional shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe, an attempt to wean the continent off dependency on Russian energy supply.

He is expected to discuss the plans with EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen shortly before leaving for Poland.

The US is planning to supply the EU with about 15bn additional cubic meters of liquefied natural gas by the end of 2022, the Financial Times reported, citing two people familiar with the development.

Liquefied natural gas deliveries from the US would go towards replacing the 50bn cm of gas requirements of the EU which are currently supplied by Russia.

The US supplied Europe with 22bn cm gas in 2021, according to EU data.

A new poll has suggested that a majority of Americans (65 per cent) disapprove of Joe Biden’s handling of the US economy, as his approval rating dropped to a new record low of 40 per cent on Thursday.

According to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center, a majority of respondents did not blame him for higher gas prices because it was something out of his control but believed that his policies are hurting the economy.

Almost 55 per cent of people did not blame Mr Biden for the higher than usual gas prices while 44 per cent said he was to be blamed.

About 48 per cent people said his policies are hurting the US economy rather than helping it, as compared to 24 per cent who supported him on this front.

The polls come as Americans are coping with higher food and energy costs along with the lasting fallout of last year’s Covid surge.

President Joe Biden has called for Ukraine to be welcomed at future G20 summits should US attempts to expel Russia be unsuccessful.

After meeting with European allies on Thursday in BrusselsMr Biden told a press conference it was time to step up efforts to isolate Russia from the international community.

He said if G20 member countries blocked his request to remove Russia, then Ukraine should be invited to attend the meetings.

Dismissing the challenge posed by a potential rematch with Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, Joe Biden said he would be “very fortunate” to run against the former president.

“I don’t criticize anybody for asking that question. But the next election – I’d be very fortunate if I had that same man running against me, ”Mr Biden told reporters, while attending the Nato and G7 summit in Brussels, referring to Trump.

This comes as a recent poll by the Wall Street Journal revealed that a majority of registered voters said that they do not believe that Mr Biden will run a second term. The poll found less than 1 in 3 respondents expect him to run again.

But Mr Biden said he is focused on the upcoming mid-term elections.

“So, we’re a long way off in elections, a long way off. My focus of any election is on making sure that we retain the House and the United States Senate so that I have the room to continue to do the things that I’ve been able to do, in terms of grow the economy and deal in a rational way with American foreign policy and be the leader of the free world, ”Mr Biden said.

The president will be 81 by Election Day in 2024, and has seen his approval rating drop to a new record low amid speculation that he will not run for a second term.