US President Joe Biden has once again disparaged his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, calling him a “dictator” in an ABC News interview on Thursday in Normandy, France, where he was attending a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
While trying to insult Putin, Biden also made an apparent gaffe, claiming he has known the Russian leader for more than four decades and has been concerned about him all that time because he’s “not a decent man.”
Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov addressed the latest remarks by the US president on Thursday, making it clear that Biden won’t drag Putin down to his level.
“The statements of the US president about Putin only harm Biden’s own reputation… Putin does not react to such insults, therefore he will not respond in this way,” Peskov said.
Biden has repeatedly insulted Putin, as well as other world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. In February, he called Putin a “crazy son of a b*tch,” and he claimed last year that China is run by “bad folks.” In March, he called Putin a “butcher” in connection with the Ukraine conflict.
Asked about Biden’s insulting remarks earlier this year, Putin said they proved he was right to say it would be better for Russia if Biden stays in office.
“When you asked me our preference for the next US president, I said we would work with any, but for us, for Russia, Biden is better,” Putin told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Biden’s insults were an “appropriate reaction to what I said,” Putin continued. “It’s not like he could say ‘Good job, Volodya, thank you for the helping hand.’” Regarding who Moscow would like to see in the White House, he added, “I can say it again: Biden.”
