NEW: Navigating Ukraine, President Biden offers frank assessments of unfamiliar allies in private.
Reporting by @carolelee and @ckubeNBC.
nbcnews.to/3uwdkCd
Reporting by @carolelee and @ckubeNBC.
nbcnews.to/3uwdkCd
@carolelee @ckubeNBC While administration officials say the U.S. and its allies are more closely aligned now than even just weeks ago, Biden has riffed during private meetings about some of his counterparts, according to people who have heard him use the descriptions in closed-door sessions.
@carolelee @ckubeNBC German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is no Angela Merkel, Biden has said, according to the sources. He’s described British PM Boris Johnson’s demeanor as blustery, they said. And French President Emmanuel Macron, Biden has said, wants to be Charles de Gaulle, the sources said.
@carolelee @ckubeNBC As for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden has described him as "a guy with nukes and no friends," according to people who’ve heard him use the description.
@carolelee @ckubeNBC The president’s private descriptions of some of his counterparts offer a window into his thinking about some of the headwinds he’s faced while trying to corral a punishing international response to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine. nbcnews.to/3HCU8GC
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