Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) thinks President Joe Biden’s appearance at the G7 left much to be desired.
During an appearance on the Fox News Channel, the freshman Tennessee lawmaker described Biden’s approach as “capitulation.”
“When they’re talking about cooperation, I think what they’re talking about is capitulation,” he said. “You know, they don’t like the America First policy President Trump put forward. It was better for America and better for the world. America’s strength is exactly what we need right now — standing up to Russia, standing up to Iran, standing up to China. When we talk about the new Biden policies, it looks more like America last to me.”
Hagerty warned what he argued was a weak pose by Biden as he heads into a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, especially in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack.
“He should press very hard against it, and we know where the hacks have originated,” Hagerty continued. “We cannot let Vladimir Putin skate on this one. Putin has complete of what happens inside of Russia. And I heard President Biden try to parse this and say, ‘It was a Russian company,’ but not hold the Russian government, not hold the Russian leader accountable. I think the G7 is being overshadowed completely by what is going to happen next week when Biden does meet with Putin. He capitulated on the START treaty at the very beginning with Russia.”
“And now he’s turned around and allowed them to finish the Nord Stream pipeline,” he added. “That project was categorized as a malign influence project by the Trump administration. I served in that administration. This is a huge mistake to walk into this meeting in a position of weakness, and I think that’s what all the G7 leaders are wondering about — how will Biden and Putin manage this meeting?”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor