White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that President Biden’s remarks regarding “armageddon” reflected “the very high stakes that are in play” with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats.
At a fundraiser last week, Biden said, “We have not faced the prospect of armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
Discussing Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden added, “I know fairly well. He’s not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons.”
Host Martha Raddatz said, “Let’s start with President Biden’s comments saying we are facing the potential of a nuclear armageddon. I know the White House has said these are consistent with comments he has used in the past, but he’s never said anything quite as stark as this. So, is the president right? Are we facing a potential nuclear armageddon?”
Kirby said, “The president was reflecting the very high stakes that are in play right now. When you have modern nuclear power and the leader of that modern nuclear power willing to use irresponsible rhetoric the way that Mr. Putin has several times in just the last week or two, as well as the high tension in Ukraine over just the course of the last few days. So the president, I think, was accurately reflecting the fact that the stakes are very high right now.”
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