Joe Biden stopped by one of his favorite haunts Tuesday, the Council on Foreign Relations, where he spoke candidly about Russian interference in the 2016 elections, blaming Mitch McConnell for watering down a bipartisan warning to American voters. Biden was there to discuss his article in Foreign Affairs, “How to Stand Up to the Kremlin.”
In September, after negotiations with McConnell, a statement about attempted hacking was released, but it didn’t mention Russia or condemn Putin’s government for the meddling, which is what Obama was asking for. That’s when Biden said he knew “this was all about the political play.”
From the Politico article:
Biden told Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass that he wouldn’t call the current conflict with Russia a second Cold War, because it’s not a great ideological battle. Rather, Biden said, it’s “just basically about a kleptocracy protecting itself.”