President Biden's recent interview has sparked controversy and raised questions about the competency of his administration.
During the interview, which aired on Sunday morning, Biden acknowledged that the United States is facing a shortage of 155 mm artillery ammunition rounds. This revelation has drawn criticism from conservatives on social media, who are concerned about the implications of publicly announcing such a shortage.
Biden defended his administration's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, referring to it as a "transition period" until more munitions can be produced. He explained, "This is a war relating to munitions. And they're running out of that ammunition, and we're low on it. And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to not permanently but to allow for this transition period while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians."
Conservative pundits and experts took to social media to express their confusion and outrage over Biden's announcement. Logan Dobson, a political operative, sarcastically remarked, "Love when the President of America goes on CNN to tell everyone we're low on ammo."
Steve Guest, a conservative communicator, criticized Biden for potentially revealing sensitive information to adversaries, tweeting, "Moron. Does Biden not care that our adversaries in China are listening?"
Byron York of the Washington Examiner raised concerns about the impact of the ammunition shortage on U.S. readiness to defend itself. He wrote, "In CNN interview, President Biden is not particularly clear but seems to be saying U.S. is sending cluster munitions to Ukraine because we are running out of 155mm artillery ammunition to send them. Seems obvious this is affecting U.S. readiness to defend itself."
In response to the backlash, a White House official attempted to clarify Biden's statement. The official stated in an email to Fox News Digital, "The military has specific requirements for the numbers of weapons systems and ammunition we maintain in our reserves in case of contingencies or military conflict. Everything we send to Ukraine is in excess of that. So, the U.S. is not running out of ammunition ourselves."
However, critics were not convinced by the official's explanation. Political commentator Ian Miles Cheong remarked, "Joe Biden wasn't supposed to say the quiet part out loud: 'We've run out of ammunition.' But now that the cat's out of the bag, one must ask whether continued support of Ukraine's military is even feasible as the conflict rages on."
The issue of cluster munitions also drew attention. Biden's opponent in the Democratic presidential race, Robert Kennedy Jr., criticized Biden for approving the shipment of cluster munitions to Ukraine. Kennedy highlighted the inconsistency in Biden's stance, noting that he had opposed the sale of cluster bombs to Israel in 1982. Kennedy tweeted, "Last year, WH Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the use of cluster bombs a 'war crime.' Now President Biden plans to send them to Ukraine. Stop the ceaseless escalation! It is time for peace."
The White House official defended the decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, emphasizing the need to ensure Ukraine's defense capabilities. The official stated, "We are authorizing cluster munitions to ensure that Ukraine is not left defenseless while we wait for our own domestic production of ammunition to ramp up substantially, which we are in the process of doing as are our allies and partners. These cluster munitions are a bridge as we significantly increase production of ammunition over the coming months and will have much higher production levels soon."
The controversy surrounding Biden's acknowledgment of the ammunition shortage and the decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine continues to generate debate.
Login