If you were one of the five people watching Don Lemon Tonight on Thursday evening you would have seen something that rarely happens: there was actually criticism of the Biden administration's policies.
At the beginning of the second half of Don Lemon Tonight, host Don Lemon brought on CNN Global Affairs analyst and The New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser to discuss President Joe Biden's announcement that he was slapping Russia with additional sanctions. Lemon began by saying how the Biden administration "slapped additional sanctions on Russia today."
Lemon then asked Glasser to "explain these sanctions more for us. Why are they a big deal, and do you think they need to be even tougher to get Putin's attention?" Glasser explained that the "concern here is what is the goal of this policy? At this point obviously, they're not a deterrent in the sense that the invasion has already happened."
She admitted the obvious that "Republicans on Capitol Hill, President Zelinskyy of Ukraine urged the United States to put the sanctions on first." Glasser continued to rail against Biden's sanctions strategy:
One thing I've observed in 20 years of watching President Putin is that you know, he's not looking for off-ramps that the U.S. is giving him. He's not seeing behavior modified by round after round after round of sanctions. He's just not motivated by that.
Clearly not happy with the way the conversation was going, Lemon decided to switch gears and ask Glasser about the "rise in divisions in this country" and fretted that Biden might not be able to "keep the country behind him for months."
Glasser bemoaned that after Russia attacked Ukraine there was not "the rallying around the flag that you might have expected in a previous era today" Glasser continued whining that "even among Republicans who condemned Putin's actions. They haven't been supportive of Biden, his poll numbers are below 50%, so it’s not clear at all that he talks about tough times that the Americans may have to endure as the price of freedom, but it's not clear that Americans are willing to pay that price."
Of course, it also wouldn't be a CNN segment if nobody whined about COVID, so knowing that, Glasser threw in some COVID hysteria for good measure: "I mean, look, we're still screaming at each other as a country over taking public health measures in a deadly pandemic. So it's -- I'm concerned that what's happening in Ukraine very far away is not something that the public is going to rally around the leader for."
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To read the relevant transcript click "expand":
CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight
2/24/2022
11:32:31 p.m. EasternDON LEMON: An angry President Biden condemning Russia's assault on Ukraine calling it unprovoked and unjustified, and imposing a round of sanctions saying Putin chose to launch this war. Now he and his country will bear the consequences. I want to bring in CNN Global Affairs analyst Susan Glasser. Susan, good evening to you. Good to have you here. We have seen President Biden's response to Putin. He slapped additional sanctions on Russia today but warns there could be more. Explain these sanctions more for us. Why are they a big deal, and do you think they need to be even tougher to get Putin's attention?
SUSAN GLASSER: Well, Don, look, I think the concern here is what is the goal of this policy? At this point obviously, they're not a deterrent in the sense that the invasion has already happened. There was a debate beforehand, before the invasion, which Washington warned about, but at the same time, President Biden was reluctant to actually impose the sanctions. There were some Republicans on Capitol Hill, President Zelinskyy of Ukraine urged the United States to put the sanctions on first. That didn't happen, so now the question is these are much more serious than any sanctions that have been levied before on Russia according to the experts. President Biden says there may be additional measures as well. There are still other things that the United States and Europe could do, for example, like cutting Russia off from the S.W.I.F.T. international banking system, but not everyone in Europe is on board with that, and so, you know, there's a question about whether it's been maximal, and then there's the question of what's the goal? Is it to deter Putin from going after other countries aside from Ukraine? Is it to get him to stop the war? By all accounts, it probably will take quite some time for the full effect of these sanctions to be felt. So it's not clear what impact if any, it will have on the fate of Ukraine itself right now.
(...)
LEMON: Is this a battle of wills? It sounds like that's what he's saying, and who can last the longest here.
GLASSER: Well he is saying that. Again, I come back to the question of you know, it doesn't really help Ukraine even by President Biden's formulation there, right, this is going to be a long haul, and you know, what's really painful as we watch this situation unfold is that President Putin unfortunately very likely factored the cost of these sanctions and the other actions that the U.S. and the allies are taking into his decision to go into Ukraine and decided to go for it anyway. And you know, one thing I've observed in 20 years of watching President Putin is that you know, he's not looking for off-ramps that the U.S. is giving him. He's not seeing behavior modified by round after round after round of sanctions. He's just not motivated by that. He's talking about an almost existential war that he's launched here to regain the Russian empire, and it's very hard to negotiate with that, and it's very hard to change behavior based on things like sanctions with that.
LEMON: We have been witnessing it on the air, but we've seen a rise in divisions in this country, Susan, Biden’s warning that Americans will feel this hitting their pocketbooks. Do you think he'll be able to keep the country behind him for months, let alone you know, our international allies?
GLASSER: You know, Don, that is I think the great fear, you know, America is has been in an not only an inward-looking time, understandably with the pandemic, with so much economic dislocation, but, you know, the political divisions are such that even on a day like today you saw many Republicans very critical of Biden. There was not the rallying around the flag that you might have expected in a previous era today, and, in fact, there is an enormous amount of second-guessing from Republicans. I'm not even talking about those who joined former President Trump in complete, you know, admiration for Putin or cheerleading for it, even among Republicans who condemned Putin's actions. They haven't been supportive of Biden, his poll numbers are below 50%, so it’s not clear at all that he talks about tough times that the Americans may have to endure as the price of freedom, but it's not clear that Americans are willing to pay that price. I mean, look, we're still screaming at each other as a country over taking public health measures in a deadly pandemic. So it's -- I'm concerned that what's happening in Ukraine very far away is not something that the public is going to rally around the leader for.
LEMON: Always enjoy hearing your perspective, thank you very much, Susan Glasser. Appreciate it.
