Biden believes Putin is a “killer,” says he has to pay a price

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• On Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that he believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a killer, with no soul.
• During their first speaking engagement last month, Biden told Putin that he would pay a price once he validated that he interfered in his 2020 presidential bid.
• The US National Intelligence Council released a report that proved that Putin utilized intelligence efforts to hurt Biden’s presidential campaign.

During his interview with ABC News that aired on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said that he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer,” and pledged that he would soon “pay a price” for meddling in the 2020 US elections and attempting to help former President Donald Trump win the reelection.

Biden said that he gave a warning to the Russian leader last month during their first call after officially swearing in office.

“The conversation started off, ‘I said, I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared,’” Biden said, as the interview was aired on Good Morning America Wednesday. 

The US president said that Putin will “pay a price” for what he did and that people who see it “shortly” when asked what it would be.

Biden, who was then Vice President, also validated reports that he personally told the Kremlin leader in 2011 that he does not “have a soul.”

“I wasn’t being a wise guy, I was alone with him in his office,” Biden said. “That’s how it came about. It was when President [George W.] Bush had said I’ve looked in his eyes and saw his soul.”

“I said I looked in your eyes and I don’t think you have a soul. And he looked back and said, ‘we understand each other,’” Biden recalled.

Biden’s interview commenced on Tuesday, which happened the day that the US National Intelligence Council published a report, confirming that Putin backed intelligence efforts in boosting misinformation during the 2020 US election against him.

Earlier this month, Biden’s administration implemented several sanctions against top Russian officials which include Putin’s deputy chiefs of staff.

While his successor has been combative against the Russian government, Trump, for his part, had a friendlier relation with Putin. He often backed off from making any criticisms against Kremlin especially on the issue of its interference during the 2016 presidential elections. 

Source: CNBC.com