Pres. Biden Claims Putin ‘Worthy Adversary”

Today on Sekulow, Putin no longer a quote killer as Biden calls him a worthy adversary. We'll talk about that with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Live from Washington, DC, Sekulow Live. Phone lines are open for your questions right now.

Call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Jordan Sekulow. So today President Biden is meeting with EU leaders, the leadership that runs the European Union. I don't expect to hear a lot of that that's going to be groundbreaking. Most of that's usually on trade, tariffs, it's important. But of course this is a lot of the whole focus of course is on tomorrow with this five hour, five hours have been put aside to specifically meet between President Biden and President Putin.

They will have I think just one aide each with them as well as translators. But again, so a very private meeting without a joint press conference at the end, which means you will not get both leaders kind of back and forth trying to explain how they interpreted the meeting and the key points for the meeting. Instead what we've been told is that yet again for maybe the third time on this trip, unless he does one today, we will get a press conference from a load so low by President Biden. And if yesterday was any indication that maybe multiple hours delayed and only five, after all of that delay, he only answered five questions. Remember the first press conference he said, you know, I can't take anymore because my staff will get mad at me. Yesterday he's only taking five questions.

And one of those questions, it goes back to this. President Biden has called Vladimir Putin a killer. He's also called him soulless. He called him a killer. This was just back a couple of months ago, exactly two months ago to the day actually, when he was talking to George Stephanopoulos. Take a listen, because that's very strong rhetoric. Vladimir Putin, you think he's a killer?

I do. So what price must he pay? The price he's going to pay? Well, you'll see shortly. Okay, so yeah, I do think he's a killer. Now we're being told he's a worthy adversary. That is now the language being used by Biden. He is stepping away from that.

Take a listen to this. Vladimir Putin laughed at the suggestion that you had called him a killer. Is that still your belief, sir, that he is a killer?

I'm laughing too. But look, when I was asked that question on air, I answered it honestly. But it's not much of a, I don't think it matters a whole lot in terms of this next meeting we're about to have. What, again, there's only two ways to interpret the word when you're talking about a world leader that they're a killer, okay? Either they're actually a killer, like a bad person who kills people, has people poisoned, you know, the list goes on and on, or that they're a killer in the sense that they are a strong leader, tough leader.

And again, I'm laughing about it too. We'll talk about all this with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who of course has got a lot of expertise in world affairs. But as we kind of begin the broadcast today, I want you to understand the contrast. He's walking in, you know, in the lead up to all this, you know, when there was not a meeting around the corner, he's calling him names. He's, you know, he's saying, yeah, do you think he's a killer?

Yeah, I do think he's a killer. Is, again, you know, now he's a worthy adversary. This is the, remember, Biden comes from the political party that has been obsessed with Russia. They have Trump derangement syndrome, and they've also got an obsession with Russia, always at the forefront. There's a lot of discussion.

There's their chance. And yet then he starts talking about prisoner swaps with Russia. I mean, the list goes on and on about how problematic it already appears leading into this meeting, approving the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The list goes on and on, but we're going to be talking about this, discussing it too. How do you believe President Biden will handle President Putin of Russia? Give us a call 1-800-684-3110.

That's 1-800-684-3110, certainly his biggest Ford policy test yet. The challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack. It's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress and in the public arena.

And we have an exceptional track record of success. But here's the bottom line, we could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms. That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side.

If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life changing work. Become a member today, ACLJ.org.

Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. You request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. All right, welcome back to Secular.

We are taking your phone calls to 1-800-684-3110. The question, how do you believe Joe Biden will handle Vladimir Putin? And again, I think as Americans you would hope that our President, regardless of your political persuasion, would go in, be tough, and put America's interests first. Whether you want to call that America first or not, putting America's interests first should always be the first idea of the American President. You don't have to label it as MAGA.

You don't have to label it as America first again. But again, putting America's interests first. But I want to go back again to this idea that into the early months of the Biden administration, so we're talking about March, Joe Biden had no problem agreeing with rhetoric like killer and not really defining, you know, is it actual killer, like trying to poison opposition leaders abroad, or do you mean just a strong man? And then now he's a worthy adversary. He once said that he looked into Putin's eyes and saw that he was soulless. I mean, so that's strong rhetoric to use when you're about to sit down across the table from that individual who has shown their longevity inside their own country.

They have weathered storms, weathered opposition attempts to try and have them removed, weathered the laws of their countries, had their laws changed in their country. And so again, I think that I want to play this, the no soul bite as well, because it all provides context for what Joe Biden is walking into tomorrow. Using this kind of rhetoric sounds like you're pretty tough and pretty strong. Then you've got to put that into action. And so take a look at it and then we'll talk about it. What price must he pay? He will pay a price. We had a long talk, and I know him relatively well. And the conversation started off, I said, I know you and you know me.

If I establish this occurred, then be prepared. You said, you know, he doesn't have a soul. I did say that to him.

Yes. And to and his response was, we understand one another. I wouldn't be a wise guy. I was alone with him in his office.

That's how it came about. It was when President Bush had said, I've looked in his eyes and saw a soul. I said, look to your eyes, and I don't think you have a soul. And look back and he said, we understand each other. You know, again, to Putin again, if that's how that occurred, pretty strong response right back.

But again, this idea that he's accepting of a person who does has no soul. Is that how Joe Biden sees someone who puts their country first? Is the idea that, you know, if you put your all of these world leaders, the good ones, the worst ones, the bad, the genocidal, like the President of China. They're all putting their country first. The interest of that may be a political party. We may not the way they put their country first may not jive with how you think you would do that.

But in their mind, that's what they're there to do. Chinese interest, Russian interest. It should be a American interest.

But I want to go around to our team because, you know, Wes, when you hear all this rhetoric building up and then it starts being pulled back into the just worthy adversary. I mean, Joe Biden, again, I always want the history lesson. Under his vice presidency, so he can't take all the blame for it, but under his vice presidency, a part of a sovereign country was annexed by this quote worthy adversary. Yeah, I find that that term worthy adversary extremely troubling. And President Biden says he was using that as sort of a baseball analogy.

This is not baseball. It is far more serious than that. And worthy is not appropriate when talking about an adversary like Vladimir Putin, especially when you're talking about national security and some of the most serious aspects of international relations. Look at who Putin is. As you mentioned just now, he invaded Ukraine. He recently has threatened to invade them again. Russia still has weapons and vehicles on the border with Ukraine. As we speak this morning, 13,000 people have died there. Crimea, of course, has gone for the first time in history. Russia has a has a warm water major military base on the Mediterranean. Thanks to Syria.

There's another one possibly being constructed in Libya. They now have nuclear capable bombers in Syria. They just placed ahead of this summit 20 new Russian military units on the border with our NATO allies in Europe. Russia just signed an agreement with Iran, giving them access to a satellite system that they can use in their missile and weapons program. And of course, this is not even talking about the cyber attacks from Russia. And Russia, in fact, with a cyber attack, shut down the entire power grid in Ukraine.

And many security analysts think that was a test to see whether or not they could do it with another adversary in the future, possibly the United States. So he is an adversary to be sure. I think worthy is a real misnomer, a serious misnomer. I'll go to Andy as well. Andy, this idea again, tough rhetoric before. Is he a killer?

Yeah. I told him to his face, you've got no soul. And Putin said, well, at least you understand me now. I mean, supposedly that was how this goes down. If you're going to put off this kind of idea, but then you balk from having a press conference. So we were talking about this with Mike Pompeo, but he says he's not giving him a press conference with Putin because he doesn't want to give him a platform to elevate him. But the US, we now know, was the country that requested this five-hour meeting between Biden and Putin.

So we have elevated Putin. He's on NBC News. He's sitting down with American media. He's not afraid of taking questions from the press. And yet, again, Biden's excuse for this time, I mean, you couldn't use that with Boris Johnson.

Why not have that? I mean, why was there not a joint press conference with our strongest ally, you know, the UK? That certainly wasn't because you're worried about giving a platform.

I think they're worried about Joe Biden having to respond to these leaders. But the idea, again, that he uses all the right rhetoric and then leading up to the meeting right before the meeting, and he balks for all that rhetoric, and now it's just a worthy adversary. Yeah, it seems like it's a complete turndown from his original attitude that this was a killer.

This was a killer and a soulless person. And now, all of a sudden, he's simply a worthy adversary. But it's this idea of this cosmopolitanism that is so endemic in the Democratic Party and in the mind of Joe Biden. He is happy that 12 leaders of the EU or the NATO people said, yes, go see him. That's a good thing. What's good is good for America.

That's what we need to look at. Now, Putin goes into this meeting thinking one thing. What is important and what is good and what is valid for Russia, my country? And whether it's killing or soullessness, that's how he is going to react. He is not going to react to overtures from the President of the United States that are half-hearted. My fear is that the President is going to come off with respect to Putin very poorly because he does not have the card that President Trump displayed so prominently and so successfully.

And that is the United States of America first, last and always. If you don't have that, if you don't have that in your arsenal, if you don't have that in your mindset, if you are not determined and dependent upon that precept, then you are going to be a disaster in any debate with a person who was a KGB agent, who has survived all kinds of political intrigue in Russia and who continues to be the strong man in the former Soviet Union, which I don't know how former it really is, having a person of Putin at its head. By the way, I do think it was unique that, you know, Joe Biden thought it was appropriate that while overseas, you know, there's always this talking, I think I've said it a number of times in the broadcast, I would hope our President would succeed.

I've been very clear about that with Joe Biden, including Joe Biden. I don't want America embarrassed at the world level or being taken advantage of at the world level regardless of the partisan politics, but he went partisan yesterday. I mean, he was bashing internal GOP politics at his press conference following the NATO alliance summit. I mean, again, he was taking, in the five questions that he did take, he took the bait right from a reporter and started bashing America from abroad.

The exact opposite of what you should be doing. We, you know, people get criticism from bashing US Presidents when they're abroad. And then he starts bashing his political opponents in the United States in a peaceful, you know, opposition. And again, talking about GOP dysfunction. Yeah, Jordan, I mean, even at our healthiest, our way of government, actually, it's a good thing when you're on our shores to be able to have an internal scuffle to some extent, but when you're overseas preparing to interact with one of the chief adversaries in the world, that's where the President of the United States focus needs to be. There needs to be a unified message.

Clearly, that's not the case. Look, I would tell you, Jordan, as he's about ready to go in and talk to Mr. Putin, I would hope that he's thinking about their interaction with Iran. I would hope that he's thinking about the fact that Vladimir Putin just said, look, yeah, we want to partner with Iran. And the reason that it's OK is because you told us it's OK to do it in your Iran deal.

Here's my concern, Jordan. I think this President wants a redo of the Obama administration policies. And if that's the case, I think we've got a long enough track record to tell where that's going to go. That's where his focus needs to be. Leave the internal politics for when he returns home.

All right. We come back. Former secretary of state and senior counsel for global affairs, the ACLJ, Mike Pompeo, will be joining us.

So, again, you don't want to miss that as well as this lead up to the Biden-Putin meeting tomorrow in Geneva as well. We'll take your phone calls. 1-800-684-3110. That's 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back.

We'll be right back. ACLJ's battle for the unborn. It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. The challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack. It's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success.

But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. ACLJ.org.

Welcome back to Secular. We are joined by our Senior Counsel for Global Affairs, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. And Secretary Pompeo, right off the bat, we've got a major international focus this week with President Biden overseas, this first major international trip.

A lot of things already completed. And I wanted to get, before we get into Russia and the meeting tomorrow, kind of your assessment of this trip so far from what we can gather considering there's been so lack of any kind of media access. Didn't see the usual press conference with the UK Prime Minister. We aren't going to see that with Putin.

We'll talk about that in a little bit. But so far with the meeting with the G7, with the NATO meeting today with the EU, how would you grade this so far? Well, you know, Jordan, a lot of folks are grading it on a tone.

I always evaluate on substance, and I've seen almost nothing. I think that's one of the reasons you're not seeing these press conferences. They've had very little that they've made progress on. It's not surprising President Biden made clear that he wanted to just talk about America being back, back to what we did for these last eight years. That was the central thesis of his trip, that and raising the Green New Deal to the top priority for the American foreign policy. I think that's what we've seen.

I frankly haven't seen an awful lot. Maybe it's the case, Jordan, maybe they say they like President Biden better, but only because he's a left progressive socialist economic guy, just like they are. He wants to be part of this international crowd and isn't protecting America first. I always preferred we be respected rather than liked. I think it's fairly easy to be liked, Secretary Pompeo, when this group knows whether it is the G7, whether it is NATO, whether it is, again, the EU, that we're opening up the checkbooks again and not with a lot of strategic thought behind it, but just as you said, going back to the way things were done. So hey, if all these countries are sitting around saying, hey, America's about to start writing the big checks again, whether it's for Paris, climate accord, more climate change money, but to fund our ideas, then sure, they're going to say, oh, we love America again because America's got the checkbook.

But I agree with you. I've always thought when we were respected, not necessarily loved, but respected, we got a lot more done. Yeah, Jordan, I think that's exactly right. Don't forget, too, the Europeans are just as excited as heck, as are the Russians and the Chinese that were sitting in Vienna negotiating with the Iranians. They wanted to get back into this nuclear deal for an awfully long time, so they now have a partner prepared to do an enormous amount of destruction between the United States and Israel. And frankly, their work will put at risk all the great work we did with the Abraham Accords as well. But those are things that the Europeans would get along with a progressive Democrat President.

Not surprising that they all are backslapping and shaking hands. We were about getting it done. We were about securing American freedom.

We did that. We put the brakes on a pipeline that was going to undermine everything it was we were trying to do with American independence. And they see Joe Biden, who's happy to hand that back over to the Russians and to the Middle East and not do right by the American worker.

Certainly a much more European model. So it's unsurprising that he's gotten a warm reception from these folks. Yeah, I mean, but then, you know, tomorrow, things shift. This is not necessarily, you're away from your allies, you're away from your, supposed to be your natural allies at the G7 or at NATO and then with the EU today. But then tomorrow with Putin, five hours, very limited staff, very limited media access. We've already been told no joint press conference. He's going to come out and answer some questions.

If that's anything like yesterday, I mean, that could be as few as five questions that the President of the United States is asked. I would think, I would think, you know, with someone who's been using rhetoric like killer and soulless, when he looks into his eyes, I mean, he claims he said that to Vladimir Putin's face. And again, and no one is disputing. Putin hasn't disputed that.

He kind of had his comeback on his own. But this idea again of this excuse they're using is one that, again, they would use to criticize the administration you served in, which is, well, if you do a joint press conference with Putin, which after this summit, which we asked for as the United States, you're giving him a platform. I saw him at NBC news. So I think he's already been utilizing the platform of the meeting. And it just seems to me like if you can't, you can't use that excuse with why you wouldn't do it with Boris Johnson. So why now are you afraid to come out of a meeting with Vladimir Putin and talk about what your worthy adversary, as he said, how do you interpret that move from the team? Because you were America's top diplomat. Boy, Jordan, it looks pretty, it looks pretty weak to me that you can't stand on a podium and make your case. You're going to disagree a lot with President Putin.

I'm sure that the Biden administration will as well, but you can't defend by making the case for America why it is it's important that America get this right. Look, they showed up having already unloaded all the leverage we had. They reentered a nuclear deal called New Start. They got nothing from the Russians for it. They took sanctions off of some of Vladimir Putin's friends, all the leverage that had been created so they could get the Russians to cooperate on these important issues.

But they shut down an American pipeline from Russia. Goodness gracious, this is a place that calls for strength. Jordan, last thing I'd say is I do worry. You talked about some of the language that President Biden is using.

Pretty tough calling him a killer. The Russians aren't going to be scared away by words. They're going to see the weakness of America. If we're not resolved, if we don't do the kinds of things we did for four years in the Trump administration to impose real costs when they behave badly and reward them when they did the things that made sense for America, if it's just about rhetoric and trying to look tougher or act like you're tougher, that's going to fail.

It's really dangerous. Xi Jinping's watching. Chairman Kim is watching.

The Iranians are watching. If we are weak with the Russians, the whole world will see it. A final question on that.

Is there a way to write this? Do you think that – I mean, this seems to be – the other meetings were, hey, we're happy you're opening your checkbook again, and we'll see how that kind of develops. But we, again, very limited on what actually was accomplished.

The communique that came out was very bland, including in its criticism of China. But is there any way for him to write this on Russia? Do you think that going – or it's just kind of like at the end of this we're going to be saying, well, who do you believe? You want to believe your President about how things – how things went, but it can be tough when he's backing away from even that tougher rhetoric. Look, in the end, it can only be righted by real actions, things like we did, like defend – line the Iranians – Ukrainians to defend themselves, supporting all the nations when they were working against Russian malign influence in Syria, imposing real costs, building out the United States military, providing American energy to compete with Russian energy, all the actions that we took, not words but actions we took. You can only write this if you're prepared to defend American values. And I must say, when I hear him talk about going back, when he uses that language about America being back, we know what that means. That's America apologizing. It's America being fearful. It's not America being strong and securing our freedom. You've also – you launched, too, this final question, too, and we got about a minute left here, but you've launched your CAVPAC, which is Championing American Values PAC, and this is – you said the release there, and also, you know, it refers to your time as in the U.S. Army, the cavalry, but the idea, again, you want to engage – I know you've been traveling the country, and now you've started an organization, it's CAVPAC, C-A-V-PAC, P-A-C dot com, an organization so that you can assist those candidates directly.

Jordan, like my days as a young soldier, the CAV, road to the sound of the guns, it fought fearlessly. That's what America needs. We're going to build out an organization to help candidates all across the country, from city council and county commission all the way up to the United States Senate. We're going to help the most conservative candidate we can find win. We want to go back to the ideas that our founders understood about freedom, the things that the ACLJ stands for. All of those things will be at the center of the fight that CAVPAC's going to bring, and I'm hopeful we'll do really good work.

In November of 2022, we will have shortened President Biden's runway. Yeah, I agree. I love the fact that you said it was from the city council meetings, too, because that is so important, the work that we do at the ACLJ, always. Glad CAVPAC, CAVPAC dot com.

Check it out. Thank you, Secretary Pompeo. We'll be right back. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress and in the public arena. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life changing work. Become a member today.

ACLJ.org. Live from Washington, D.C., Sekulow Live. And now your host, Jordan Sekulow.

Welcome to Sekulow. I mean, that's so much great information you can get from our now Senior Counsel for Global Affairs, Mike Pompeo, when you break down again as someone who served as America's top diplomat and you break down kind of how this has all appeared. Why are we not seeing joint press conferences? Why aren't we seeing anything more than just, hey, we're glad you're back here at the table with your checkbook, America. And I thought that it was interesting to say that he thought that there was so little substance, which again, points me back to that press conference yesterday, which was delayed two hours.

He only took five questions. And in one of those questions, he uses an opportunity to attack what was going on back at home in domestic politics between, you know, what's happening internally with Republicans. How about what's happening with Democrats when you have a group of them defending terrorist organizations? And your Democrat leadership is not only defending them now, has gone out on the offensive for them because they said, oh, don't call them the Hamas squad.

Why not? I don't think that any of them would necessarily be so upset by being included with that group. They certainly are not the America First squad.

They certainly want to criticize everyone. But this idea, again, that when you are abroad as an American leader, it's not necessarily the time or the place to take potshots at the opposition political party. How about focus on the bigger issues about being commander in chief?

That's what I get back to. And fan, you know, in Washington, the partisan politics day to day, that's part of Washington, that's part of politics. But when these leaders go abroad, it's supposed to be about the bigger issues that America faces around the world. It's not supposed to be a time for them to take their one press conference there, the second two press conferences they do, and one of those five questions they use to try and slam Republicans and talk about domestic politics.

Jordan, it's got to be about that. I mean, this is one of the biggest jobs that the commander in chief, the President of the United States has. It's to be the lead diplomat for the United States with other world leaders. And, you know, as I listen to your conversation with Secretary Pompeo there, there are really two components of it that I'm really worried about. He talked about how when he hears bring U.S. back, he's afraid about what that means. Well, look, I look at the comments from Vladimir Putin, and I think Vladimir Putin agrees with that, except when he hears bring U.S. back, what he hears is bring back the policies of the Obama administration, because I flourished under those. I was able to partner with Iran.

I liked the JCPOA. So if we're going to bring that United States back, well, look, I'm all for it. The second thing I heard, Jordan, really related to something you opened the broadcast with, every other world leader on that stage is putting the interest of their country first. And appropriately so, Jordan, that's what these summits are all about. Countries coming together and putting forward the interest of their country, advocating for the interest of their people. Jordan, if the United States is not doing that, we're literally the only country in the world on that stage that isn't doing it. So if our leader's not going to do it, nobody is going to do it, because Vladimir Putin, of course, is not going to put the interest of the American people first, neither is any other world leader on that stage. So bring the U.S. back, yeah, maybe to the policies of the Obama administration, and Jordan, somebody has to advocate for America. It's got to be the U.S. President, because nobody else will. We come back, we're going to start taking more of your phone calls, too, 1-800-6846.

8-4-31-10. Do you believe, after hearing from Secretary of State Pompeo, and as we've been discussing this all week, do you believe that there is any way that President Biden comes out of this communicating clearly to President Putin to put America first, or by capitulating already on the pipeline with Germany, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, or these other issues, like the hacks and the ransoms being paid, have we already capitulated too much? What is there to gain for the United States? Why did we ask for a five-hour meeting with Putin, but it's not clear what we're looking for out of this?

What are we looking to gain from Russia that we could not do on our own at this point, or communicate to them publicly? You know, I want to take your calls on that. 1-800-684-3110.

Toll free. Be with us on the air. The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack, it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights, in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success.

But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work.

Become a member today. ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected, is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, Planned Parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. Welcome back to Secula.

We're taking your phone calls too at 1-800-684-3110. Obviously, so much focus on the summit tomorrow between Biden and Putin. Let me just say this, President Biden deserves all the scrutiny. And I think that all because of the way he's handled this first trip, his vice President, who he chose, first trip was horrendous, disastrous, a complete failure, embarrassing to the United States of America, which is not good for any of us and not good for the crisis at the border. So this second trip, I think Secretary Pompeo is right. This first group of leaders he met with, they're just happy that our checkbook is back on our checkbook is back open because it's not America first anymore. It's just America part of the group, you know, more of the European group. And then this idea again that we get back to over and over and over again, which is unless there is some big behind the scenes secret scheme, why ask Russia and make all these concessions to Russia, like the pipeline, why do that for a five hour meeting?

What are we looking for? If you really believe they're as bad as you say, what are you looking for in a verbal meeting? What can you not communicate through American strength, through our military, through our technology, through the media that you need this sit down? Because remember, this is the country that Democrats blamed for every problem in the United States of America, whether it was true or not.

They made Russia out to be like the former Soviet Union again, and the kind of power that that wielded. I want to take your calls on this. Will's calling from Washington State Online. Will, thanks for holding on.

You're on the air. Thank you. I have to disagree with your complaint about Biden's comment that Putin is a worthy adversary. I think if you mean worthy in the sense of a comparable adversary, it's correct because neither of these two men puts their countries first.

Both of them just want to extend their own power, their position. I used to live in the former Soviet Union. I know a little bit about what it's like, and it was better 20 years ago than it is under Putin. But as far as him being a worthy adversary, I think it's Biden who's not worthy. He's not strong enough to stand up to President Putin.

Putin's going to walk all over him. I mean, yes, their interests. When you talk about Putin and whether they put Russia first or not, in their mind, they're putting the interest of Russia, they think, are key to their survival.

It's always about their survival first. But I do agree. I mean, again, this is a tough guy. No one is denying that. I mean, Andy, no one says Vladimir Putin's a pushover. He's been able to survive what was an extremely, as Will talked about, turbulent post the fall of the Soviet Union. And yet, as a KGB officer who's in Dresden and he's working with the Stasi and now he comes back into Russia but rises through the ranks, not as someone who came from a lot of wealth, not as someone who came from necessarily a lot of providence and has held on to powers, had the laws changed in Russia for decades now.

So I get the idea. He's tough and he's not a pushover. But I think he relishes being called a killer and he relishes being called a worthy adversary. Oh, I think you're absolutely right, Jordan. This is music to his ears. Someone like Putin who has come up, as you said, from the KGB, from the Stasi, through the ranks of the Soviet Union, loves to hear language like that. It is the most melodious sound that he can hear that the President of the United States says, I'm having a five-hour meeting with a killer, with a person into whose eyes I have looked, and he has no soul. If I was Vladimir Putin, I would be elated to hear that because he knows that when you say that, you mean it. I presume the President of the United States meant that when he said that. I believe Putin is a killer. I believe he is soulless. If you're dealing with a soulless killer, how can you possibly hope to come on top in the negotiations? There's no way you can succeed. Wes, we heard this too from the US ambassador. I want to play this for everybody. This is under the Obama administration, the former ambassador to Russia.

Take a listen. Remember, Vladimir Putin doesn't need to get anything out of this meeting. Back when I worked in the State Department of the White House, we used to use the word deliverables for these summits.

What are the deliverables, the outcomes that will lead to tangible benefit for the American people? Vladimir Putin doesn't have to have any deliverables other than just showing up. Remember, he didn't request this meeting.

President Biden did. And then I think rebutting the long list that you just outlined. And he's really good at that.

Let's be clear. He knows that list well. He knows how to respond. And if the outcome was no outcome, no deliverables, that's just fine for Mr. Putin. And that's the idea, Wes, this idea that if Putin just comes out of this meeting without any major pressure and this idea, okay, yes, we want to fight cybercrime. But is the cybercrime being directed by you and your former colleagues and now the FSB in Russia?

That's a little bit different. But again, we made the concessions, we made the request, we set this meeting up, and yet we're not even gonna see the two leaders together take questions. Yeah, I think President Biden's reason for meeting with Vladimir Putin is exactly the same as Vice President Harris's reason for not going to the border.

It's about the importance of optics or the lack of optics. And so by both of them want to appear strong, Biden and Harris, when in fact neither one of them are. Putin is shrewd.

He is a killer, and he's evil. And to be naive about our enemies and our adversaries is very, very dangerous. And you mentioned behind the scenes. One of the things that I'm concerned about behind the scenes is our own missile defense agency just recently requested $926 million for a defensive missile system that will enlarge our ability to protect America. It was interesting that President Biden, who actually has cut much of the military, immediately approved it. And then a letter comes out from former Obama officials asking President Biden to use this missile defense system as a bargaining chip when he sits down with Vladimir Putin. Let me tell you something, Jordan, no country should put protecting its citizens as a bargaining chip on a table. And so it'll be interesting to see if that comes up in all of these negotiations, whether it comes out of that, because President Biden runs the risk in whatever they talk about of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and of actually shooting himself in his own strategic foot.

I hope that doesn't happen, but this trip is disconcerting on so many levels. Yeah, but the idea again, putting that on the table even, that is Vladimir Putin's dream. If he walked into a meeting that he didn't ask for, and he already got his pipeline approved, and now for whatever reason, whatever concern they have about Russia, they'd be willing to give up a missile defense, which is so important to keep the Russians in check as well. It keeps the Russians in check from aggression in Europe. Now it didn't stop in Ukraine. Again, that is an issue as well.

That should be a top issue of discussion. It certainly was when they tried to impeach the President of the United States, President Trump. It was all Ukraine. It was all Russia. Remember that Ukraine, when they were talking about that Ukrainian issue, that was a transfer in Ukraine that occurred between a pro-Putin government and anti-Putin government. And then you'd already had the annexation of Crimea.

But then the idea, you talked about this, I think this is so important. These autocrats, like Putin, they don't see the idea, they don't separate themselves from their country. When they are, as you said in the chat, Vladimir Putin believes he is Russia when he's at that meeting.

Yeah, it goes back to the point about deliverables and whether or not he's a worthy adversary. You have to understand the way that Vladimir Putin looks at this meeting is not in the interest of the Russian people. When we say he's putting the interest of his country first, he believes he is Russia, Jordan.

There's no distinction. If he comes out of the meeting looking stronger, looking like more of a leader, having a more firm grasp on power, then he thinks Russia has succeeded, that Russia has risen because he believes he is Russia. Here's my distinction with President Biden, Jordan. It's not that maybe he thinks he is the United States of America, but he has to speak for the interest of America. We talked on yesterday's broadcast about this communique that came out of the G7. Look, the G7 couldn't put out any document they want, and President Biden can say, okay, fine, that's your opinion. But then, Jordan, he's got to follow it up by saying, but this is what the United States thinks. This is what the position of the United States is. The Chinese government is committing genocide against the Uyghur people. And oh, by the way, we are going to hold the Chinese government responsible for the origins of COVID.

That's the distinction, Jordan. He's got to speak for the United States. Even if Vladimir Putin thinks that he is Russia and he's only going to speak for his own personal interests, there's got to be a distinction between how the United States and Vladimir Putin looks at these issues. Another segment coming up, we'll take your phone calls, your comments. Again, how do you believe that this meeting will go between Biden and Putin? 1-800-684-3110. If you want to share your comments or questions on the air with us in our final segment coming up, give us a call at 1-800-684-3110.

I'll say Carol on Facebook. She wrote, Biden is a globalist. He'll use our taxpayer money, give it to the G7, NATO, Putin, and then turn around and claim, quote, America is back. And all that he means is that America is back to being the world's piggy bank.

That's exactly been my point throughout this first trip. The reason why everybody said, oh, it's great to have Joe Biden here. It's not about Joe Biden. It's about the checkbook. It's about America saying, you know what, even though China and India, you're horrendous when it comes to the climate, we're going to rejoin a Paris climate accord.

It's bad for American companies, even though we're doing great on those issues and we're addressing them at home without being part of this climate accord. But hey, open up that checkbook, the United States, and we'll all treat you great again. Oh, we love you so much. Respect versus love. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected.

Is there any hope for that culture to survive? And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade, 40 years later, the play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. The challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack. It's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success.

But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work.

Become a member today, ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Sekulow. This final statement again, so, you know, we discussed Israel yesterday too. And if you miss that discussion as well, there has been a power shift change there. This again, so it's now former Prime Minister Netanyahu. He is still leading the opposition party there. It is by one seat. That's how this parliamentary system works through their Knesset in Israel.

So it is 60 to 59. This is a very fractured coalition government, which unseated Prime Minister Netanyahu, led by someone who is actually maybe on paper even more conservative, but has united with the left in Israel and the parties in Israel, which the United Arab Party in Israel, which again, it's a good reminder that those in Israel, it's not just Jews who get to vote in Israel and Jews their leader, even though we call it the Jewish state of Israel. The Arab population that is there has the absolute right to vote.

They've never joined the government before. This time they have. We'll see how long it lasts.

Former Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn't believe it will last long. And we will see. But again, so that's what's happened. You know, that's happened domestically in Israel. And we can get into that further as we kind of see how this coalition actually functions or if it functions at all, gets off the ground. It got to this point, which a lot of people doubted it would.

So how does it get to the next point of actually governing? You know, Richard on Facebook wrote in too, as we talk about this meeting with Putin tomorrow, what makes anyone think that this relationship with world leaders would be any difference than the policy failures we're seeing at home? That ties into something written in the Wall Street Journal, which I thought was interesting to point out. Bill McGurk, he wrote in the Wall Street Journal, stop blaming Kamala Harris. It's not her fault. She has no good answers about the border. It's President Biden's. And, you know, I think that that's important to make right now. As much as there's been criticism of Vice President Harris, this is a failure of the administration. They're sitting her around and it doesn't make sense. Now, it could be her team.

And if it is, I might disagree with that statement some. It's pushing back to say, no, I won't go to the border. Because, wow, that would solve so many of those questions right there. Just say, okay, I've seen it. I know what the problem is. And now when I address it, no one's going to ask, why aren't you there?

Why didn't you go? But when I go back to this bigger issue, and I kind of want to go around the group here, Russia, as we all know, as those who represent President Trump in the Mueller investigation, which led to finding nothing between Russia and the Trump campaign. And then it was Ukraine, but that was tied a lot to Russia as well because of the Russian involvement in Ukraine. And, of course, that impeachment failed miserably. It's totally partisan.

So I'll go start with Andy who worked on that. The idea, again, Andy, we've heard from the Democrats, it's all about Russia, Russia. Oh, the Chinese, yes, they're genocide.

They're bad. There's problems there. But, you know, Russia is really the main pariah in the world. And now there's a summit that we begged for. Yeah, that's somewhat of an irony, isn't it, Jordan, that the country that we believe, or the Democrats believe, is the pariah of the world, interfered in our elections, cyber attacks on our pipelines, attacks on our economy, and all this thing. This is a country that the President of the United States is asking hat in hand to have this person whom he called a soulless killer, please meet with me in Geneva so I can talk to you, knowing that the odds are against anything coming out of this as that we just heard a deliverable. What does President Biden expect Putin to give him? Putin doesn't have to give him anything and is not going to give him anything because we go in with a globalist international cosmopolitan attitude espoused by the Democrats, espoused by President Biden, and not the one that President Trump carried, which was America first and American interests first.

Where is that? Where do we hear that cry? We don't hear that. We hear, oh, the NATO leaders and the G7 are so happy that I'm going to meet with Putin.

I'm afraid nothing is going to come of this summit meeting of any value or of any worth, except the Americans are going to be belittled once again. And I take issue with we're the piggy banks of the world. We're not, Jordan. We are the suckers of the world.

Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's also, it's one thing too, when you've got excess money to be throwing around, that's not certainly the case coming out of a pandemic and figuring out how to take care of things here at home, which has been so much, it's almost like, you know, we've done these shows to focus you on what's happening abroad because domestic issues, understandably, dominate most of our lives most of the day outside of, you know, even if your job is maybe international, you're still dealing with at home, trying to get things back off the ground here. That's happening, but we don't see as much focus then. What I am, you know, I'm starting to see the media turn. I don't know how long it will last, but the idea that under the Trump administration, they basically had, they might've been called names. There might've been a tough back and forth, but they had unfettered access to Trump, to his cabinet members, to the White House press corps. I mean, you know, the White House press staff and to policy advisors, to the President, to his attorneys that we know about. And yet they're traveling all around the world to get five questions asked. Five questions asked.

And I would argue that maybe not even any of them truly answered Jordan. So look, I think the tide is probably starting to turn there. Look, I also think we have to ask the question, where does the buck stop? I mean, the buck absolutely has to stop with the President of the United States. He sets the policy on Iran. He sets the policy on China. He sets the policy on Hamas. He sets the policy on Russia and Jordan.

Yes, it's true. He sets the policy on the border as well, but here's maybe where I would have a slight disagreement with the caller who called in. I also think if the vice President is going to be given a duty by the President to solve the border crisis, then she has a duty to come back and convince him of some very fundamental things. Like she's got to come in the room, Jordan and say, Mr. President, I know you set the policy on this, but we absolutely have to do something to address the issue of child trafficking that's happening on our border. Does the President set the policy on all of those issues?

Absolutely, Jordan. But she's got a duty if given this task to convince him to come around on this. And, you know, quite frankly, I think the press has a duty here too. If he's not answering the questions at these gaggles, they need to keep asking until he does. Look, I mean, how many times, Jordan, did we see questions shouted after President Trump? For better or for worse, a lot of times he would turn around and ask them.

Those questions have to be continued to be asked until he actually gives a meaningful answer. I mean, Wes, one of the questions he got from CBS, we don't have time to play it right now because we've got about a minute and a half left, they've heard a lot of world leaders concerned about this meeting so early in the presidency that you're like rewarding Putin. And Biden's response back was, everybody at NATO told me they thanked me for meeting with Putin now. I mean, plenty of those member states in NATO, I would include, you know, Germany as well, they're already happy with the US. We're, like Iran, they're hoping that this meeting opens up business opportunities. That's how they see it, economic opportunities to deal with Russia without the threat of US sanctions. Our European allies do not have America's best interest in the front of their minds, nor should they. The President of the United States should have our interest in the front of his mind, and apparently perhaps he does not. I can't see how anything substantive is going to come out of this meeting with Putin. Unfortunately, some things that would really hurt America may come out of it. You know, I was a young man when Jimmy Carter was President, but Joe Biden is looking more and more like Jimmy Carter. Yeah, which means these meetings, if you don't remember those Carter days, can lead to America looking more weak at the world states than we do right now. We're afraid to call out China on COVID. We're afraid to call, you know, Putin, he's a killer. Well, now he's a worthy adversary.

We will see how it goes and we'll have analysis for you tomorrow. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress and in the public arena. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life changing work. Become a member today, ACLJ.org.