Vice President Kamala Harris has been to Europe twice to meet with foreign leaders about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
During one of her trips, President Joe Biden headed to Texas to discuss the environmental impact of … burn pits.
But Biden is finally getting into the game. The president has added a stop to Poland during his European trip this week to discuss the dire situation in Ukraine with NATO and European allies, the New York Post reported.
“Biden will fly to Warsaw on Friday following his trip to Brussels where he is scheduled to meet with NATO allies, G7 leaders, and European Union leaders to discuss humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and economic sanctions on Russia, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Sunday night,” the Post reported.
“He will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Saturday to discuss how the US and its allies are ‘responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created,'” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
In mid-February, Biden dispatched Harris to Europe in an attempt to avert Russia’s apparently imminent invasion of Ukraine.
As Harris flew to Germany to deliver a message from the U.S. in an effort to avert what would be the largest conflict in Europe since World War II, Biden headed to Lorain, Ohio, to talk about his infrastructure plan. Biden was back in the White House by 3:15 p.m., even as Harris was just halfway to Europe.
“Biden is deploying Kamala Harris to Europe to help ease Russia-Ukraine tensions,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) tweeted at the time, adding sarcastically: “Right, because she’s doing so well with our southern border…”
Harris met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as well as other Baltic leaders, a job usually filled by the U.S. president.
Then earlier this month, Harris traveled to Europe again to meet Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, along with Ukrainians who have fled. She also met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while in Warsaw.
The U.S. move was unusual, to say the least. Vice presidents usually meet with vice presidents, foreign ministers with foreign ministers (or, in the case of the U.S., the Secretary of State) — but presidents meet with presidents, so it was a decidedly odd decision for Biden to send his underling to such important meetings while the largest conflict in Europe since World War II was raging.
Biden has been doing most of his work by phone. For instance, on Monday, Biden is scheduled to discuss the war with European leaders, including President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, the White House said Sunday.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.