White House says no new intelligence that Putin is ‘imminently’ preparing to use nuclear weapons

The White House said Friday that there is no new information that has led President Joe Biden to warn of an increased risk of Armageddon over Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons.

Biden told a group of wealthy donors on Thursday that Putin was not kidding about using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine and that the odds are the highest since the Cuban missile crisis.

“We have not seen any reason to change our own strategic nuclear stance, nor do we have any indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons in the near term,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. off to an event with Biden in Hagerstown. , Md.

“The president spoke of concerns about Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons, just as he did in the UN General Assembly and we have done in recent weeks,” she noted. “He reinforced what we said, and that’s how seriously we take these threats about nuclear weapons.”

Biden issued his doomsday warning during a Democrat fundraiser at the New York home of James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert.

It comes amid growing fears that Putin will be cornered and could use tactical nuclear weapons to push back advancing Ukrainian forces.

“We have a man I know pretty well,” Biden said at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee reception.

“He’s not kidding when he talks about the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons, because his military is – you could say – significantly underperforming.”

“Don’t be fooled by the idea that smaller, tactical weapons pose no major threat to the world,” he continued at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee reception.

“I don’t think there is such a thing as the ability to easily… [use] a tactical nuclear weapon and not end with Armageddon,” he said.

Ukrainian troops have made significant gains as they pushed back Russian forces in recent weeks.

For the first time, Putin appears to be concerned at home that the war is coming to an end.

A series of leaders have warned that a cornered Putin could unleash weapons of mass destruction, both to maintain power domestically and to turn the tide of war.

“For the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, we have the threat of a nuclear weapon if things continue on their path,” Biden said.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the United States and Russia came close to using nuclear weapons because of the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. The 13-day showdown began after the US discovered that the Soviet Union had a secret deployment of nuclear weapons in Cuba. And it’s seen as the closest the world has ever come to nuclear destruction.

The White House argued Friday that the US was nowhere near that point.

Biden said of Putin on Thursday: ‘We are trying to figure out, what is Putin’s disaster? Where does he find a way out?

“Where is he where he loses not only face but considerable power?”

The United States and Western allies have repeatedly said that the only way to end the war in Ukraine is for Putin to withdraw.

But the Russian president has taken aggressive steps. He has repeatedly alluded to the use of his country’s vast nuclear arsenal, including last month.

“I would like to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction… and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people,” Putin said. . September 21, adding: ‘It’s not a bluff.’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Putin understands that the “world will never forgive” a Russian nuclear attack.

“He understands that after using nuclear weapons, he would not be able to, so to speak, to save his life, and I have every confidence in that,” Zelensky said.

Before Biden unleashed his doomsday scenario on Thursday, the focus was on location choice for the fundraiser event — in the heart of a family known for its alliance with the Republican Party.

The president was able to tailor one of his favorite lines to fool the family a bit.

“This is not your father’s Republican party,” Biden said, describing how Trump’s influence had led to an attack on institutions from the Supreme Court to the White House.

However, James Murdoch, 49, was also a top donor to Biden’s efforts in 2020 — he broke with his powerful father, whose Fox network provided Donald Trump with a powerful platform.

James Murdoch resigned from News Corp’s board of directors that year. His wife Kathryn is an environmentalist who has donated extensively to Democrat Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee.

The couple founded the Quadrivium foundation, which has given millions to left-wing organizations in recent years.

Earlier on Thursday, Biden toured IBM’s New York plant to highlight the company’s decision to invest $20 billion in the Hudson Valley region.

It also meant he could lend a hand to Representatives Sean Patrick Maloney and Pat Ryan, who are facing tough reelection battles.

Then it went to a fundraiser at the New Jersey Governor’s mansion. The 15-guest event would raise $1 million for the Democratic National Committee, according to an official.

Singer and New Jersey native Jon Bon Jovi was in the select audience at Gov Phil Murphy’s home to hear Biden rant again against Trumpist troops in the Republican Party.

“Not all Republicans are MAGA Republicans,” he said, but a “good 35% are Trumpites.”

His bungling was ridiculed by Republicans, who portrayed him as out of touch with voters struggling to cope with rising prices.

Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, said, “Biden is meeting the only people who approve of his agenda: wealthy Democratic elites.

Biden’s inability to campaign outside the Acela corridor proves that he is out of touch with Americans faced with rising prices, skyrocketing crime and an open border.

“Democrats are trying to hide from Biden, but voters know they’ve approved Biden’s disastrous agenda.”