President Joe Biden sounded the alarm over nuclear “Armageddon,” delivering a stark warning of the risks of escalation in Russia’s war in Ukraine before prominent donors and raising further questions about U.S. resolve.
“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis,” Biden told Democrats gathered at the New York home of investor James Murdoch. He said President Vladimir Putin was threatening to use a tactical nuclear weapon to escape defeat as Russia continues to mount losses.
“He’s not joking,” Biden added. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily [use] a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
Biden also wondered about an “off-ramp” for Putin, asking, “Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not only lose face but significant power within Russia?”
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The president’s grim assertion sent shock waves around the world and appeared to go beyond the scope of current U.S. intelligence assessments.
The White House said Friday that no new intelligence drove Biden’s remarks but condemned Putin’s threats.
“Russia’s talk of using nuclear weapons is irresponsible, and there’s no way to use them without unintended consequences. It cannot happen,” Biden’s press secretary told reporters on Air Force One. She said if “the Cuban missile crisis has taught us anything, it is the value of reducing nuclear risk and not brandishing it.”
Still, Karine Jean-Pierre added, “we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture, nor do we have indications they are preparing to use them.”
Biden’s national security advisers and allies have vowed decisive action if Russia uses nuclear weapons. “We have communicated that directly to the Russians,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in September.
While speaking Wednesday at the Warsaw Security Forum, Dutch Adm. Rob Bauer, chairman of NATO’s military committee, said, “The response will be such that the Russians will regret what they have done. And I think that is extremely important.”
And this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged NATO to take “preventative action” against Russian targets so Russia knows “what awaits them if they use nuclear weapons.”
But Biden’s high-octane warning, delivered to political donors behind closed doors, threatens to embolden Putin, said Kori Schake, the foreign and defense policy studies director at the American Enterprise Institute.
“It undercuts deterrence for the president to sound anxious about Russian nuclear threats,” said Schake, a former National Security Council and State Department official. “That incentivizes nuclear proliferation and encourages efforts at nuclear blackmail.”
Schake also questioned the setting for Biden’s remarks: “If he wants to prepare Americans for the danger, he shouldn’t do that via leaked off-the-record comments at a private political fundraiser; he should give a public national address.”
How best to deter Putin isn’t clear.
Schake said Biden should use the Russian leader’s threats to make a case for Washington’s involvement in the war until Russia is forced from Ukrainian territory.
“He should instead say, ‘What the Russians are threatening is a serious danger and shows what a malevolent force they are, which is why we’re helping Ukraine to defend itself. And we will continue to support Ukraine’s efforts until they fully liberate their country,’” Schake said.
While Biden has left open the prospect of responding to nuclear weapons with other nukes, the president wielded the potential of the West to further ostracize Moscow.
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During a 60 Minutes interview last month, Biden was asked what consequences Russia might face for using the weapons. The president responded, “You think I would tell you if I knew exactly what it would be? Of course I’m not gonna tell you. It’ll be consequential.”
He continued, “[The Russians] will become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been. And depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur.”
