One of the great lies we’ve heard from Joe Biden’s fluffers is the tale of glory where Biden rallies the Free World to the defense of Ukraine and something-something happens, and everything turns out great. No part of this could be further from the truth.

From the earliest days, Joe Biden and his henchmen ignored a build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine that began a year ago. As the crisis intensified, the Biden junta did things which a) made it look ridiculous (for instance, the repeated predictions over more than a month that Russia was invading Ukraine imminently) and b) seemed calculated to force Putin to attack Ukraine as a face-saving exercise (read Why Today’s Austin-Milley Press Conference Convinces Me That Joe Biden Wants Conflict With Russia in Ukraine). When Putin declared the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk to be independent, Biden’s reaction was so weak that it seemed calculated to encourage Putin to do more, see Potemkin Sanctions by a Potemkin President; One of the Banks Sanctioned by Biden Was Sanctioned in 2014.

Yesterday, during his bumbling press conference on Thursday, Biden was asked two very specific questions (see Biden’s Sanctions Package Seems Calculated to Avoid Damaging Russia’s Economy, So Why Bother?). First, he was asked why he did not ban sanctioned Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT); this would limit their ability to operate anywhere where Biden’s sanctions only prevent the Russian banks from working with American banks. Second, he was asked why Putin, himself, wasn’t sanctioned. This is from the transcript of his Thursday press conference.

Q Mr. President, you didn’t mention SWIFT in your sanctions that you announced. Is there a reason why the U.S. isn’t doing that? Is there disagreement among Allies regarding SWIFT and whether Russia should be allowed to be a part of it?

THE PRESIDENT: The sanctions that we have proposed on all their banks is of equal consequence — maybe more consequence than SWIFT — number one.

Number two, it is always an option. But right now, that’s not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take.

Here, Biden blames our allies for not booting sanctioned Russian banks from SWIFT. Later, his minions fingered Germany and Italy as the countries who pushed back on this proposal. Yet, today, both Germany and Italy have said they have no objections to barring those banks from SWIFT.

Call with my Italian counterpart @luigidimaio. Full solidarity with Ukraine. My colleague assured me that Italy will support banning Russia from SWIFT.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 25, 2022

Macron joins Germany in support of cutting off Russia from Swift. Brave new world. And god, I don’t like it. https://t.co/eNxGK29D0r

— Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) February 25, 2022

Mind you, there was never any official statement of opposition in the first place, which leads one to believe this is quintessential Ron-Klain-lying-to-make-Biden-look-good bullsh**.

Second, if Putin was ActuallyHitler^™, why didn’t Biden sanction him personally? I doubt that Putin has a lot of resources that can be touched by the US government, but just putting the stink on him seems more useful than anything else this bunch of assclowns have come up with. That question was directed at Biden yesterday, and this is what happened.

Q You said, in recent weeks, that big nations cannot bluff when it comes to something like this. You recently said that the idea of personally sanctioning President Putin was on the table. Is that a step that you’re prepared to take? And if not —

THE PRESIDENT: It’s not a bluff; it’s on the table.

Q Sanctioning President Putin?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Why not sanction him today, sir? Why not sanction him today, sir?

Q Mr. President —

Biden ignored the question.

As bizarre as it seems, now the EU has stepped up to do what Biden couldn’t bring himself to order.

This afternoon I urged @NATO leaders to take immediate action against SWIFT to inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime.

The UK will introduce sanctions against Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package already announced. pic.twitter.com/VWEwGyPH5j

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 25, 2022

AP: The European Union has agreed to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to Latvia's foreign minister

— Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) February 25, 2022

Now, Biden is jumping on the mewling, “me, too; me, too” and trying to get on the bandwagon.

JUST IN – US sanctions Putin, Lavrov, Russia's defense minister, deputy defense minister, and army chief. pic.twitter.com/CAXnNdDNMM

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 25, 2022

This whole episode has been shameful from start to finish. The Biden junta has never had anything resembling a diplomatic strategy to defuse the dog’s breakfast created by George W. Bush and others when they invited Ukraine to join NATO. Instead, the diplomacy in the face of the crisis has been ham-handed and dysfunctional. In fact, had you set out to goad Putin into invading Ukraine, you’d have done just about everything that Biden’s “national security” team did.