In less than one year the Joe Biden administration is quickly learning that perhaps Trump and his team were more adept than initially thought in polite liberal D.C. circles.
It seems that many Trump-era policies initially destroyed by Biden have methodically and quietly been reinstated, including many immigration policies, but most pertinently, strong sanctions on Russian oil.
On Wednesday, the cognitively deficient president announced he would level sanctions on Russia’s proposed Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, after lifting sanctions on the project put in place by former President Donald Trump.
“Today, I have directed my administration to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers,” Biden said in a statement detailing his decision.
Joe Biden sanctions Nord Stream 2 (after initially lifting Trump-era sanctions in May 2021) pic.twitter.com/JeCBaDTawo
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) February 23, 2022
However, a short nine months ago Biden argued that sanctions against Russia’s Nord Stream 2 were unnecessary and short-sighted, saying they jeopardize diplomatic relationships with our European allies, notably Germany, who benefited majorly from the pipeline’s completion.
“It’s almost completely finished … it’s not like I can allow Germany to do something or not,” Biden said at the time, explaining why he was willing to lift sanctions.
Biden argued at the time that lifting the Trump-era sanctions was important to rebuilding America’s relationship with Europe, calling them “counterproductive.”
On Monday, Germany announced they would halt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project after Putin sent troops into Ukraine for the sake of “peacekeeping” in two provinces of the country which had declared independence.
The pipeline project, once supported by the Germans, was considered a politically disastrous move for national security regions, allowing Russia to bypass Ukraine to provide natural gas to Europe.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly criticized Joe Biden and European leaders for allowing the project to continue.
“We were very unpleasantly surprised,” Zelensky said in June when asked about Biden’s decision.
He described the pipeline as “a weapon in the hands of the Russian Federation” and said he was confused by Biden’s actions that helped Russia.
Now that Russia has launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, what good does leveling sanctions against Nord Stream 2 do for the world now? The move is merely an empty show of force on Biden’s part to save face with his people, many of whom are growing weary of this regime.
Meanwhile, oil & gas leases are still on standby and our Keystone XL Pipeline remains inactive.
Go figure.
Author: Asa McCue
