Vladimir Putin is "taking advantage" of a "weak" President Joe Biden, who has made "America a weak sister" after the "catastrophic" Afghanistan withdrawal, according to economist Larry Kudlow, who said Putin needs to be given an ultimatum to stand down by March 1, or face crippling sanctions.
"The president keeps forecast, keeps predicting that Russia is going to invade," Kudlow told Sunday's "The Cats Roundtable" on WABC 770 AM-N.Y. "Why he keeps making these predictions is utterly beyond me.
"He is allowing Putin to control this and that really bothers me, that runs contrary to American interests. Obviously, Biden is not an America First guy."
Kudlow said overdue economic pressure needs to be put on Putin in the way of a deadline to impose sanctions.
"Set a March 1 deadline: 'If your troops do not return to their proper barracks, then we will, as of March 1, impose strict across-the-board banking and energy sanctions'; just like that," Kudlow told host John Catsimatidis.
"In the aftermath of the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan America looks like a weak sister. Biden is a weak president. Putin is taking advantage of that."
This is not just about Ukraine and NATO, Kudlow warned, because other territories around the world will be next.
"If we let Putin do this scot-free, John, then China will figure out after the Olympics, 'Why can't they take over Taiwan?'" Kudlow said, noting the world is watching how we .
"I'm suggesting to you: The lack of deadlines, the lack of clarity, the lack of sanctions has done damage here."
Behind all of this is money, riches, energy, and oil – and not necessarily just NATO admission as Putin has claimed as a pretext for his border buildup. If fact, Putin can now enrich his country and damage America even by self-imposing sanctions, according to Kudlow.
"If Russia says we are not going to put any natural gas out into Europe, that will drive oil energy prices sky high, the price of oil to $150 [per barrel], and will have grave economic consequences for the United States," Kudlow said.
Biden's "waging a jihad against fossil fuels" for Green New Deal progressives is proving costly for wealth and security worldwide, Kudlow concluded.
"While the world needs more oil and the world needs more natural gas, literally, to survive, Biden is doing everything he can through the regulatory arm in Washington to stop it: Now, to me that is incredibly stupid," he said, pointing to the "closing down the XL Pipeline but allowing Nord Stream 2 to reopen."
"I don't understand this. I am baffled by it; it's very bad policy; it's a sign of weakness."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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