Den stora samlingstråden om Joe Biden

CNN’s Jeff Zeleny: We haven’t seen Joe Biden answer questions “without his aides screaming at him to stop. I have never seen a President, covering the last 4 of them, so protected by his aides.”

Biden and Putin Spar Even as They Move to Ease Tensions

After four hours of talks, President Biden and President Vladimir Putin of Russia offered professional respect and a desire for a better relationship.
But the leaders announced no dramatic actions to stop the downward spiral hurtling them toward the worst U.S.-Russian tensions since the Cold War.

After about three hours of talks, the two leaders emerged, separately, and offered professional respect for each other, like two skilled boxers describing the other’s prowess. Both expressed a desire for a better relationship, but announced no dramatic actions to arrest the downward spiral that has already hurtled them toward the worst U.S.-Russian tensions since the Cold War.

Reagan had famously called the Soviet Union the “evil empire,” but he and Gorbachev spent hours talking inside and outside, dined together, and tried to get to know each other. In the hours before Mr. Biden’s encounter with Mr. Putin, his aides made clear that they would not break bread, and that the meetings would be formal ones.

Mr. Biden declined to say whether he would still describe the Russian leader as a “killer” and argued that none of the conversation portended the start of a friendship.

Biden consulted notes that helped him with data and appeared to show photos of journalists at his press conference

The US President could be seen holding a white sheet of paper in his hand, appearing to hide it from Putin's gaze.