President Joe Biden’s harebrained foreign policy is a spectacle to behold.
Biden cuts off oil imports from President Vladimir Putin’s Russia in an effort to suffocate the dictator economically and force him to sue for peace in Ukraine – then Biden utilizes Putin’s operatives to broker a deal that could, in time, allow another U.S. enemy, Iran, to get a nuclear weapon.
Three years ago, as a candidate, Biden vowed he would “make them pay the price.” The “them” were the Saudis, and Biden, reflecting the liberal line, pledged a comeuppance to the Saudi leader, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, for the murder of activist Jamal Khashoggi and human rights abuses in Yemen.
Now, during the war in Ukraine, Biden has for the second time pleaded with the Saudis to boost oil production to win points with Americans angry about skyrocketing gas prices.
Closer to home, Biden’s administration all but ignored recent pro-democracy protesters in Cuba, but boasted of the effort to remove the terrorist label from one of the most murderous, subversive groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, that waged war on democratically elected leaders in Colombia.
Meanwhile, the Ukraine crisis has broadened Biden’s appeals to the most unsavory characters on the international stage – except this time it’s earning him criticism in Florida. From his fellow Democrats.
The Biden administration is now willing to lift economic sanctions in asking Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro to ramp up oil production to, as noted with Saudi Arabia above, save Biden’s bacon at home by lowering gas prices.
Republicans rightfully denounced the move.
On Twitter, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio blasted Biden for moving “to abandon those seeking freedom from #Venezuela in exchange for an insignificant amount of oil … from the narco-dictator #Maduro.”
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott noted, “Maduro is a genocidal tyrant just like Putin – the U.S. cannot just exchange dependence from one murderous dictator to another. The Biden administration’s focus needs to be on building AMERICA’s energy independence, not asking dictators for favors.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis also tweeted, “It is wrong for the Biden Administration to beg for oil from Venezuela & legitimize Maduro’s communist regime during an official visit. The U.S. should hold Maduro accountable while increasing domestic energy production so we won’t need to rely on hostile regimes for energy.”
But comments by Democrats were not all that softer.
According to Politico, Democratic Rep. Val Demings, who is challenging Rubio, noted that she was “deeply skeptical of the new talks” with Maduro.
“We must ensure that Florida families can afford gas, AND ensure that no dictators can profit from this crisis,” she said.
Florida state Sen. Annette Taddeo, who seeks to oust DeSantis this fall, said, “If America was down to its last barrel and Venezuela was giving oil away for free, we still shouldn’t go to the Maduro regime for help.”
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, another of DeSantis’ Democratic challengers, acknowledged that he was “deeply concerned the wrong change to our policy would simply enrich Maduro’s brutal dictatorship and set back the fight for democracy,” Politico noted.
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