But the seeds of this approach - from the philosophical approach to the personnel - were planted years ago. And though he has repeatedly declared he would not send troops into Ukraine, he has otherwise taken an aggressive approach that has earned him praise from some unlikely corners and criticism from people like TUCKER CARLSON for potentially putting the U.S. It’s why he’s declassified intel in an attempt to preempt those actions. And as he stares down the biggest foreign policy crisis of his presidency, he is relying on his decades of researched and well-honed skepticism of Putin in this high-stakes confrontation.Īides say it’s why he’s been sounding the alarm on Putin’s actions vis-a-vis Ukraine for weeks, if not months. Now, Biden is getting his chance to tackle Putin his way after watching prior presidents, including one he served, try it theirs. He’s read 2015’s “The New Tsar” by The New York Times’ STEVEN LEE MYERS and 2018’s “How Democracies Die” by Harvard Professors STEVEN LEVITSKY and DANIEL ZIBLATT, according to people familiar with the president’s reading. Putin was ice-cold calm throughout, but argumentative from start to finish.”Įven the books Biden consumed have, to a degree, involved the Russian leader. Our meeting that day did nothing to dispel that notion,” Biden wrote, recounting a 2011 meeting with Putin. “While I had been encouraged by Putin’s willingness to sign on to the nuclear arms treaty, I thought the Russian leader had proven himself unworthy of our trust in almost every other instance. But it still mentioned the Russian president more than 65 times. Russia has exhibited a troubling pattern of less than democratic behavior since Putin took office,” he said, as POLITICO’s NAHAL TOOSI reported last summer.īiden’s 2017 book, “Promise Me, Dad,” largely focused on his deceased son BEAU. “I’d caution the administration against being excessively optimistic about Mr. BUSH initially found Putin “trustworthy” and BARACK OBAMA pushed for a “reset,” Biden was wary of the Russian leader - even before the 2016 election scrambled the politics towards Russia.ĭays after Bush’s chummy 2001 meeting with Putin, Biden expressed reservations. There is no world leader JOE BIDEN has likely spent more time thinking about than VLADIMIR PUTIN. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.

By ALEX THOMPSON, MAX TANI and NAHAL TOOSI

The new tsar by steven lee myers