Senator Cotton On Biden’s Warsaw Gaffe: “He Should Not Ad Lib in Speeches”

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Published: March 30, 2022 | Date of Source Audio: March 29, 2022

Transcribed and modified for publication from the original audio program

Hugh Hewitt talks with Senator Tom Cotton about how to move forward after Biden’s missteps and walkbacks

Hugh Hewitt: I'm joined now by Senator Cotton of Arkansas. Senator Tom Cotton, a regular guest, Republican from Arkansas. Good morning, Senator. Look, this is very serious and I am a patriot. I do not want the president of the United States to be infirm or mocked by foreign tyrants. What do we do?

Senator Tom Cotton: Good morning, Hugh. It's good to be on with you. That press conference was unnerving, the well-chosen word. Although, I have to say, probably not as unnerving as the president's statements during his trip to Europe last week. Obviously, the most unsettling and imprudent statement was when he, in effect, called for regime change in nuclear-armed Russia. But he also seemed to suggest that the United States might use chemical weapons against Russia, or that the troops we have in places like Poland may soon be deploying to Ukraine, contrary to his announced policy. And then again, he denied it all yesterday in that press conference.

Hewitt: When you walk back a walkback, that's what's unnerving.

Cotton: Yeah. And Hugh, one can agree on the merits with what Joe Biden said about the treachery of Vladimir Putin if you're a talk radio host or an editorial columnist or just a normal American. But when you're in an elected official, especially when you're the president, ad-libbing and speaking about, I think Joe Biden called it his “emotional outrage,” is highly unwise and it's dangerous to our national security. And most presidents throughout history have known that. They don't get to engage in off-the-cuff, extemporaneous moralizing that could threaten the interests and the safety of the American people. …

“I don't think he should continue to take questions or do press conferences.”

… And at this point with just under three years to go with the Biden presidency, I genuinely think it would be best for all involved — to include Joe Biden, but especially for the American people — if the president would simply stop speaking publicly in an extemporaneous fashion. He should not ad lib in speeches when he is reading from a teleprompter. And frankly, I don't think he should continue to take questions or do press conferences. I know that lots of Republicans and conservatives like to criticize the president for his lack of accessibility or his refusal to hold regular press conferences. But I think for the good of the nation and for the safety of our people, we should all agree — broadly, we on the center-right in America — that if Joe Biden would simply stop speaking extemporaneously, stop doing press conferences or press availabilities, we’ll agree that that's not a solid ground to criticize him.

Hewitt: I will agree a hundred percent, a hundred percent.

Cotton: There are plenty of grounds to criticize the president on the results and the outcomes of his policies and decisions. We don't need to criticize him on the process point of he's not answering enough questions if he'll simply agree to stop answering questions, stop ad-libbing and ripping off the cuff from a prepared speech on a teleprompter. If we could get three years of Joe Biden speaking in deliberate fashion on words that have been carefully reviewed and vetted — even if we disagree with those words — that would be safer than what happened over the last five days.

Hewitt: That's a mature and smart response because in all seriousness, we can't do this for three years. And I asked David Drucker in Hour 1 and Byron York in Hour 2, what do you think Putin, Xi, Khamenei think is going on? And they all had good responses. Drucker suggested they may not know who's in charge in the United States after yesterday.

Cotton: Well, if you put yourself in their shoes in Moscow or Beijing or Tehran, what's happened over the last five days has probably been confusing. But it’s also been, in some cases, a windfall. Vladimir Putin has been claiming for almost his entire time in office in Russia that the United States wants to engineer his ouster. He’s believed that and fervently declared that repeatedly. And Joe Biden essentially gave him a massive propaganda victory over the weekend, simply by going off the cuff, clearly speaking off teleprompter on his emotional feelings. Which again, I think we all have very strong feelings about the devastation we see in Ukraine and about the villainy of Vladimir Putin. And again, it's fine to say that if you're a normal American, if you're a talk radio host, if you're an editorial columnist. But when you are responsible for the safety of the American people, as I am, as other elected senators and congressmen are, and most especially as the president is, it's imprudent to be moralizing extemporaneously in such a fraught moment.