The White House is scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested that the Russians might be using online bot-farms to spread damaging debate videos to help former President Donald Trump’s campaign. It’s almost laughable, if it wasn’t so desperate.
During a media briefing, Jean-Pierre floated this idea after a reporter asked about potential Russian interference. “Are you concerned that this is the leading edge of any part of a Russian effort to interfere in the election? Has the president been briefed on this?” the reporter asked, with a straight face, I might add. “Have you seen any evidence that the Russians or other foreign powers have tried to seize on the debate performance and repeat some of the president’s most embarrassing moments?”
Jean-Pierre’s response? It’s a classic non-answer. She said she’d have to check with the team and left it to the Department of Justice to speak. AI has been a concern, and the president recently took executive action on how to deal with AI. She wants Congress to take more action on this.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice did announce it disrupted an online bot farm sponsored by the Russian government that was spreading disinformation on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Today’s actions represent a first in disrupting a Russian-sponsored Generative AI-enhanced social media bot farm,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. This bot farm had over 1,000 accounts pretending to be U.S. citizens. Wray stated that Russia intended to use this bot farm to spread AI-generated disinformation, undermining Ukraine and influencing geopolitical narratives favorable to the Russian government.
But let’s get real for a second. Critics were quick to slam the White House’s attempt to connect embarrassing debate videos to Russian disinformation. It’s as if they’re trying to blame Biden’s debate performance on Russia. One critic said this question might sound ridiculous now but will pale compared to the mainstream media’s inevitable push to blame Putin for Biden’s rapid cognitive decline.
Another critic mocked the idea, saying, “They’re going to blame Biden’s debate performance on Russia. You can’t make this stuff up.” It’s hard to take any of this seriously when the administration is using Russia as a scapegoat for Biden’s failures. The reality is that the American people can see through these weak attempts to shift blame. Biden’s debate blunders are his own, plain and simple. Trying to pin them on some Russian bot farm is just a distraction from the real issues.
The administration needs to face the music. Blaming Russia for Biden’s shortcomings is not only absurd but also insulting to the intelligence of the American public. Instead of making excuses, it’s time to address the root of the problem. The focus should be on improving leadership and policy, not concocting wild conspiracy theories to deflect criticism.
This is just another chapter in the ongoing saga of the White House trying to cover up Biden’s missteps. It’s time for a reality check. The American people deserve better than these feeble attempts to shift blame. It’s high time the administration takes responsibility and stops pointing fingers at Russia for their failures.
