US and Russian leaders criticize each other

President Biden criticized Mr. Putin as "crazy", causing the Kremlin to react strongly and the Russian Foreign Ministry to call this "Hollywood cowboy" behavior.

"We have crazy bastards like Putin, we always have to worry about nuclear conflict, but the existential threat to humanity is the climate issue," US President Joe Biden told supporters at a fundraising event in San Francisco, California on February 21.

"Of course he cannot say to me: 'Volodya (Putin's nickname) did a good job, thank you for your support, it helped me a lot'," the Russian president said.

US President Joe Biden (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP — US President Joe Biden (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: *AFP*

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted more strongly, saying Mr Biden's criticism was "a great shame for America itself".

"The use of such language by the US president to attack the head of another state can hardly harm our president, but it demeans the person who uses such words," Peskov said. "It is shameful for a president to use such language. President Putin has never used such vulgar words to address him. It is clear that Mr. Biden is showing Hollywood cowboy behavior to serve domestic political interests."

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that the existential threat to the world comes from "useless old men, like Biden himself". According to Mr. Medvedev, Mr. Biden is "old and weak" and "ready to go to war with Russia".

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova referred to Biden's son, who is facing legal troubles, in response to the US President's comments.

"If Joe Biden says the word 'crazy bastard' loudly again, he should remember that in the minds of Americans, this phrase is primarily associated with Hunter Biden," Ms. Zakharova posted on X.

In January 2022, Mr. Biden also called a Fox News journalist a "son of a bitch" and then called to apologize.

President Biden, 81, has often had harsh words for Mr Putin since Russia launched the war in Ukraine, including calling the Kremlin leader a "war criminal".

In an interview with ABC News in March 2021, when asked if he thought President Putin was a "murderer," Biden said "yes." Russia recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations, while Putin responded that Biden was "judging others by himself." The Russian president also said that Biden had called him to explain why he used such a term.

In Warsaw, Poland in 2022, Mr Biden said Mr Putin “cannot stay in power”. Russian hardliners saw this as evidence that the US wanted to overthrow President Putin, an allegation the White House denied.

Huyen Le (According to AFP , Reuters , WPDE )

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