Conservative commentators have expressed concern after U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters asking about his administration’s decision to give cluster bombs to Ukraine, “We’ve run out of ammunition.”
Mr. Biden’s remarks to the media were made in passing as he left a speaking event about lowering health care costs in the East Room of the White House on July 7.
In a more in-depth interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on July 7, Mr. Biden had said that after months of requests from Kyiv, his administration was making the “very difficult decision” to send controversial cluster bombs to Ukraine despite his initial opposition to the request.
The reason for the change, he said, was that “this is a war relating to munitions. And they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it,” Mr. Biden said, referring to medium-caliber 155 mm artillery ammunitions.
The president said that the less-than-ideal cluster bombs were only a temporary solution, and that they’re being sent to Ukraine during a “transition period” until U.S. and other manufacturing is able to supply Ukraine with more 155 mm ammunition.
The agreement is part of a new security assistance package for Ukraine, which includes the provision of $800 million worth of arms and equipment from Department of Defense (DoD) stocks as recommended by the Pentagon, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 7.
Reactions to the decision were varied, with some conservative pundits expressing concern and frustration over why the president was broadcasting to the world, including U.S. adversaries, that U.S. stocks of artillery were low.
“Joe Biden broadcasting to the world that the US is low on 155mm shells,” conservative communicator Steve Guest wrote on Twitter. “Does Biden not care that our adversaries in China are listening?”
“Hard to understand the benefit of sharing this info with the world,” Republican pundit Matt Whitlock said on the platform.
Political commentator Ian Miles Cheong, who shared a clip of the comments on Twitter, wrote, “Joe Biden wasn’t supposed to say the quiet part out loud: ‘We’ve run out of ammunition.’ But now that the cat’s out of the bag, one must ask whether continued support of Ukraine’s military is even feasible as the conflict rages on.”
Joe Biden wasn't supposed to say the quiet part out loud: "We've run out of ammunition". But now that the cat's out of the bag, one must ask whether continued support of Ukraine's military is even feasible as the conflict rages on. pic.twitter.com/jddIrHlSM8
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 9, 2023
By Melanie Sun
