WATCH: Fox News and Other White House Reporters Push Biden Spox to Say Ukraine ‘Can Win This War’
Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich led several reporters in pushing White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield to explain why no one from President Joe Biden’s administration will say “We think Ukraine can win this war.”
At a White House press briefing Wednesday, Heinrich set a trend when she asked Bedingfield a very specific question about the administration’s characterization of Russia’s war against Ukraine: Why won’t anyone in the administration say “We think Ukraine can win this war?”:
HEINRICH: Does the President and the national security team here believe that Ukraine can win and push Russia out of its borders? And if so, has the U.S. adjusted its strategy at all in helping Ukraine since they started to win?
BEDINGFIELD: Well, I would argue that, from the outset, that we’ve done everything in our power — a tremendous, tremendous amount — to provide Ukraine with what it needs, to provide it with the resources to turn back Russian aggression. That has been the focus of our strategy. Again, a two-pronged strategy to impose costs and provide the — both the security assistance and the humanitarian assistance to support Ukraine.
HEINRICH: Is there any reason why no one from this administration has just plainly said, “We think Ukraine can win this war”?
BEDINGFIELD: We — I think in our actions and in the support that we’ve provided, we’ve been very clear that we’re doing everything we can to stand with Ukraine and ensure that they are able to push back against Russian aggression.
Several minutes later, another reporter followed up along the same lines, and Bedingfield delivered a more emphatic version of her first answer, adding “I don’t know that I have to say” the exact words proposed:
Q: Thank you very much, Kate. Going back to her question: Who the White House believe is winning this war?
BEDINGFIELD: I think that — the White House believes that Ukraine has been — has fought valiantly, has been incredibly brave and resolved in the face of atrocious, brutal invasion from Russia.
I think what you’ve seen in the actions from this White House is that we have provided weapons, we have provided assistance, we have been there every step of the way and will continue to be. And we’ve put enormous, enormous economic pressure on Russia in order to hopefully drive this conflict to a solution.
So, you know, I think — again, I don’t know that I have to say it — I think that our actions show and the support that we provided shows that — that we believe that Ukraine has been incredibly, incredibly brave, incredibly strong, and we’re going to continue to support them as they move forward.
One more reporter took a crack at it, and offered some possible reasons for not making the proposed declaration. Bedingfield stuck to her earlier expressions of support and praise for Ukraine:
Q: Thank you, Kate. When I asked Jake Sullivan the question of why no one in the administration had said definitively whether or not the White House thinks that Ukraine can win this war, he referred me to the Pentagon. And moments ago, when the same question was asked to you, you said, you know, “I don’t know I ha- — I don’t know I have to say it.” But the President has said, “I don’t care what Putin thinks.” So why isn’t the administration being more definitive on this question? Is it for fear that this might provoke Moscow? Is it that you don’t have a clear definition of what victory might look like over there?
BEDINGFIELD: I think what is important here, as I said in my previous answer — I think what’s important here is our actions. I think we have — we have provided the security assistance. We’ve provided the weapons to Ukraine. We continue to support Ukraine. We continue to do everything in our power to ensure that they have what they need.
So, I think if there’s — I don’t think there should be any question about whether this White House and this President is doing everything in his power to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
Q: But towards what end?
Watch above via The White House and Fox News.
