Biden Repeatedly Rejects Tapper’s Suggestion His ‘Armageddon’ Remark Will Scare Allies Away From Confronting Putin

President Joe Biden repeatedly rejected CNN host Jake Tapper‘s suggestion that his nuclear Armageddon remarks last week could make some allies “scared of confronting” Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.

The political media world has been buzzing since President Biden told a DSCC crowd that Putin’s chatter about using nukes constitutes the greatest threat of “Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

The president was the first guest on the inaugural edition of CNN Tonight with Jake Tapper and spent a good chunk of the interview on Putin. In one exchange, he called the nuke talk “irrational” but corrected Tapper when he said, “So if he’s not rational and he –”

“No, I didn’t say he’s not rational,” Biden said, clarifying that he thinks Putin’s speech is irrational.

The president also disputed the idea that his own remarks could “scare” allies, saying that “any rational person” would acknowledge the potential consequences of a nuclear strike:

TAPPER: When people hear the word “Armageddon” they get scared, from — used by a U.S. president —

BIDEN: Yeah.

TAPPER: They get scared.

Do you think, in any way, discussing this type of thing publicly, openly, Putin’s possible use of nuclear weapons might have the opposite effect of what you want, it might make some of our wobblier European allies be even more scared of confronting Putin?

BIDEN: Well, no, I don’t think so at all. I think — look, it was a — was a directed — what I’m talking about, I’m talking to Putin. He, in fact, cannot continue with impunity to talk about the use of a tactical nuclear weapon, as if that’s a rational thing to do. The mistakes get made. They (ph) — and the miscalculation could occur. No one can be sure of what would happen. And it could end in Armageddon.

TAPPER: And you still are afraid of that though, that it could?

BIDEN: Well, no, I don’t think anyone — any rational person saying the initial use of tactical — of a nuclear weapon killing thousands of people does not have the prospect of leading to something that can be way out of control.

Watch above via CNN Tonight with Jake Tapper.