How a question is phrased matters
Eldersburg, Md.: It’s a good thing you’re reporting President Biden’s flash of anger at a CNN reporter (“‘You’re in the wrong business,’ “June 16), but was it necessary to make the main topic that he lost his temper when the reporter “changed what he said”? I would have snapped too, with people bullying me and trying to make me look bad, which is the general environment of politics. It is reasonable that he snapped when the reporter mischaracterized what he said — that he is not confident in Putin changing his behavior. Someone who isn’t paying attention to the details might not have picked up on this question, which was a little manipulative, in my opinion.
I think Biden accomplished a lot at the G-7 meeting because he put the United States in a credible position on the world stage. That should have been the overall goal. Mr. Putin isn’t wrong that we are unstable and not trustworthy. Other world leaders need to see that we are getting back on the right track.
I think the CNN reporter was changing Biden’s words around, manipulating him to manipulate her readers. Why would anyone be confident in Putin to change? He’s not capable. He likes to be in charge and have everything go his way. President Biden accomplished a lot by getting Putin to agree to a more amicable relationship and made the consequences very clear.
The U.S. population is as reliable as a recovering addict. It will require hard work to fix this and Biden made us look better. Don’t help discredit his achievements.