To call this "wishful thinking" would be an insult to both wishes and thoughts.
During an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby really said that Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are meeting and plotting world domination NOT because they see America's current weakness, but because of ... -checks notes- ... "how much China and Russia know that American leadership on the world stage is back."
Excuse me but 🤣🤣
"[I] think one thing you need to consider, as you consider this visit to Moscow by President Xi, is that it's also a manifestation of how much China and Russia know that American leadership on the world stage is back and how much they recognize that our network of alliances and partnerships is stronger than any network they might have — these are two countries with not a lot of friends — and that those — and that network is getting stronger and more influential around the world. Look at NATO, for instance, how much more relevant and viable NATO is now, it's going to grow by another two nations. All of that's a manifestation of the leadership of this administration and the proof that American leadership on the world stage is, in fact, increasing."
Uh huh. Uh huh. Yep. Yep. Xi and Vlad are over there looking at this guy wandering around like a confused old man at the mall:
...and they're like:
Somehow I doubt it.
On a related note, compare and contrast what Xi and Putin were up to this week versus what Joe was focused on:
