Mr. President, just say ‘neyt’

Michael Reagan on Jan 27, 2022

But Ronald Reagan was not thinking of his legacy. He was thinking of America and freedom.

He knew that if he signed on to that deal and gave up the Strategic Defense Initiative, it wouldn’t make America and the world safer and freer.

So he said “Nyet” and turned and walked away from the summit – as I knew he would.

My father stood strong and did the right thing in 1986 and a year later he and Gorbachev had their historic weapons agreement that began the end of the Cold War.

We now have a weak president who wants to get along with the Russians and Putin knows it.

What Biden needs to do is make it crystal clear to Putin that although he paid no price for his annexation of Crimea in 2014, he’ll pay dearly if he invades Ukraine.

That means major economic and financial sanctions and energy policies designed to do what my father did to the old USSR – bankrupt Putin’s Russia.

The rest of the world is watching to see how Biden and the United States respond to Putin’s tank rattling at Ukraine’s border.

If Biden shows a backbone and puts Putin in his place, it may turn out to be the big foreign policy decision of his administration – his “Missiles of October” moment.

Mr. President, the whole world – especially its dictators and terrorist thugs -- is watching to see if you can say “Nyet.”

Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan, is an author, speaker and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation. Send comments to reagan@caglecartoons.com and follow @reaganworld on Twitter.