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Psaki Mocks Russia for Sanctioning the Wrong Joe Biden (They Sanctioned His Late Father Instead)

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Russia has announced sanctions against a number of U.S. political figures Tuesday, leading White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki to note during a press conference that it may have accidentally punished President Joe Biden’s father, The Independent reports.

“I would first note that President Biden is a junior, so they may have sanctioned his dad, may he rest in peace,” Psaki told reporters.

The President’s name is Joe Biden, Jr. not senior, as Russia’s Foreign Ministry accidentally mislabeled him. Earlier Tuesday, the country announced sanctions against several U.S. officials, including President Biden and Psaki, prohibiting them from entering Russia.

“Ms Psaki seemed unperturbed by this punishment,” The Independent observed.

“The second piece I would say is that it won’t surprise any of you that none of us are planning tourist trips to Russia,” Psaki said. “None of us have bank accounts that we won’t be able to access. So we will forge ahead.”

Sanctions-wise President Biden and Psaki find themselves in company with U.S. Secretary of State William Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

On Twitter, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made it clear that this was in response to U.S. sanctions against Russians.

“In response to a series of unprecedented sanctions prohibiting, among other things, entry into the United States for top Russian officials, effective March 15 this year, the Russian ‘stop list’ includes @JoeBiden, @SecBlinken and a number of other American figures on the basis of reciprocity the ministry tweeted Tuesday.

As the invasion of Ukraine continues, the U.S. and other nations have imposed severe sanctions on Russia and these measures have devastated the country’s economy. Experts now say they believe Moscow may soon default on its debts. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle have been major targets for many of these sanctions, which include freezing their assets and prohibiting their entry into some foreign countries, including, of course, the U.S.

While the wording of Tuesday’s statement made it clear that Russia’s sanctions against U.S. leaders are “on the basis of reciprocity,” some experts point out this “reciprocity” has its limits.

Many oligarchs in Russia depend on Western financial institutions but the same cannot be said for most Western officials, who don’t depend on Russia.

“Russia has sanctioned Joe Biden and a range of other top U.S. officials,” Max Seddon, the Moscow bureau chief of The Financial Times, quipped on Twitter. “The main impact of this is they can now make corny jokes on cable news about how they won’t be able to access their Russian bank accounts or go on vacation in Siberia, I guess.”

Hillary Clinton also seemed to see the humor in the situation.

If you’re curious about Clinton’s relationship with Russia, this New York Times article provides additional context.

So who’s going to be next in this game of sanctions? It’s anyone’s guess.

Stay tuned.

Megan Hamilton
meet the author

Megan has lived in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida and she currently lives in Central America. Living in these places has informed her writing on politics, science, and history. She is currently owned by 15 cats and 3 dogs and regularly owns Trump supporters when she has the opportunity. She can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GaiaLibra and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/politicalsaurus

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