President Joe Biden vowed in an ABC News interview Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will “pay a price” for meddling in the 2020 elections.
Biden’s comment came hours after a declassified U.S. intelligence report was released Tuesday detailing the Kremlin’s efforts to influence the recent presidential election. The report, made public by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, outlined a campaign rooted from the top of the Russian government to undermine Americans’ confidence in the U.S. election system and increase the divide among the public. Russia’s efforts were intended to aid former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and hurt then-candidate Biden’s, according to the report. (RELATED: Biden’s Intel Chief Releases 2020 Election Report Confirming Russian And Iranian Interference)
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos referenced the intelligence community’s findings while interviewing Biden, asking the president what he thought of Putin’s backing of an effort to “denigrate you, support [Trump], undermine our elections, divide our society.”
EXCLUSIVE: President Biden tells @gstephanopoulos that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer” and would “pay a price” for interfering in U.S. elections. https://t.co/2IMyklDlgr
— ABC News (@ABC) March 17, 2021
“[President Putin] and I had a long talk,” Biden answered, adding that Putin should “be prepared” to face consequences if Biden concludes that his intelligence community’s findings were true.
Biden went on to say that he does not believe “[Putin has] a soul” and that he is a “killer.”
Putin was suspected of assassinating numerous critics during his time in government, allegedly using methods such as poisoning, strangulation, and shooting, according to Business Insider.
The report also found that Iran attempted to interfere with the elections.