Fox News host Dana Perino said Monday that she didn’t understand why President Joe Biden’s administration was referring to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “summit.”
Perino argued on “The Five” that using the term “summit” gave the meeting — and by extension, Putin himself — a certain degree of credibility. (RELATED: ‘This Is Pitiful And It’s Not Attractive’: Dana Perino Blasts John Cena For ‘Groveling’ To China)
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Cohost Richard Fowler laid out video of both Biden and Putin talking to reporters ahead of the meeting. Biden had promised to work toward cooperation but also said that he would not hesitate to hold the Russian president accountable.
Putin, in an interview with NBC, had denied any connection between the Russian government and recent cyber attacks, calling the suggestion “farcical,” and asking, “Where is proof?”
Fowler then turned to Perino, noting that she had assisted former President George W. Bush in preparing for similar meetings, and asked what the White House might be doing to get Biden ready.
“A couple of different things, one, I think that right there in that interview you just saw, I believe Putin when he says where’s the evidence just like I believe the Chinese when they are like, there is no lab leak,” Perino began. “Of course we know where it’s coming from, we know he doesn’t tell the truth, we know what he does to journalists in his own country and he’s out on this propaganda tour around basically saying I am bigger and badder than Biden.”
Perino went on to suggest that Biden had given Putin some undeserved credibility by holding up their upcoming meeting as a “summit,” which would indicate that they were on equal footing.
“I do seriously wonder why the White House called this a summit because a summit indicates it’s grand and it’s big and I think they should’ve just said, we are going to get coffee with Putin when we’re over there in Brussels — in Geneva, we’re gonna stop by and have a couple cups of espresso and that’s it,” she continued.
She concluded by pointing out the fact that things had changed dramatically since she worked for Bush — and that cyber attacks that disrupted gas and meat supplies were impacting real people all across the country.
“The last thing I would say is I think if you’re going to have a summit you have to have a press conference,” Perino said. “If you are the leader of the free world you have to have the other leader, even if he is reluctant to stand next to you, or maybe if you are concerned how you will look standing next to him, I still think you have to do it in order to show that the media matters.”