President Biden sat down for a recent interview in which he said the United States is low on 155 mm artillery ammunition rounds, sparking outrage and questions of competency from conservatives on social media.
During the interview, which aired Sunday morning, Biden defended his administration for sending cluster munitions to Ukraine as a “transition period” until more munitions are produced.
“This is a war relating to munitions. And they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it,” Biden told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. “And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to – not permanently – but to allow for this transition period while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians.”
Reactions on social media ranged from confused to outrage as conservative pundits and experts alike wondered why Biden was announcing the U.S. shortage during a nationally televised interview that would be seen by adversaries.
love when the president of America goes on CNN to tell everyone we’re low on ammo. https://t.co/vd0eQRh75Z
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) July 8, 2023
Joe Biden broadcasting to the world that the US is low on 155mm shells.
Moron. Does Biden not care that our adversaries in China are listening? https://t.co/X8M9k617CU
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 8, 2023
In CNN interview, President Biden is not particularly clear but seems to be saying US is sending cluster munitions to Ukraine because we are running out of 155mm artillery ammunition to send them. Seems obvious this is affecting US readiness to defend itself. pic.twitter.com/ofKyZQUx2X
— Byron York (@ByronYork) July 9, 2023
A White House official appeared to walk back Biden’s comment that the United States is running out of ammunition when asked to comment on criticism in response to Biden’s interview on CNN.
“The military has specific requirements for the numbers of weapons systems and ammunition we maintain in our reserves in case of contingencies or military conflict,” a White House official said in an email to Fox News Digital. “Everything we send to Ukraine is in excess of that. So, the U.S. is not running out of ammunition ourselves.”
Joe Biden wasn't supposed to say the quiet part out loud: "We've run out of ammunition". But now that the cat's out of the bag, one must ask whether continued support of Ukraine's military is even feasible as the conflict rages on. pic.twitter.com/jddIrHlSM8
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 9, 2023
