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Joe Biden visited U.S. troops stationed in Poland on Friday, drawing criticism from some conservatives for his alleged bad manners when he began eating a provided meal before the men in uniform did.
According to Greg Kelly, Newsmax anchor and host of the Greg Kelly Podcast, “In the military, the senior officers always eats LAST (And have some MANNERS for cryin’ out loud!) !!” Kelly’s statement on Twitter included a photo of Joe Biden digging into a piece of pizza while American troops watched.
Biden stopped near the city of Rzeszow in southeastern Poland to visit with U.S. soldiers who are deployed to strengthen NATO’s defenses as the crisis in Eastern Europe intensifies, according to a report from Breitbart News. The service members that Biden visited with were from the 82nd Airborne Division. According to Fox News, there are 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe to strengthen NATO’s defenses.
However, Biden’s trip to the base was marked by more than one blunder, including a reference that alluded to American troops being sent to intervene in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, despite having said that the U.S. must stay out of it.
The New York Post reported that Biden addressed the 82nd Airborne Division after eating lunch: “You’re going to see when you’re there, and some of you have been there, you’re gonna see — you’re gonna see women, young people standing in the middle in front of a damn tank just saying, ‘I’m not leaving, I’m holding my ground.'”
Despite Biden’s verbal gaffe, the White House officially maintains that troops will not be deployed into Ukraine, according to a report from Fox News.