With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on her way to Asia and reportedly to visit Taiwan during that trip, the Biden Administration should be standing up to the threats from China and making it clear that such threats will not be tolerated. It’s got nothing to do with whether you like Pelosi or her trip, per se; it’s about not allowing the country to be threatened by China.

But as we noted, they’ve failed to respond appropriately to the threats. The initial response from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t condemn the threats at all. Indeed, they didn’t even want to talk about it.

On Monday, Coordinator for Strategic Communications for the National Security Council John Kirby was asked more questions about the Taiwan trip and there can only be one way to describe his response: weak in the extreme. He said Pelosi hadn’t confirmed any travel plans and that “nothing has changed” regarding their “one China policy.”

John Kirby: "The Speaker has not confirmed any travel plans and it is for the Speaker to do so, and her staff .We won't be commenting or speculating about the stops on her trip…Congress is a independent branch of government…the Speaker has a right to visit Taiwan." pic.twitter.com/dGIJJsYvSh

— CSPAN (@cspan) August 1, 2022

Are you kidding? They threatened to shoot the Speaker out of the sky. Maybe you should be standing up and condemning them for threatening us and Pelosi? Where are you telling them to pound sand? Instead, it’s all toadying, like “Please, China, don’t be offended, everything is normal” is his response.

Then he also throws Taiwan under the bus exactly at the time we should be standing by them saying specifically that we do “not support Taiwan independence.”

John Kirby: "…We do not support Taiwan independence"

Looks like the Biden White House is caving to China pic.twitter.com/KOadfrMrb2

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 1, 2022

Then Kirby tried to spin prior statements that had been made by Joe Biden about it not being a good idea for Pelosi to go.

CBS's @NancyCordes: Why was the Speaker being urged not to go [to Taiwan]?

Kirby: I don't know that she was…Who urged her not to go?

Cordes: [Biden] said on August 20 that the military doesn't think it's a good idea for her to go.

Kirby: [She] makes her own decisions. pic.twitter.com/mQ6FWDeIXI

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 1, 2022

I think the reporter Nancy Cordes meant July 20, not August 20. But notice that Kirby doesn’t answer the question about why the Biden team was urging her not to go. He simply evades the question, which tells you they were urging her not to go. That means they’re kowtowing to China.

They pressed him and he still refused to answer what they had said to her.

WashPost's Tyler Pager poo-poing a Pelosi trip to Taiwan: "It seems like this trip obviously is sparking a little bit more anxiety…but given the national security risks…was there not a discussion…about whether…you should take a more urgent stance?" pic.twitter.com/W8h8Pqy34z

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 1, 2022

Then when Real Clear News reporter Philip Wegmann asked why the Biden team hadn’t told China to pound sand and stop belly-aching since this was normal behavior to go, Kirby acted as if he didn’t know what was going on, and accused Wegmann of “manufacturing drama.”

Reporter: "Why did the president bother w/ this drama…why not call the Chinese bluff or tell them to pound sand?"

Kirby: "What's the drama?"

R: "Have you watched the briefings the past couple weeks?"

K: "I haven't seen any drama…you're manufacturing it with your question." pic.twitter.com/gc1e8moDi0

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) August 1, 2022

This is about as weak as we could have for anyone in this position. He throws Taiwan under the bus and still hasn’t even condemned China’s actions. How can they not condemn a threat against us and the Speaker? It’s just madness that this is their response. If I were China looking at this, this would embolden me and prompt me to think if we won’t even strongly condemn them over our Speaker, why would we do anything if they invaded Taiwan?