Joe Biden made a comment the other day at a Democratic fundraiser that had a lot of people talking: that the nuclear threat was at the highest level since 1962, from Vladimir Putin.

“[Putin was] not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons,” Biden said. “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

The White House then had to walk the comment back, admitting that “no,” there were no new intelligence assessments that cause Biden to “ratchet up the level of concern.”

“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons,” the press secretary told reporters on board a short Air Force One flight to Hagerstown, Md.

So Joe was just being Joe and exaggerating/lying his head off again? Yikes. And Karine Jean-Pierre has to walk it back, as my colleague, Brad Slager put it indicating — once again — that Biden is not in charge, that was he says is not the official position of whoever is running things in the White House.

It’s one thing if he lies about being a truck driver or hitting a Congressional baseball game home run. He just told a vile lie to the hurricane victims about losing an “awful lot” of his house in a fire, when the truth was that it was confined to his kitchen and put out relatively quickly. But exaggerating the threat from nuclear weapons? Does anyone see a problem yet with having this guy in the office, with the nuclear codes? Do they even let him have the codes? Indeed, his Armageddon comment plays right into Putin’s desire to make him seem more threatening than he truly is. It also hypes up the threat to justify throwing in even more money.

So one would think this would be a good question to ask Joe Biden: what the heck was on your mind saying this? Lo and behold, a reporter did in fact try to pin Biden himself down on the question. “Do you think Armageddon is coming, sir?” one of them shouted at him.

Joe Biden’s response was a metaphor for his whole time in office — running away and giving no answers. He took off like a shot, to avoid answering the question. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him move so fast.

"Mr. President! Do you think Armageddon is coming, sir?"

Biden: *runs away* pic.twitter.com/MwqT7JlPji

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 7, 2022

I thought when he smirked weirdly and backed away from reporters the day before that was bad enough.

Who did it better? pic.twitter.com/bGfeFmCdRb

— Asaad Sam Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) October 7, 2022

Where was he going so quickly this time, trying to duck questions about Armageddon that he created? Was he going to deal with a national security issue or deal with Putin? No, he was once again running off to Delaware, for more vacation time and time where his visitors would not be reported. So it’s a bit like Barack Obama warning of the oceans rising and then buying homes right on the beach in Hawaii and Martha’s Vineyard. If the world was really under any such threat, Biden’s off for vacation? You know then he doesn’t mean it. And if he can’t even deal with reporters and he gets upset when they ask him questions, how would he ever deal with a serious threat from Putin against us?