January 1, Biden: Military Says Pelosi’s Plan “Not a Good Idea”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is planning on visiting Taiwan next month, and the military doesn’t think it’s a great idea, according to President Joe Biden.

“Well, I think that the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now,” Biden said when asked about Pelosi’s potential trip. “But I don’t know what the status of it is.”

However, Michèle Flournoy, who served as Undersecretary of Defense for Policy during the Obama administration, applauded Pelosi’s decision.

“I would say good for her,” Flournoy said. “We need to show Taiwan that we have their backs, that we are committed to support[ing] their self-defense, and that we care, and we’re going to show up, and we’re going to try to deter any unprovoked aggression against them.”

Joseph Nye, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, cautioned against the trip.

“I think we ought to be careful about not having high-level visitors to Taiwan,” Nye said. “What we need to do is deter Beijing from thinking they can use force. But at the same time, we don’t want to stick a finger in Xi Jinping’s eye, and provoke them into making some rash decision.”