Reports that the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is urging Americans to leave the country is further evidence that the United States has a "weak" leader with President Joe Biden, Rep. Jeff Van Drew said Wednesday on Newsmax.
"We can't afford to pull another Biden on this," the New Jersey Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "We can't do what happened in Afghanistan. I think we're going to have to stand strong."
Further, Van Drew called on sanctions to be placed now on Russia, rather than waiting to determine what its President, Vladimir Putin, has in mind.
"We should begin with at least some sanctions now to let the Russians know that we're serious and that we're strong and that we're going to arm up," he said, adding that while the United States won't have troops there, it should give Ukraine's military the power it needs to deal with Russia.
But first, there should be sanctions, as "Putin is going harder. This is no joke. This is just one more thing that this president screwed up. It's so unbelievable.
"Every time I think, You couldn't do anything worse; you couldn't make another mistake, somehow he's on his way to doing that. This is all happening because of the weakness that he portrays to the world."
Van Drew also said he opposes having any boots on the ground in Ukraine, and he does think Russia would feel the effects of strong economic sanctions, and that would "really make them think twice."
But that would have to happen before Putin is fully engaged, because if the invasion begins, "he's not going to back off," said Van Drew. "We may have to make that unpleasant for him to even think about doing it, and I think we've got to look at sooner rather than later."
The congressman also on Wednesday talked about the Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest rates in March, and said that move could "easily create a recession."
"Everything the president has done has been wrong, and it's all like a puzzle," said Van Drew. "When you don't deal with the COVID issue correctly, and you are removing people from the workforce because of the vaccine mandates you then create even worse conditions for inflation, and the whole thing continues to spiral."
However, the vaccine mandates are the "top priority" for the White House, said Van Drew.
"We have to realize that, but that's all they're emphasizing, and it's hurting segments of the economy," said Van Drew. "It's tearing the country apart. In many ways, it's a bad thing, and what it's doing educationally to our kids and decide psychologically what our kids are going through."
And if Biden is going to continue to go down this road, he "should resign," said Van Drew.
"He is the worst president we have ever had, I believe, in our history," said Van Drew, adding that if Biden is to stay in office, "he needs to get out there and say, I'm the President. We're going to do the right thing. We're going to make sure this country is a strong and, you know, functioning country."