Leon Panetta, a defense secretary under President Barack Obama, pointed to Joe Biden’s Irish heritage to explain the president’s recent slip when he declared Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot stay in power” over the weekend and urged im Essentially a regime change.
“I can understand his emotional attitude that Putin will not remain in office. I think a lot of people would probably agree with that. But at this point in the game, you really have to keep your messages very simple and very direct, and I think that created some confusion that wasn’t helpful,” Panetta said during an interview on CNN.
“I happen to think that Joe Biden, you know, he’s Irish, really has a lot of compassion when he sees people suffering. And I think it overwhelmed him in the sense that he saw all the horrors that resulted from that war.
“So, you know, from a personal perspective, I understand why he said that. But at the same time, as President of the United States, you just have to be disciplined not to make comments that ultimately have to be resolved by the White House.”
Panetta, the son of Italian immigrants, was mocked on social media for using Biden’s legacy to apologize for his unwritten remark.
Biden made the controversial comment during an overseas trip to Poland as Russia wages war on neighboring Ukraine.
On Monday, Biden tried to distance himself from his own statements by saying he wasn’t calling for regime change or that Putin shouldn’t be in power.
Former Obama Defense Secretary and CIA chief Leon Panetta excused Biden’s recent slip over the weekend when he called for regime change in Russia
In an interview on CNN, Panetta, who is Italian-American, blamed Biden’s Irish roots
President Joe Biden refused to retract his comments Saturday about not keeping President Vladimir Putin of Russia in power, but faced a barrage of questions from reporters
Panetta’s apology for the president’s rant didn’t last much on social media.
“I am Irish and I take offense that Leon Panetta blames Biden’s gaffe on his Irish side. This is BS Biden has been in Washington for almost FIFTY YEARS and he’s an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing! If his intention is to ruin this country, he definitely succeeds!” wrote one angry user.
“Leon Panetta says on CNN that Biden’s faux pas in Europe about regime change came about because Biden is Irish, and his instinct to internalize human suffering may have overwhelmed him to the point where he wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying . Biden needs more discipline, says Panetta,” wrote journalist Gordon Lubold in a considered reply.
“Leon Panetta said Biden did the Putin faux pas because he’s Irish? You’re really grasping at straws, aren’t you? lol What will they come up with next,” wrote Sandra Guiff.
Biden made his controversial remarks right at the end of his three-day trip to Europe, at the end of a speech in the Polish capital of Warsaw on Saturday. The White House was then forced to retract his comments, insisting he was not endorsing regime change
The US President alarmed allies and partners on Saturday when he said at the end of a speech in Warsaw: “For God’s sake, this man cannot stay in power.”
“Leon Panetta must have signed the gang’s disinformation letter from 50 Russians because he’s Italian. Give yourself a break,” said BP Costello.
“I didn’t realize Leon Panetta was an authority on the Irish spirit. Does Biden drink too? Is he interested in the plight of an unborn child suffering from an abortion? Does he care about the light of Americans that his policies have caused? Inflation? energy costs? Say Panetta GFY,’ said Horace Head.
“Panetta has always been a useless fool. But it took 30 stupid years for the rest of us to see it,” wrote another.
During a verbal attack on Putin earlier this month, Biden brought out his own Irish roots.
Biden stepped up his attacks on the Russian leader a day after finally labeling him a war criminal in remarks that began with him going over his Irish heritage at the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon.
“Father, before I begin, bless me, father, I am about to sin,” Biden said while speaking at the Friends of Ireland luncheon.
“I just want you to know that while I’m Irish, I’m not stupid. I married Dominic Giacoppo’s daughter,” he quipped, referring to Jill Biden’s father’s Sicilian name, Donald Jacobs.
He then turned to improving his rhetoric towards Putin, saying he was a “murderous dictator, a pure thug waging an immoral war against the Ukrainian people.”
Social media users were appalled that Leon Panetta would bring Biden’s Irish roots to explain away his gaffes about Russia
While Biden was still out of the country, the White House was quick to retract comments on Putin’s removal.
“The President believed that Putin should not exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He has not discussed Putin’s power in Russia or regime change,” the White House said.
On Monday, Biden further distanced himself as he attempted to clarify his earlier comments.
“I have expressed my outrage at this man’s behavior,” Biden said. He said that Putin’s behavior was “outrageous” and that it “expressed an aspiration more than anything.”
During a St. Patrick’s Day speech, Biden quipped, “I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid.”
President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a “homicidal dictator and a pure thug” in his St. Patrick’s Day speech.