White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said the press office had no way of checking what comes out of President Biden’s mouth, prompting its efforts to backtrack after he said Vladimir Putin “is not in power can stay”.
The 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.”
The White House quickly tried to dismiss the comments, saying the president meant Putin could no longer wield power over neighbors.
When asked why the White House issued a statement just 45 minutes later, backing up Biden’s comments, Bedingfield said, “I can tell you from seven years of serving President Biden, only President Biden decides what President Biden decides.” will say.”
“The statement was just a confirmation … that this statement does not represent an official policy change,” she added.
After Biden’s shocking comments, other Western leaders said they feared any hint of regime change could make it harder for Putin to roll back his deadly war in Ukraine.
Biden was asked for the comments after presenting his 2023 budget Monday afternoon at the White House.
“First, I’m not going back,” he said.
“The fact is, I have expressed the moral outrage I felt at the way Putin is acting … and this man’s actions, which are simply brutality.”
Biden, 79, said he was not concerned his comments would escalate tensions over the war in Ukraine.
“This is just a simple fact that this type of behavior is totally unacceptable,” he said.
When asked why the White House issued a statement backing Biden’s comments just 45 minutes later, Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said, “I can tell you from seven years working for President Biden, only President Biden decides what President Biden will say. ‘
But he faced a barrage of questions from reporters trying to clarify his position and whether he had made a mistake. Keen-eyed photo and video journalists spotted the President with a cue card on which expected questions and the appropriate answers had been typed for him.
The notes read: “If you weren’t advocating regime change, what did you mean? Could you explain that?
“I expressed the moral outrage I felt at this man’s actions.
“I have articulated no change in policy.”
He was asked if he had repeatedly mispronounced himself, once sounding like telling US troops they were moving into Ukraine, implying that the US might use chemical weapons, and as if calling for regime change.
“None of the three cases occurred,” he said.
Biden’s cue card had also prefaced a question about French President Emmanuel Macron’s response.
Macron said Sunday that he did not use Biden’s words, adding that he saw his task as “first achieving a ceasefire and then full disengagement.” [Russian] troops through diplomatic channels”.
He told the France 3 broadcaster: “If we want that, we must not escalate in words or deeds.”
Biden’s notes read, “Now does this threaten to fragment unity with your NATO allies?”
The President was seen holding a cue card in his left hand as he addressed reporters on Monday
President Joe Biden on Monday refused to retract his comments from Saturday that he would not allow President Vladimir Putin of Russia to remain in power, but faced a barrage of questions from reporters
The answer Biden had ready was, “No. NATO has never been so united.”
On Friday, Biden told U.S. troops in Poland they would see the courage of Ukrainians “when you get there” – prompting a White House official to make it clear to reporters he was not suggesting that Americans in the war-torn areas would be deployed country.
Biden’s comments were echoed by the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin’s allies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “This is a statement that is certainly alarming.”
And last week, Biden said NATO would respond “in kind” if Russian forces used chemical weapons – forcing another official to clarify that the US had no intention of using chemical weapons.
On Monday, Biden also dismissed the idea that his words could escalate tensions over Ukraine.
“No one believes … I was talking about bringing down Putin,” he said, adding, “The last thing I want to do is fight a land war or a nuclear war with Russia.”
Instead, he insisted that he was expressing an “aspiration” rather than a goal of American foreign policy.
“People like that shouldn’t be running countries. But they do,’ he said. “The fact that they do it doesn’t mean I can’t express my outrage at it.”
The White House had already tried to clean up. It said the crucial nine words were not part of his scripted speech.
“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,” a White House official said.
Joe Biden was mocked online Monday for using a printed “cheat sheet” with answers to expected questions when facing the media to discuss the Ukraine war.
Biden was in Poland on Saturday and declared in Warsaw that Vladimir Putin “cannot stay in power” before flying back to Washington DC.
When asked Monday about his remarks, which many took to be in favor of regime change, the 79-year-old president pointed to a typed cue card for clues.
He said he did not apologize for his remarks, which were made off the cuff and not part of his prepared speech.
“It’s more of an aspiration than anything else. He shouldn’t be in power. There aren’t – I mean, people like that shouldn’t run countries, but they do. The fact is they do, but that doesn’t mean I can’t express my outrage about it,” he said, while holding the cheat sheet in his left hand.
“I spoke to the Russian people. The last part of the speech was to talk to the Russian people and give them our opinion.’
The notes read: “If you weren’t advocating regime change, what did you mean? Could you explain that?
“I expressed the moral outrage I felt at this man’s actions.
“I have articulated no change in policy.”
Biden was also expecting a question about French President Emmanuel Macron’s reaction.
Macron said Sunday that he did not use Biden’s words, adding that he saw his task as “first achieving a ceasefire and then full disengagement.” [Russian] troops through diplomatic channels”.
He told the France 3 broadcaster: “If we want that, we must not escalate in words or deeds.”
Biden’s notes read, “Now does this threaten to fragment unity with your NATO allies?”
The answer Biden had ready was, “No. NATO has never been so united.”
Biden regularly uses cue cards and has frequently been photographed with them on campaign and in the office.
He often took out of his pocket the daily totals of COVID cases, which he regularly referred to.
He also used it to give details at a town hall before the election when answering a question about taxes.
“I carry this card with me,” Biden said, referring to the card.
He used several cheat sheets during his first press conference as President, including one listing the headshots and names of reporters he wanted to call.
Biden also used notes during a 2021 summit with Putin, when he toured the damage from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana and visited reporters at the G20 summit in Rome.
“I’ll be answering your questions, and as usual, folks, they’ve given me a list of people I’m going to call,” Biden told the assembled media at the November forum.
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
On Monday, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul criticized Biden’s use of the cue cards and his off-the-cuff remarks about Putin.
Paul questioned Biden’s acumen, saying the aging president’s remarks were a threat to national security.
“A lot of times when you’re with someone who’s in cognitive decline, you’re trying to help them with a sentence, help them complete it — but we shouldn’t have to do that for the Commander-in-Chief,” he told Opposite FoxNews.
“And it’s actually a national security risk because it’s sending signals that nobody in their right mind wants to send to Russia at this point.”
“We are not trying to replace Putin in Russia. We are not trying to bring about regime change. We’re not sending troops to Ukraine, and we’re not going to respond with chemical weapons right away.’