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 remain 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.”
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
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”.
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.”
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 intended 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.’
Rand Paul told Fox News Monday he was concerned about Biden’s use of a “cheat sheet.”
Biden’s use of the cards was mocked on social media.
“Our @POTUS, Joe Biden, just walks around on eggshells reading cue cards that his handlers provide,” said one critic.
“If he EVER had a backbone, he can’t remember where he put it.”
Another added: “Scary. The Democrats put us in this precarious position. This is the most dangerous thing the world has been in decades because of Democrats and Biden.
Another said Biden lives “in an alternate universe, completely detached from reality.”
One commented, “WH staff give Biden cue cards with scripted responses/statements but still have to go back to what he says daily.”
Another added: “The polar opposite of Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy: ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.’
“Biden has messed up Afghanistan and he will do the same with everything he does, unless he reads cue cards. Even then he stumbles and says ‘Iranian’.’