Were Biden’s comments about Putin an “unforced error?”
Were President Joe Biden’s comments in Poland about Russian President Vladimir Putin –“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power” — an unforced error? Was it indeed an error?
Biden’s apparently ad libbed sentence sparked launched a mini-firestorm — some of it due to it being anti-diplomatic, fears that it’ll further damage bad U.S.-Russia relations and perhaps lengthen Russia’s war against Ukraine. Some criticism also clearly political, coming from some Republicans who have no problem with Donald Trump continuing to praise Putin but see Biden’s comments as an opening to further embellish their ongoing attempt to portray Biden as a doddering, senile old man. The controversy here and abroad became so great that Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued several statements saying, no, the U.S. is not advocating regime change in Russia or anywhere.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned against escalation Sunday regarding Ukraine, a day after President Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “butcher” who “cannot remain in power.”
“I wouldn’t use this type of wording because I continue to hold discussions with President Putin,” Macron said Sunday during an appearance on France 3 TV channel. “We want to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without escalation — that’s the objective.”
His main goal remained “achieving first a cease-fire” and then a “total withdrawal” of Russian troops from Ukraine through “diplomatic means,” Macron told broadcasters Sunday. “If this is what we want to do, we should not escalate things — neither with words nor actions.”
Some defended Biden, noting that his comment stated the obvious. The most notable Republicans not lambasting Biden are more traditional and anti-Trump Republicans, such as The Bulwark’s Charlie Sykes, who wrote:
By now you know that President Biden made an off-the-cuff, off-script, and apparently unplanned declaration that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”
The moment was electrifying — a sort of “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” moment — until the White House hastily walked it back, insisting that what the president really meant to say was that the butcher of Ukraine should not be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors.
“He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” an official said. And with that, an awfully good speech was transformed into a “gaffe.”
Sunday morning take: Biden had it right the first time.
Not all criticism for Biden was political. The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, in a post titled “Biden’s Comments About Putin Were an Unforced Error, wrote:
The sound that could not be captured by the cameras after Biden spoke was dozens of staffers slapping the palms of their hands against their forehead. Predictably, media in America and elsewhere seized on this statement as if it were some new policy or a NATO war aim and asked if the president of the United States was calling for regime change in, of all places, Moscow.
Biden’s staff lamely offered that the president was saying that Putin “cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.” The United States, as Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, later told CNN, does not have a new policy of regime change, and has no overt or covert programs aimed at such a goal in Russia. But the news cycle was already in full swing; CNN and others were quoting Biden in their chyrons and prodding their guests to speculate on the president’s meaning.
What Biden was doing, of course, was being Joe Biden. He was speaking for all of us, from the heart. One of the more endearing things about the president—at least for those of us who admire him—is that he has almost no inner monologue and regularly engages in the kind of gaffe where a politician says something that is impolitic but true.
It is hard to blame Biden for giving in to his famous temper after talking to the people who have suffered from Putin’s barbarism. But the words of every world leader matter right now, and none more than those of the president of the United States. We should now let his remark pass for what it was—an outburst—and get back to helping Ukraine save its independence.
AND:
An international crisis requires steadiness and prudence, and though Biden has shown those qualities in spades, his ad-libbing in Warsaw is a reminder that even small slips pose major risks during tense times. It is especially challenging to stay on message in a 24/7 media environment in which far too many commentators and pundits have already shown an unseemly interest in courting a new world war. When John F. Kennedy was making his way through the Cuban missile crisis, he had only to contend with more easily controlled newspapers and three short newscasts each evening. Biden, by comparison, is living with a Greek chorus of millions offering their commentary and advice—some of it breathtakingly reckless.
It is hard to blame Bidhttps://themoderatevoice.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=wpforms-overviewen for giving in to his famous temper after talking to the people who have suffered from Putin’s barbarism. But the words of every world leader matter right now, and none more than those of the president of the United States. We should now let his remark pass for what it was—an outburst—and get back to helping Ukraine save its independence.
What can be said with certainty is this: Biden said what many Americans — and people all over the world — believe when it comes to Putin and his attempt to give currrent generations a taste of what it was like in 1939.
"I think it put Putin on notice."
The WH walked back Biden's ad-libbed "this man cannot remain in power," but @BillBrowder says maybe no accident. "It looks to me like an interesting way of playing psychological warfare on Vladimir Putin." #Velshi https://t.co/xWpyPRNJNq— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) March 27, 2022
I’m old enough to recall the criticism and scoffing after Reagan said “evil empire”. But he was morally right and cemented support of Americans opposed to communism. Now Biden said “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” He’s right and conscientious people support him.
— Kateryna Yushchenko ? ?? (@KatyaYushchenko) March 27, 2022
"Gaffes" by U.S. presidents, per the foreign policy establishment:
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
— Joe Biden, Royal Castle, Warsaw
March 26, 2022"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
— Ronald Reagan, Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin
June 12, 1987— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 27, 2022
Here's my concept of a "gaffe." A collective attempt to assert power (while appearing to just report the news) among journalists speculating about consequences from, and soliciting reactions to, what they take to be a mistake, committed by a politician who — they say — misspoke.
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) March 27, 2022
Biden said “Go get him” at the end of his SOTU speech. He made his supposed gaffe at the end of yesterday’s historic address. Biden knows what he’s doing. Keep Putin off guard. IT’S ABOUT TIME we have a president who doesn’t kiss his ass or quiver at the mere sight of him. pic.twitter.com/yN9uWLFDlW
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) March 27, 2022
You know how trial lawyers will say something they know will draw a sustained objection but the jury hears it and even if the judge strikes it you can’t unring that bell? That’s what I think Biden did at the end of his speech yesterday. Badass move, @POTUS ?
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) March 27, 2022
Many melting down over Biden speaking bluntly about Putin the “war criminal” and “butcher” are the same ones who rejoiced when Reagan called the Soviet Union the “Evil Empire”.
Biden and Reagan were right.
Stop clarifying.
Start sending more weapons.— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) March 27, 2022
For God’s sake, stop “clarifying” the President like he’s senile.
Let the man speak for himself. He seems to have far more backbone, and voice, than his own staff.
— John Aravosis ???????? (@aravosis) March 27, 2022
Who Would Have Been So Upset If Back In 1944 FDR Said: “For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power" pic.twitter.com/yfjBJMuIO0
— Jon-Christopher Bua ?? ? (@JCBua) March 27, 2022
If it's impolitic or a slip to speak the truth, so be it. As I wrote today, Putin's war in Ukraine and against the world order will not end as long as he is in power. Either the war criminal is isolated or he isn't. No more half-measures. https://t.co/ZOlnRLUBtK
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) March 26, 2022
That being said:
HE SAID WHAT HE SAID.
Everyone knows Putin can’t remain in power.
Stop acting like this is a revolutionary idea from Biden.
— Angry Staffer ? (@Angry_Staffer) March 27, 2022
Re: Biden’s “this guy can’t remain in power” comments.
Should he have said it? Probably not.
Did he mean it? 100%
Remember, he just finished visiting thousands of refugees — children who lost everything.
He was furious. But, he’s also POTUS and shouldn’t have ad-libbed there.
— Angry Staffer ? (@Angry_Staffer) March 27, 2022
I don’t think the administration needs to explain @POTUS speech. He said what he felt. End of story. If anything, the mistake is to rush to explain. Biden had just met with refugees — he saw the agony Putin has caused. He said what he felt.
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) March 27, 2022
Reminder: The game of Tiptoe Around the Dictator is what got us here.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) March 27, 2022
If FDR said in '41 on Hitler "My god, this man cannot remain in power", would you agree? If Truman said in '47 on Stalin "My god, this man cannot remain in power", would you agree? If Carter said in '77 on Idi Amin "My god, this man cannot remain in power", would you agree?
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) March 27, 2022
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