They are panicking.
This week, the White House has been releasing statement after statement to clarify remarks President Joe Biden made during his trip to Europe, including comments he made which suggested the President believed there should be regime change in Russia.
The most recent clarification came on Biden’s Saturday remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
Biden’s remarks were in direct contradiction with prior statements by the White House, which stressed that the White House’s response is “not about regime change,” emphasizing that it was up to the Russian people “to decide who they want to lead them,” as that “is not the policy of the United States.”
Working quickly to explain what Biden meant, a White House official said, “The President’s point was 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.”
Another instance where the White House had to explain Biden’s remarks in the Europe trip was when Biden, addressing U.S. troops in Poland, said, “You are going to see when you’re there,” that “women, young people” are “standing… in front of a damn tank just saying, ‘I’m not leaving. I’m holding my ground.”
Later, when questioned about the statements, the White House clarified, “The President has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position.”
Earlier, on Thursday (March 24), Biden, when asked if the U.S. would respond if Russia used chemical weapons when attacking Ukraine, the President noted the move would “trigger a response in kind.”
Jack Sullivan, National Security Adviser, was tasked with clarifying Biden’s remarks, stating that what Biden meant by “in-kind” was that the U.S. would “respond accordingly” and that “Russia would pay a severe price.”
