His comments in Polnad came out strong against Russian President Putin….
Then?
His people tried to walk them back….
Thus giving the media something to zing him with….
“With the last nine, unscripted words of an impassioned speech about Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, President Joe Biden created a troubling distraction, undermining his effectiveness as he returned home to face restive Americans who strongly disapprove of his performance on issues that matter most to them,” the New York Times reports.
“His comment that Russia’s Vladimir Putin ‘cannot remain in power’ — an assertion that his aides were forced to quickly clean up — overshadowed his larger message of solidifying the western coalition that’s confronting Moscow.”
“It punctuated another frustrating moment for an administration that’s struggled to regain its footing — and the American electorate’s support — in the face of an ongoing pandemic, escalating inflation and an increasingly complicated foreign policy crisis that raises the specter of nuclear conflict.”
President Biden said his comment suggesting Russian President Vladimir Putin shouldn’t continue to hold power reflected ‘“moral outrage” he was feeling, and he said it didn’t hurt attempts to end the war in Ukraine.
“I’m not walking anything back,” Mr. Biden said of his remarks on Saturday, in which he said of Mr. Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” The White House said shortly after he made the comment that he wasn’t calling for regime change….
Said Biden: “I wasn’t then, nor am I now, articulating a policy change. I was expressing moral outrage that I feel, and I make no apologies for it.”
Wall Street Journal
Politicalwire