During his trip to Poland, President Biden — known for his gaffes and word salads — made a string of problematic remarks, sending his handlers at the White House into a frenzy of activity cleaning up behind him. His remarks seemed to indicate that American policy is to send American troops to Ukraine and effect regime change in Russia. But the White House assures the American people they didn’t hear what they just clearly heard.
In the waning hours of his Poland trip, Biden gave a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The speech was apparently intended to drum up international support for Ukraine. Biden — who has previously called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and a “murderous dictator” — went further in this speech, saying:
A dictator, bent on rebuilding an empire, will never erase the people’s love for liberty. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness.
For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.
A clearer call for regime change would be difficult to imagine. Perhaps it helps to look at it this way: If President Biden had intended to call for international pressure to remove Putin from office, could he have said anything more direct than, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power”?
Within hours, the White House released a statement explaining that everyone who heard Biden call for regime change was wrong. We all either misheard or misunderstood, because Biden “was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.” No, instead he simply meant that Putin “cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.”
That explanation, of course, makes no sense. Putin is not “in power” in Ukraine. He is “in power” in Russia.
And taken in context with other parts of his speech, the regime-change angle makes much more sense than the explanation coming from Biden’s White House handlers. His speech was peppered with language urging democracies around the world to unify against Russia and commit to a historic battle against authoritarian aggression.
He also said that Putin’s invocation of Nazi imagery as a pretext for the invasion of Ukraine is “obscene” and a lie, and said “Putin is to blame” for the economic difficulties in Russia as a result of sanctions. Speaking directly to the people of Russia, Biden said, “This is not the future you deserve for your families and children,” adding, “I’m telling you the truth, this war is not worthy of you, the Russian people.”
In that context, Biden said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
But that is not the only statement Biden made that sent the White House running behind him with a roll of paper towels. Before stating that American troops are headed to Ukraine, Biden served up another of his word salads, telling members of the 82nd Airborne Division in Rzeszów, “Thank you very, very much for all you do. And it’s not hyperbole to suggest you’re the finest fighting force, not in the world — in the world. That’s not hyperbole.” Well, at least it wasn’t hyperbole. It would be difficult to know for sure, though, since it makes no sense at all. Biden is not the worst communicator in the world, he is the worst communicator in the world. And that is not hyperbole.
But it is what Biden said clearly that is the problem for his White House handlers. As ABC News reported:
But the president also raised eyebrows when he appeared to tell the group that American troops will be going into Ukraine, though he has repeatedly said that he will not send troops there.
“You know, with the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian people have a lot of backbone, they have a lot of guts and I’m sure you’re observing it,” Biden said. “And you’re gonna see when you’re there, and some of you have been there. You’re gonna see, you’re gonna see women, young people standing, standing in the middle, in front of a damn tank, just saying I’m not leaving. I’m holding my ground. They’re incredible. But they take a lot of inspiration from us.”
Again, though anyone who heard or read Biden’s words would swear he said American troops are “gonna see women, young people standing, standing in the middle, in front of a damn tank” in Ukraine, the White House assures everyone they heard wrong or misunderstood his meaning.
Again, from ABC News:
Asked to clarify Biden’s comment, a White [House] spokesperson told ABC News, “the President has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position.”
Again, the White House explanation makes no sense when held up to Biden’s actual words. He said, “you’re gonna see when you’re there,” and “You’re gonna see, you’re gonna see women, young people standing, standing in the middle, in front of a damn tank.”
White House spin duly noted and dismissed, Biden clearly told American troops they would see the strength and character of the Ukrainian people “when you’re there.”
And it appears that though Biden was speaking in Poland, he thought — at least at one point — that he was speaking in Ukraine. He told the troops in Rzeszów that the work they are doing is “much more than just whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Ukraine,” adding:
What’s at stake, and not just in what we’re doing here in Ukraine to try to help the Ukrainian people and keep the massacre from continuing, but beyond that, what’s at stake is … what are your kids and grandkids gonna look like in terms of their, their, their freedom.
By referring to “what we’re doing here in Ukraine,” Biden indicated that — in whatever brain glitch he was suffering at the moment — he thought he was addressing troops who were already in Ukraine.
Sifting through all of this, one could be forgiven for thinking Biden fully intends to send American troops to Ukraine to effect regime change, and that his addled mind slipped a cog and he let the cat out of the bag early — and that his White House handlers swooped in with spin to try to get that darned cat back in the bag that is Biden’s brain.
If so, America is on the brink of a major war with Russia. If not, then Biden simply makes stuff up as his synapses misfire. Either way, this writer will borrow a phase from Mr. Biden to address how best to deal with Mr. Biden: This man cannot remain in power.
