Joe Biden has always been known as gaffe-prone in his public speaking. Going back to his time in the Senate, he had a reputation for saying things that made headlines, not because they were profound, but because they were so ridiculous and out of sorts. After all, it was Barack Obama who once said “don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f…things up.”
Still, the last week has been…special. To say my expectations for Biden’s trip to Europe were low would be an understatement — but I’m not sure I foresaw it going as badly as it did.
Over the course of just a few days, the president managed to say that US troops were going to enter Ukraine, he suggested NATO would use chemical weapons, and he promoted regime change in Russia. The White House scrambled to clean up after each misstep, insisting the president misspoke.
Unfortunately for his handlers, Biden only caused more confusion today while attempting to address those gaffes. In one instance, he asserted that he’s “not walking anything back” when pressed on his regime change comments.
JUST IN: Biden says he's "not walking anything back" after saying in speech Putin “cannot remain in power."
The White House has been cleaning up the remark, insisting the administration is not seeking regime change in Russia. pic.twitter.com/sFyeABz1Xc
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 28, 2022
You can just see Jen Psaki pulling out a cigarette and taking one long drag after seeing this press conference. All the faceplanting she worked to correct since Saturday and this guy goes and undoes it all over the course of a few, meandering minutes.
According to the president’s latest remarks, he’s not walking anything back and does feel that Putin should be removed from power. That’s a complete reversal from the clarification put out by his handlers, yet he attempts to have it both ways by asserting that his comments were an expression of his personal feelings, not a policy change. The thing is, a president’s word is policy when it comes to their administration. They are in charge and they set the course. When Biden says Putin needs to be deposed, that represents a policy change, regardless of what some faceless bureaucrat thinks (a lesson Alexander Vindman never quite grasped).
Later, Fox News’ Peter Doocy pressed Biden on the totality of his European gaffes. Instead of providing some viable explanation or admitting fault, he just smirked and insisted that none of them even happened.
Q: "It sounded like you told U.S. troops they were going to Ukraine, it sounded like you said it was possible the U.S. would use a chemical weapon, and it sounded like you were calling for regime change in Russia."
BIDEN: "None of the three occurred."
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 28, 2022
While I’d love to be able to blame that answer on Biden’s senility, in actuality, it’s just him being the notorious liar he’s always been. He knows exactly what Doocy is talking about, and he knows that his own staff had to put out multiple statements backtracking on things he said while at NATO and in Poland. Yet, in true Biden fashion, he thinks he can just flash a smile, spew more falsehoods, and then receive a pat on the head.
I’ve got bad news for him, though. People aren’t buying it anymore. There’s a reason his approval numbers rival that of testicular cancer. Biden’s good ole’ boy act doesn’t buy him the goodwill it used to. Voters are angry at the pain he’s wrought, they understand how dangerous his missteps are, and they are ready to send a message. November awaits.
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