White House Walks Back Biden’s Apparent Calls For Regime Change In Russia

After President Biden appeared to call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be removed from power over the weekend, the White House was forced to claim that Biden was not calling for a regime change in Russia.

“A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty.  Brutality will never grind down their will to be free,” Biden said. “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia — for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness.”

“We will have a different future — a brighter future rooted in democracy and principle, hope and light, of decency and dignity, of freedom and possibilities,” Biden continued. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

The White House was forced to try to quickly clean up Biden’s remarks after they were nearly universally viewed as calling for a regime change in Russia.

“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,” a White House official said. “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”

🚨President Biden ended his speech seeming to call for regime change in Russia: “For Gods sake, this man cannot remain in power!”

Immediately after, a WH official walks that back. “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.” pic.twitter.com/kFCJGacwNH

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 26, 2022

Biden’s comments prompted backlash from world leaders. For example, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Sunday that he would not have used Biden’s words, and that he saw his task as “achieving first a ceasefire and then the total withdrawal of [Russian] troops by diplomatic means,” according to The Guardian. Macron told broadcaster France 3, “If we want to do that, we can’t escalate in either words or actions.”