By Adam Shaw at Fox News
The White House has been forced to walk back or clarify multiple remarks made by President Biden during his trip to Europe — including having to clarify on Saturday that the president was not calling for regime change in Moscow.
Regime change?
On Saturday, Biden appeared to call for regime change in Russia, declaring that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said during the speech in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland.
BIDEN SAYS PUTIN ‘CANNOT REMAIN IN POWER’ AS HE ASSURES UKRAINE: ‘WE STAND WITH YOU’
President Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
It appeared to mark a sharp contrast from prior statements from the White House, which has emphasized that regime change in Russia is not the policy of the United States.
“For us, it’s not about regime change. The Russian people have to decide who they want to lead them,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this month on CBS News. In addition, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this month: “We are not advocating for killing the leader of a foreign country or regime change. That is not the policy of the United States.”
Shortly after Biden’s address however, the White House denied that Biden was calling for regime change.
“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,” a White House official told Fox News Digital shortly after the speech concluded.
But it was the latest clarification in a matter of days.