White House Quickly Walks Back Biden's Declaration That Putin ‘Cannot Remain in Power’
President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” in remarks made Saturday.
The president spoke in Warsaw, Poland to wrap up his multi-day trip to Europe. His comments mark one of the strongest statements made by the president and his administration so far regarding Putin being in power, though the White House sought to quickly clarify his comments afterwards.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power!” Biden, standing outside of the Royal Castle, emphatically declared at the end of his speech.
The administration walked back Biden’s comment moments after his speech concluded, with a White House official clarifying that Biden “was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia.”
“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,” the official said.