President Biden, speaking at a press conference at NATO headquarters Thursday, fired back at a reporter for suggesting sanctions were meant to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The President was confronted by a reporter who stated flat-out, “Sir, deterrence didn’t work.”

He replied by indicating that was never the plan in the first place.

“Let’s get something straight,” Biden said. “You remember, if you’ve covered me from the beginning, I did not say that in fact, the sanctions would deter him. Sanctions never deter. You keep talking about that. Sanctions never deter.”

The reporter continued pressing, asking if the President believes “the actions today will have an impact on making Russia change course in Ukraine.”

“That’s not what I said. You — you — you’re playing a game with me,” Biden shot back before catching himself and ending the conversation with, “The answer is no.”