Biden Denies Calling for Regime Change — “Nobody Believes That” — Then Admits “He Shouldn’t Be in Power” Is “an Aspiration”

On 3/28/2022, Biden denied calling for regime change in Russia despite the entire world hearing him say “this man cannot remain in power” the day before. “Nobody believes we’re going to take down Putin,” Biden said. When pressed, he said the remark was “more an aspiration than anything” and “I don’t care what he thinks” about whether Putin would see it as escalatory. A Wall Street Journal columnist said Biden “should avoid public speaking, at least when the topic is important.” Polling showed Biden’s “strong leader” numbers had collapsed from 47% during the 2020 campaign to 36%.

”None of the Three Occurred”

Biden was confronted with three statements from his Europe trip that had been walked back. A reporter listed them: it sounded like he told troops they were going to Ukraine, it sounded like he called for regime change, and he said “sanctions never deter.”

“None of the three occurred,” Biden said flatly.

“You interpret the language that way. I was talking to the troops. We were talking about helping train the troops,” Biden said of the Ukraine remark.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins noted the contradiction in real time. “President Biden suggested that no one could have interpreted his remarks as calling for regime change. Of course, many people raised that question,” Collins reported. “He says he is not walking back his statement, but he also says he is not stating a new policy."

"More an Aspiration Than Anything”

Biden then appeared to admit what he had just denied. “I was expressing my outrage at the behavior of this man. It is outrageous,” Biden said. “It’s more an aspiration than anything. He shouldn’t be in power. People like this shouldn’t be ruling countries, but they do. The fact that they do doesn’t mean I can’t express my outrage about it.”

The shift from “I never said it” to “it was an aspiration” happened within the same press conference.

”I Don’t Care What He Thinks”

A reporter asked whether Biden was concerned Putin would use the remarks as a pretext for escalation. “I don’t care what he thinks,” Biden said. “He’s going to do what he’s going to do. He goes to the beat of his own drummer.”

“The idea that he is going to do something outrageous because I called him for what he was — I think it’s just not rational,” Biden added.

World Leaders React

The fallout was swift and bipartisan. French President Macron publicly expressed concern about the remarks being “escalatory.” Putin’s spokesman fired back: “That’s not for Biden to decide. The President of Russia is elected by Russians.”

Senator McConnell called it “a horrendous gaffe.” “On script, this administration has done everything they can to stop escalating. There’s not a whole lot more you can do to escalate than to call for regime change,” a Republican senator said.

Secretary of State Blinken tried to clean up. “We do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else, for that matter,” Blinken said.

”The President Should Avoid Public Speaking”

A Wall Street Journal columnist’s Friday column had been titled “The President Should Avoid Public Speaking, at Least When the Topic Is Important.” The regime change gaffe came the next day.

“It sounds odd to say that the president should not speak in public. People think of that as the job of the president. But it’s really not,” the columnist said. “Constitutionally, there’s no obligation to do public speaking. We’ve just seen this pattern of him going off script in ways that are really reckless and dangerous.”

An analyst added: “It was indisciplined. Biden handed a gift to Russian propagandists. ‘This is the U.S. versus Russia, and the U.S. wants to change the government.’ Now they have their statement that proves that."

"Strong Leader” Collapse

Fox polling showed the devastation to Biden’s leadership image:

August 2020 (campaign): Strong leader 47%, not strong 47%
After Afghanistan: Strong leader 45%, not strong 53%
March 2022: Strong leader 36%, not strong 61%

“These kinds of misstatements undermine the view of him as a strong and effective leader,” the analyst said.

Key Takeaways

Biden denied calling for regime change — “nobody believes that” — then admitted in the same press conference it was “more an aspiration than anything.”
He said “none of the three” gaffes had occurred, claiming reporters misinterpreted his language about troops, regime change, and sanctions.
“I don’t care what he thinks,” Biden said of Putin potentially using the remarks to escalate.
A WSJ columnist said Biden “should avoid public speaking” after a pattern of “reckless and dangerous” off-script moments.
Biden’s “strong leader” numbers collapsed from 47-47 during the campaign to 36-61 after the string of foreign policy blunders.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

Nobody believes we’re going to take down Putin. It’s ridiculous. None of the three occurred.
It’s more an aspiration than anything. He shouldn’t be in power. People like this shouldn’t be ruling countries, but they do.
I don’t care what he thinks. He goes to the beat of his own drummer.
The President should avoid public speaking, at least when the topic is important.
Strong leader: 47% during the campaign, 36% now. These misstatements undermine the view of him as a strong leader.
Biden handed a gift to Russian propagandists. This is the U.S. versus Russia, and the U.S. wants to change the government.

Full transcript: 1525 words transcribed via Whisper AI.