March 26, 2022politicalUkraine warRussia policypresidential communicationNATO alliancepolitical
Biden calls Putin a butcher who cannot remain in power
While speaking to Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland, President Biden departs from prepared remarks and says of Vladimir Putin "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." The statement, interpreted globally as a call for regime change, triggers immediate alarm among European allies and a frantic White House walk-back. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan clarifies that Biden "was not discussing Putin's power in Russia or regime change." It is the first of several unscripted Biden remarks on Ukraine that require cleanup, raising questions about message discipline in a nuclear-armed standoff.