Biden wasn't calling for regime change in Russia, White House official says

published 27 March 2022

The White House on Saturday walked back a remark from President Biden that many interpreted as a call for regime change in Russia, NPR reported.

During a speech in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday evening, Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin, "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." CNN initially reported the story with the headline "Biden calls for regime change in Russia," and several other outlets interpreted his comment the same way.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Author Tom Nichols, writing for The Atlantic, didn't mind, saying, "What Biden was doing, of course, was being Joe Biden. He was speaking for all of us, from the heart. One of the more endearing things about the president — at least for those of us who admire him — is that he has almost no inner monologue and regularly engages in the kind of gaffe where a politician says something that is impolitic but true."

Explore More

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox