Really?! Watch as CNN Pundits Spin Biden’s Putin Line as No Problem, Proof of 4-D Chess

Reacting Monday to President Biden’s off-the-cuff comments from Saturday that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” CNN’sDay of the New featured three analysts/pundits who had all decided that not only was it not that big of a deal, but it was proof of Biden’s strength level of advanced strategic knowledge.

CNN’s ever-pompous senior political analyst John Avlon insisted it was only “a mistake to the extent that it is a gaff” and “outburst”This showed that he truly cares for Ukrainians as he “visit[ed] refugees that very day.”

Always one to insist he’s not a partisan (when he, in fact, is), Avlon said Biden’s line wasn’t “a call for regime change”Oder “redefinition of U.S. policy” seeing as how, deep down, most world leaders view Putin as someone who doesn’t deserve to stay “after showing himself to be such a fundamentally lawless butcher of civilians.”

“But that is different then a statement of regime change. Was it an attempt to muddle a speech that was otherwise outstanding? Absolutely. Was it a mistake because it’s been a distraction for two days? Yes. Does it redefine American policy? No,” He added.

CNN senior global affairs analyst Bianna Golodryga must have been reading from the same White House talking points, saying She “agree[d] with John” as while it wasn’t “helpful,” she “[didn’t] think it was that harmful either.”

She acknowledged this was a key Kremlin talking point for years that the West wants to toss out the Putin regime, but instead of emphasizing that, she argued it wasn’t too high of an escalation from how Biden called “Putin a killer” years ago and the Russia tyrant still met with him.

She also denounced the overhyping of other leaders around the world.

All the attention to this is unnecessary. I also don’t believe it was beneficial for nearly all European leaders to weigh in on their views and then walk back saying that it’s not their opinion. It is essential that they continue to emphasize the unity of NATO’s position if we want to keep it going.

John Berman, John Berman’s co-host, noted before John Berman moved on that it was a fact. “the White House clearly thought there was an issue else they wouldn’t have walked it back, right” Even though He had talked to many Ukrainians about it and they loved it.

Joel Rubin, a former Obama State Department official, offered more hopeful White House spins, claiming it was evidence of Biden. “[speaking] from the heart”As “anybody…say[ing] that Vladimir Putin staying in power is a good thing I think clearly are misreading the entire environment” following what was the “capstone of an incredibly successful week.”

Reliably liberal co-host Brianna Keilar conceded one shouldn’t be in such a frame of mind when dealing with a delicate situation, but Rubin doubled down since Putin’s “brought a lot of misery across the board.”

After Rubin reiterated that Biden wasn’t calling for any change in U.S. policy, CNN political analyst Kimberly Dozier was incredulous. Rubin responded that it was just Biden’s case. “a couple of steps ahead on this whole situation” (click “expand”):

DOZIER: I think it isn’t obvious that U.S. regime change policy was stated by him. It was uncontrolled (ph). The world watched and Biden gave a gift for Russian propagandists. That’s Putin’s policy. I don’t believe this is a time to ruin…there were other great things about the visit, such as lining NATO countries up together, showing unity, and saying something that you weren’t ready to do. As Putin continues to be in power, this becomes a means of weakening Biden. It was something you did not make possible. That was only wishful thinking. It was just wishful thinking.

RUBIN: I believe those points are valid. Biden however, is quite a step ahead in all this. It was about a year ago that the question of SWIFT and its use to sanction Russia came up. The question was, “Why aren’t we doing it?” Biden replied, “Well, Europe is not there yet.” Within 24 hours, Europe was in compliance and the SWIFT bank system was shut down to Russia. A significant penalty. This is a significant penalty. They can they be taken out of sanctions? Are they trustworthy? With Vladimir Putin as its leader, can Ukraine really be considered next to Russia? It doesn’t mean that the U.S. intends to do regime changes, but this does suggest that we need to look at the big picture while our policy moves forward. The key message of the week was that it isn’t going to be an immediate dynamic. There is a lot of conflict.

DOZIER: Then, he must be ready to outline the strategy. If he is signaling that this is a change in policy from the White House, that they do want regime change, then you’ve got to be prepared to back that up, but this was supposed to be — it was right after the part of his speech where he was messaging and reaching out to the Russian people, so it sounded like he was calling on them to overthrow their leader.

Monday’s Team Biden spin on CNN was brought to you by advertisers such as Angi and ClearChoice. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.

To see the relevant CNN transcript from March 28, click “expand.”

CNN’s New Day with John Berman and Brianna Keilar
February 28, 2022
6:30 a.m. Eastern

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: War Intensifies; WH Walks Biden Biden’s Comment That Putin Shouldn’t Be in Power]

JOEL RUBIN : He clearly spoke directly from his heart. Anyone who thinks Vladimir Putin’s continued power is a positive thing, I believe they are misinterpreting the current environment. This speech by the President was the culmination of an extraordinary week. Important diplomacy was displayed with allies. It is clear that there is unity with Ukraine, with G-7 and the European Union. This is the type of success on which we can truly build. The whole trip was a success, even though he did make the statement.

BRIANNA KEILAR: Can I ask — I just want to ask you about something on that because I understand Joe Biden speaking from his heart when he’s talking to storm victims or he’s empathizing with someone. Is it possible to speak from your heart while discussing the fate of a global leader, even though this wasn’t in Biden’s prepared remarks?

RUBIN: Yes, well, that’s right. We have seen his 22-year history of murdering his political enemies, invading neighbouring countries and launching this bloody war against Ukraine. He has also destroyed his economy as we discussed. Joe Biden’s argument is that this man has caused a lot more misery than he deserves. This is an unkind statement. This has clearly sparked people to think about it. And they — and people should be thinking about it. This is not American policy to implement regime change. However, if you claim that Putin can still hold power because he is qualified for it and believe that this is the right thing to say, that argument would not be one that should be made.

KEILAR – What are your thoughts?

KIMBERLY DIZIER: It’s not obvious to me that U.S. regime change policy is being expressed by someone like this. It was uncontrolled (ph). The world watched and Biden gave a gift for Russian propagandists. Putin has been stating that it isn’t about Ukrainian sovereignty. This is really Russia versus the U.S. and they want to alter the government. Their statement, which they believe proves it, was issued. It was not an attempt to undermine all other aspects of the visit. They were good at lining NATO countries together and showing unity. But then, they said something you weren’t ready to do. As Putin continues to be in power, this becomes a means of undermining Biden’s power. It was something you did not make possible. This was wishful thinking. It was just wishful thinking.

RUBIN: I believe those points are valid. Biden however, is quite a step ahead in all this. We can recall that there was a question around a month back about SWIFT banks and whether SWIFT could be used to sanction Russia. The question was, “Why aren’t we doing it?” Biden replied, “Well, Europe is not there yet.” Within 24 hours, Europe was in compliance and the SWIFT bank system was shut down to Russia. A significant penalty. This is a significant penalty. They can they be taken out of sanctions? Are they trustworthy? With Vladimir Putin as its leader, can Ukraine really be considered next to Russia? This doesn’t necessarily mean that the U.S. will go into regime change. However, it means people need to think big while the policy is being implemented. We are here for the long-term. The key message of the week was that it is not a short-term dynamic. It is possible for years, even decades of conflict.

DOZIER: Then, he must be ready to outline the strategy. If he is signaling that this is a change in policy from the White House, that they do want regime change, then you’ve got to be prepared to back that up, but this was supposed to be — it was right after the part of his speech where he was messaging and reaching out to the Russian people, so it sounded like he was calling on them to overthrow their leader. And, in that case, I think it sort of — if you’re going to do that while also saying, we don’t want to risk giving jets and other things that Ukraine is asking for because that would risk World War III, this seemed to be going way over the threat of transferring some more lethal aid to Ukraine.

(….)

Eastern, 8:30 [TEASE]

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: War Intensifies; Biden’s Remarks on Putin’s Future Spark Global Reaction]

BRIANNA KEILAR – President Biden trying not to repeat his remarks that suggested a Russian regime change. What will Vladimir Putin do about this? 

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: War Intensifies; France’s Macron Lectures Biden on “Butcher” Rhetoric]

French President Emmanuel Macron lectured Biden about his rhetoric. He then said, “What did you say?”

(….)

Eastern Time: 8:35 AM

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: War Intensifies; WH Walks Biden Biden’s Comment That Putin Shouldn’t Be in Power]

JOHN BERMAN – President Biden is now trying to rescind comments he made in Poland last weekend, in which he appeared to have called for Russia’s regime change. 

JOE BIDEN, THE PRESIDENT [on 03/26/22]: For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power. 

POOL REPORTER [TO BIDEN] [on 03/27/22]? : Herr President, did you call for regime change 

BIDEN [on 03/27/22]: No. 

BERMAN John, do you believe Biden committed a misstep? 

JOHN AVLON : It is a gaff. It was an outburst that was not part of his scripted remarks, I think, probably influenced by his emotions being in the — visiting refugees that very day. This isn’t an appeal for regime change. We need to be very clear. It’s not a redefinition of U.S. policy. And, to some extent, he just said the quiet part out loud, which is that nobody — world leader believes that Vladimir Putin should remain in power indefinitely after showing himself to be such a fundamentally lawless butcher of civilians. However, this is a different thing than declaring regime change. Was it an attempt to muddy an otherwise brilliant speech? Absolutely. Was it a mistake because it’s been a distraction for two days? Yes. Does it represent a redefining of American policy? No.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA : Yes. And I don’t necessarily —

BERMAN: So, Bianna, it is interesting — sorry — go ahead. 

GOLODRYGA: — no, I was just going to say I agree. John, I agree. Although I disagree with John, I think that it wasn’t necessarily beneficial. However, it didn’t seem to be very harmful. Clearly, this has been the narrative coming out of the Kremlin for years — right — since the revolution of dignity in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014. These have been the Kremlin’s talking points since 2013, when the revolution of dignity in Ukraine was completed. This was their story. This feeds directly into their narrative. After all that, this President called Vladimir Putin a murderer and they eventually met, and spoke many more times. Recently, he called him a murderer. He called him a butcher recently. They must continue to make that point if we are going to present a united front as NATO has done. 

BERMAN The fact that they felt the need for it to be walked back indicates that there was a problem. I’ll also just note that every Ukrainian I’ve spoken with, including the former President, Victor Yushchenko, just a few moments ago, was basically saying we’ve been waiting for him to say this for a long time. This was completely correct.