WOW: Nets Hammer Biden’s ‘Shocking,’ ‘Horrendous Gaffe’ as ‘Backlash’ Grows

We’ve reached another unspinnable moment in the gaffe-prone administration of Joe Biden. Even the liberal network newscasts on Sunday and Monday hammered the President’s “shocking” call (and then withdrawal) for regime change in Russia, highlighting it as a “horrendous gaffe” with growing “backlash.” 

ABC, CBS and NBC usually attempt to ignore the newest miscue or horrendous polling for Biden, but sometimes reality can’t be ignored. On Saturday during a speech in Poland, the Commander-in-Chief called for regime change against Vladimir Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” 

On Monday’s Good Morning America, Terry Moran explained, “That declaration was immediately met with backlash. The administration insisting removing Putin from power is not their goal.” A few minutes later, reporter Mary Bruce described the administration as in “clean-up mode.” 

She then lectured Biden as though he was a wayward school boy: “Words matter, particularly the words spoken by the President of the United States.. There’s concern whether intentional or not this comment could be seen as an escalation and could undermine diplomatic efforts to end the war.” 

On Monday’s CBS Mornings, Tony Dokoupil conceded, “The White House is in damage control mode after President Biden goes off script about Vladimir Putin.” He portrayed the moment as baffling: “This morning people are asking what President Biden intended to express when he said that Russia’s president, quote, ‘cannot remain in power.’”

Reporter Weijia Jiang highlighted strong GOP condemnation: “Idaho Senator James Risch, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, called president Biden’s comment a, quote, ‘horrendous gaffe.’” 

Over on Sunday’s Today, Willie Geist referred to the comments as “an off-the-cuff remark about Vladimir Putin that shocked the diplomatic world.” On Monday’s Today, Peter Alexander reminded, “It was the latest in a string of unscripted comments by President Biden that put him at odds with his administration’s own messaging.” 

Alexander added that the gaffe “led French President Emanuel Macron to distance himself from President Biden’s words. Saying, ‘If we want to do this, we must not escalate – neither with words, nor with actions.’”

Sometimes, even the liberal journalists at ABC, CBS and NBC can’t even fix the latest gaffe from the President. However, not all have given up. This was the absurd tweet by Mark Knoller, a CBS reporter: 

Memo to CBS: The Regan White House didn’t have to come out and say, “Please disregard what the President said about the Berlin Wall. He wants to keep it up.” 

Below are partial transcripts. Click “expand” to read more. 

CBS Mornings
3/28/2022
7:10

TONY DOKOUPIL – The White House has gone into damage control mode following President Biden’s missteps about Vladimir Putin. 

JOE BIDEN: For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power. 

DOKOUPIL: This morning we move to the most recent on the conflict in Ukraine. This morning people are asking what President Biden intended to express when he said that Russia’s president, quote, “cannot remain in power.” The President ad-libbed that remark during a speech Saturday where he met with Ukrainian refugees. Other officials and Mr. Biden insist that he was not calling for Moscow’s regime change. However, his increasingly assertive rhetoric has raised concerns about the future of the conflict in Ukraine. Weijia Jiang follows all this closely and is present at the White House this morning.

…

SENATOR JAMES RISCH (PLEASE, M.P., STAY ON THREATEN) 

WEIJIA JiANG: Idaho senator James Risch (the ranking Republican member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) called President Biden’s comments a “horrible gaffe.” 

RISCH: If you suggest or say, like he did suggest, that this policy was about regime change, then it will cause huge problems. 

JIANG. Critics fear it will empower Putin during a critical time in peace negotiations that are still fragile. They also worry that Putin’s fiery rhetoric has overshadowed his main mission on his trip to Europe, which was to stress that west nations will continue to be united against Russia. 

 

Good Morning America
3/28/2022

7.30 AM Tease

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS – Fierce resistance. After President Biden’s passion speech in Poland, Ukraine seizes territory and Russian troops are forced to retreat. 

JOE BIDEN: For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power. 

STEPHANOPOULOS. The President said that he did not call for Russia’s regime change. 

… 

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS:  We’re getting the latest on the war in Ukraine entering its second month. Russia has stalled but is still destroying cities in Ukraine. President Biden’s aides scrambling to walk back his impromptu declaration that Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power. 

…

MORAN 

JOE BIDEN: For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power. 

MORAN:  That declaration was immediately met with backlash. However, the administration insisted that Putin should be removed from office. 

…

STEPHANOPOULOS – A weekend at the White House. 

MARY BRUCE – They’re definitely in cleaning up mode. This seems to have been an unscripted moment in frustration by the President. However, words are important. This comment, whether it was intended or not, could be considered an escalation that could jeopardize diplomatic efforts to stop the war. This is what Biden has been criticized. Key allies have begun to mobilize forces to counter it. Macron, the French president, said that he would not use such words and that the President should not escalate the crisis. This was quickly repudiated by the White House, who reiterated their lack of a policy for regime change.

Good Morning America
3/27/2022

GIO BENITEZ, Walking it back. President Biden faces fallout today over his fiery comments about Vladimir Putin  

MARY ALICE PAKS: Experts are concerned that this line could significantly reduce chances of an end to the conflict through diplomacy. 

Today
3/27/2022

WILLIE GEIST – President Biden is now back at the White House after a long trip across Europe. He made a passionate speech in Warsaw and also made a shocking comment about Vladimir Putin.

Today
03/28/22
7:01 AM

(…)

HODA KOTB After attempting to control the damage, President Biden was forced to retract his comments made during a passionate speech at Vladimir Putin.

JOE BIDEN: For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.

(…)

7:08 AM

CRAIG MELVIN : The White House has retracted a sarcastic comment made by President Biden. against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during a weekend speech in Poland. This controversy was a distraction from efforts to gain more support for Ukraine.

(…)

PETER ALEXANDER For President Biden who believed that words mattered, nine words were not included in his script, which critics fear could intensify an already tensionful standoff with Moscow.

(…)

ALEXANDER: Provocative comments were off-the-wall and not in the spirit of the message.

(…)

ALEXANDER: Still, The offhand comment quickly went viral around the world., Putin’s spokesman immediately firing back. “That’s not for Biden to decide. The president of Russia is elected by Russians,” he said. Senior lawmakers in the U.S. reacted quickly. A top Republican slamming it as a “horrendous gaffe” in an otherwise good speech.

SEN. JAMMES RISCH [R-ID]: Oh my gosh! I wish they kept him on the script.

(…)

ALEXANDER: It was the latest in a string of unscripted comments by President Biden that put him at odds with his administration’s own messaging. Speaking to American troops, suggesting they could be headed to Ukraine, though the White House later reiterated the U.S. is not sending any troops there. Later on, Putin gave this harsh assessment while visiting Ukrainian refugees.

BIDEN: He’s a butcher.

ALEXANDER: That led French President Emanuel Macron to distance himself from President Biden’s words. Saying, “If we want to do this, we must not escalate – neither with words, nor with actions.”