Biden’s Gaffe in Warsaw Speech Was Dumb

Things were going about as well as we could have hoped in the Ukraine-Russia war, particularly from an American foreign policy standpoint.

Without committing American/NATO forces on the ground or enforcing a dangerous no-fly zone, U.S. involvement in the conflict appeared to strike the perfect balance. Ukraine was not only defending the homeland valiantly, many reports indicated the situation could be deteriorating badly for the Russians. In other words, Ukraine might ultimately pull this thing out, survive, and become stronger than ever. Let’s hope.

And so, President Joe Biden’s visit this weekend to a NATO country essentially now on the front lines was well-timed and certainly the right thing to do. Reminiscent of John F. Kennedy’s famous Berlin Wall speech and Ronald Reagan’s “tear down this wall” declaration, Biden took center stage today in this generation’s unwavering promise to defend democracy around the world. The speech was going very well until the closing moments when President Biden inexplicably announced out of nowhere, Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.” That was a monumentally bold declaration. In fact, it’s what most foreign policy wonks would label a complete “game-changer.”

When I heard that line in the speech today, I leaned forward in my chair and gasped. Calling for Putin’s outright removal from power is as strong a statement as the U.S. has ever made against Russia, dating back to the Cold War. Those who haven’t worked in diplomacy might not fully understand how serious such a statement is; even regimes that are hostile towards each other generally don’t come out and say they want to remove an opposition government (or president) from power. The problem is, if that’s the new American policy objective, the goalposts on the Russian landscape have just been shifted in a very big way. It also paints the U.S. into a narrow corner that implies anything short of Putin’s fall from power becomes a failure. However, the real implications with other nations go much deeper than that.

Putin and Russian media will use that statement and play it over and over again. It’s a rallying point for the adversary. They can now justify all sorts of actions — both domestically and internationally — that cross the usual lines of conflict. Putin can point straight at Biden calling for regime change in Russia and then justify his own government’s assassination of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It’s a sort of get-him before he-gets-me-first approach. Putin can (and will) continue Russia’s dubious campaign to influence American elections and launch mass cyberattacks, which could seriously impact lives over here. Moreover, countries neutral in this conflict (India, and to some extent China) might look to President Biden’s call for regime change and be more sympathetic to Russia’s situation. Not that Russia acts with any sense of morality or adheres to the principles of Geneva (1925), but in a dangerous conflict, key allies and trade partners could be the tipping points. The last thing any U.S. leader should do is make a reckless declaration with no upside.

Let’s be clear: One can certainly justify President Biden’s call for Putin’s ouster, by whatever means possible. That’s a strong position to take, but if we’re prepared to back up this objective on all fronts, then I could go along with it. I think a majority of Americans would support it, as well. What’s not to support when it comes to toppling dangerous dictators?

The problem is — immediately after the speech was over, the White House (press office) walked back the statement. The Biden Administration basically zagged after zigging. They flip-flopped on a monumentally important component of a critical speech on the world stage that should have been air-tight, with every “T” crossed and each “I” dotted. This is basic foreign policy stuff. Diplomacy 101. Nothing is left to chance. After the previous American president made a mockery of American foreign policy on every front, with countless misstatements, constant buffoonery, confusing declarations, and outright idiocy that revealed no understanding of other nations nor history, we expect far more from this president. This is especially so given his lengthy foreign policy experience. Now, a good speech ends up tainted by a gaffe that never should have happened.

I still believe President Biden has done a good job in this conflict and on most foreign policy initiatives. He still has my trust and is a monumental improvement over his imbecilic predecessor. But I also will call out mistakes and errors and dare I say blunders when I see them. The only way to be credible on political matters is to apply the same standards and expectations to everybody.

This should have been a very good day for President Biden. But it ends up being a bad day likely to be remembered for a blunder that was totally avoidable.

WATCH THE SPEECH HERE