Joe Biden vil ikke trekke tilbake eller beklage at han offentlig gikk inn for at Vladimir Putin måtte fjernes. Han sa det var et emosjonelt utbrudd farget av møtet med ukrainske flyktninger. – Men du er presidenten, svarte en journalist. – For deg er det ikke noe som heter private meninger.

“I’m not walking back anything,” he told reporters at the White House when asked about his assertion that “for God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

Uttalelsen har blitt en internasjonal skandale. Alle fra Macron til Olaf Scholz og britiske aviser har tatt avstand fra uttalelsen.

Men Biden synes han kunne forklare og begrunne hvorfor han ytret setningen som endret oppfatningen av talen han holdt.

Biden stressed he was not calling for a change in policy toward Putin and Russia, just sharing his outrage.

“I was expressing the moral outrage I felt toward this man. I wasn’t articulating a policy change,” he said.

When asked to explain his comment, Biden said he was reacting emotionally to Putin’s actions after meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Men presidenten for Amerikas Forente Stater kan ikke ha private meninger når han står og holder en offentlig tale.

Etter å ha unnskyldt seg gjentok Biden at Putin er en så dårlig person at han ikke bør være leder.

“I was expressing my outrage at the behavior of this man. It’s outrageous. It’s outrageous and it’s more of an aspiration than anything – he shouldn’t be in power,” he said.

“People like this shouldn’t be ruling countries, but they do … doesn’t mean I can’t voice my outrage about it,” he added.

Biden appeared frustrated that anyone interpreted his comment as a change in policy toward Putin.

“It’s ridiculous. Nobody believes we’re going to take down… I was talking about taking down Putin,” he complained. “Nobody believes that.”

Biden feller en moralsk dom over Putin og avsetter ham moralsk. Statsledere pleier ikke gjøre dét med hverandre.

The president warned Putin that he had endangered his political position in Russia.

“If he continues on this course that he’s on, he is going to be a pariah worldwide, and who knows what he becomes at home in terms of support?” he asked.

When Biden was asked if he believed his comment needlessly escalated the conflict with Putin, Biden replied, “No I’m not. Not at all.”

Biden får oppmerksomhet fordi han ikke har styr på hva han sier. Han fikk et spørsmål om hva det kan komme av at Det hvite hus tre ganger måtte rykke ut og forklare at han ikke mente hva han sa.

Biden sa til soldater fra 82nd Airborne Division at noen av dem hadde vært i Ukraina, og andre skulle inn. Dette ble dementert av Det hvite hus som ikke riktig.

When a reporter asked about his three different comments during his trip to Europe that had to be clarified by the White House, Biden denied they even happened.

“None of the three occurred, you interpreted the language that way,” he said.

Dette er kanskje det som har gjort Bidens misspoke, dvs. feiluttalelser, til noe større: at han selv ikke erkjenner hva han har sagt eller hva omverdenen oppfatter. Han sier at det ikke skjedde. Dette har fått selv vennlig innstilte til å lure på om han vet hva han gjør.

A writer for The Spectator wondered if Biden’s latest controversial remark could lead to «World War Three.»

«Could Biden gaffe us into World War Three?» the Sunday piece from deputy editor Freddy Gray read. Gray argued it wasn’t an isolated incident.

«Yet this was Biden’s third potentially world war three-triggering blunder in as many days,» he wrote.

En kommentator i Der Spiegel sa at Biden har en egen evne til å rive ned det han selv har forsøkt å bygge opp.

René Pfister, a contributor to the German outlet Der Spiegel, argued that while he’s happy Biden is in office and not former President Trump, Biden’s uncaged remarks continue to reverse any progress he may have made in the response to the Russian invasion.

«Joe Biden has the special talent of tearing down with his loose mouth what he has previously worked hard to build up,» Pfister wrote.

Det sies nå at den famøse setningen ikke sto i manus. Biden improviserte.

Pfister said the speech started out well, but his now infamous line overshadowed it.

«Biden spoke as one would wish from an American president: emotional, full of historical references and yet to the point – if Biden had not said the fateful sentence at the end: ‘For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,'» Pfister said.

«But apparently Biden’s sentence wasn’t planned, it was one of those rhetorical blunders he’s been known for for decades and has gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion,» he later added. «But now it’s not about a failed election campaign slogan, but about war and peace.»

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