In 2018, Joe Biden admitted that he was a “gaffe machine,” but maintained that he could be a better president than President Donald J. Trump because — as Biden saw it — he told the truth and was the “most qualified” person for the presidency.
His first 14 months in office as president of the United States would prove that Biden was correct on only one of those claims — he is a gaffe machine, but his record does not show that he is qualified nor that he tells the truth.
While Biden’s gaffes typically suggest subtle racism, insensitivity, or downright ignorance, his faux pas in Europe this past week could turn out to be far more dangerous. His statements regarding chemical weapons, sending troops to Europe, and alluding to regime change in Russia threw the world into brief tailspins as he appeared to be announcing a new escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine with each comment.
His statements left even the casual viewer of foreign affairs to believe the U.S. was on the precipice of engaging in World War III. Each time, his allies in the media and handlers in the White House were quickly dispatched to attempt to clarify his comments.
Considering there are three more years of this man’s presidency — and Biden caused this much calamity in a mere three days — the obvious conclusion, then, is that the president’s statements are only going to continue. This will undoubtedly harm America’s reputation, create confusion, and — God-forbid — endanger U.S. citizens and our allies by actually starting World War III.
On Thursday, Biden told reporters that if Russia were to use chemical weapons “it would trigger a response in-kind.” This led many to believe that the U.S. commander-in-chief was saying that NATO or the U.S. would use chemical weapons on Russia. By Friday evening, Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan trotted out to set the record straight, according to Fox News.
“Sullivan said that meant ‘we’ll respond accordingly’ and that Russia would pay a ‘severe price,'” Fox reported.
“We will collect the form and nature of our response based on the nature of the action Russia takes,” Sullivan said. “And we’ll do so in coordination with our allies. And I won’t go beyond that other than to say the United States has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstances.”
“Fair enough,” one might be saying. “It could have been a simple misunderstanding that was clarified by the Biden team. No big deal.”
But then on Friday, The Daily Wire reported that Biden told U.S. troops stationed in Europe that they would be seeing acts of heroism and bravery on the ground in Ukraine:
“You know, with the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian people have a lot of backbone, they have a lot of guts and I’m sure you’re observing it,” Biden said. “And you’re gonna see when you’re there, and some of you have been there. You’re gonna see, you’re gonna see women, young people standing, standing in the middle, in front of a damn tank, just saying I’m not leaving. I’m holding my ground. They’re incredible. But they take a lot of inspiration from us.”
That comment gave the entire world, and undoubtedly those troops in the room, the impression that the U.S. would be sending American soldiers into the war-torn nation. Yet again, a White House spokesperson had to rectify the situation.
“The president has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position,” the administration said in response to media inquiries.
This was now the second time in as many days that Biden had stuck his foot in his mouth while supposedly in Europe to try to rally NATO allies and promote peace.
But then on Saturday, Biden made a comment that was “the granddaddy of them all.”
At the end of a 27-minute speech in Poland that was meant to rally defenders of democracy around the globe, Biden bluntly stated, “For God’s sakes, this man cannot remain in power” in reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And for the third — but most likely not the last time — White House officials raced to explain away Biden’s comments.
“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,” a White House official apparently blasted out to the media far and wide, as nearly every D.C. reporter relayed the message on Twitter on Saturday. “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”
By the third time they had to correct the U.S. president, the White House’s excuse seemed pretty weak.
As WMAL’s Vince Coglianese put it, “Every White House statement: Anything Biden ad libs doesn’t count.”
Every White House statement: Anything Biden ad libs doesn’t count
— Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) March 26, 2022
If that weren’t enough, consider that Biden allies in the media also understood the president was calling for regime change.
“In an otherwise powerful speech on Ukraine, and in a so far very measured one-month response to the invasion, this seems to be Biden’s first major misstep,” MSNBC’s Medhi Hasan tweeted. “Going down the ‘calling for regime change’ route is a potentially very dangerous move. Not wise imho.”
In an otherwise powerful speech on Ukraine, and in a so far very measured one-month response to the invasion, this seems to be Biden’s first major misstep. Going down the ‘calling for regime change’ route is a potentially very dangerous move. Not wise imho. https://t.co/yydSi8Zxjh
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) March 26, 2022
Some defenders of the president actually applauded that line.
Congressman Ted Lieu, (D-CA), took umbrage with a media critic who said the unscripted sentence was an example of Biden’s “sometimes inarticulate rhetoric.”
“For God’s sake, please give @POTUS some credit,” Lieu rebutted. “Just because it wasn’t in his text does not mean he was ‘inarticulate.’ He has more foreign policy experience than many experts. That line was the culmination of his speech, delivered w/ emphasis. He knew exactly what he was saying.”
For God’s sake, please give @POTUS some credit. Just because it wasn’t in his text does not mean he was “inarticulate.” He has more foreign policy experience than many experts. That line was the culmination of his speech, delivered w/ emphasis. He knew exactly what he was saying. https://t.co/b0fMxJhKNW
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 27, 2022
If Biden knew exactly what he was saying, that makes it worse.
Though it seems incredible that the most powerful man in the world could accidentally make three errors in three days that cause widespread panic, we’ll give Biden the benefit of the doubt and believe that his comments were just “Joe being Joe,” as they say, and not meant to be taken seriously.
But the difference between the Biden of yesteryear and the Biden of today is that the Biden of today is the President of the United States. On the campaign trail, there weren’t any real-world consequences, besides losing some votes, when Biden told an Indian voter “you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or Dunkin’ Donuts” in his home state of Delaware without having “a slight Indian accent” or when he told a voter that he is “full of sh*t” for asking about Biden’s second Amendment policies.
Biden is now speaking on the world stage and his words carry greater weight.
Putin, a man who controls his country’s own nuclear arsenal, is listening.
If he were to take the president at his word, as Lieu advises, then based on the past week, Putin might be thinking that the U.S. is considering using chemical weapons, that American troops are joining the fight, and that official U.S. policy is to force regime change in Russia, directly threatening his seat of power.
From that lens, does that imbue much confidence in Biden’s Europe trip to bring an end to the war in Ukraine?
In 2018, Biden said, “I am a gaffe machine, but my God, what a wonderful thing compared to a guy who can’t tell the truth.”
As covered by this author before, Biden has had a hard time telling the truth on nearly every issue — gas, illegal immigration, inflation, and Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine. He is also woefully unqualified and shirks responsibility.
Taken all together, it turns out that having Biden as president is not “a wonderful thing.” It simply leaves Americans wondering what statement is going to come out of Biden’s mouth next that inches us closer to World War III.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.