The gaffe heard around the world

The gaffe heard around the world
Michael Kinsey famously wrote that “a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth — some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.” When Biden went off-script in his address in Warsaw this weekend, he didn’t state an “obvious truth” about the world as it exists, but as he would like it to be. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said of Vladimir Putin in a moment of irresponsible candor.

Clean up on aisle Biden! The White House row-back was about as swift as Will Smith’s right…

The gaffe heard around the world

Michael Kinsey famously wrote that “a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth — some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.” When Biden went off-script in his address in Warsaw this weekend, he didn’t state an “obvious truth” about the world as it exists, but as he would like it to be. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said of Vladimir Putin in a moment of irresponsible candor.

Clean up on aisle Biden! The White House row-back was about as swift as Will Smith’s right palm: “The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,” said one White House official. “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”

This heroic effort to interpret Biden’s words as meaning anything other than what any reasonable person would interpret them to mean is, of course, a press operation earning its wages; a useful lie to try to mop up the ill-judged utterance of an obvious truth.

On Sunday’s news shows, the president’s outriders accepted the straightforward meaning of Biden’s words but asked the country to cut the guy some slack. “The president was speaking from the heart,” said California congressman Ro Khanna. Secretary of state Anthony Blinken had to clarify that regime change in Russia is not a policy objective of the US government. US ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith called Biden’s comments “a principled human reaction to the stories he had heard that day.”

World leaders were unpersuaded by the spin and unamused by Biden freestyling at such a fraught moment for European security. French president Emmanuel Macron accused Biden of derailing peace talks. “I wouldn’t use this type of wording because I continue to hold discussions with President Putin,” said Macron in a television interview. “We want to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without escalation — that’s the objective.” The French president added that Biden’s description of Putin as a “butcher” was unhelpful.

Biden’s Putin-must-fall gaffe was only the latest in a string of unhelpful misstatements on the war in Ukraine. Prior to Russia’s invasion, the president implied that a “minor incursion” would be no big deal. Last Thursday, he said that a chemical attack by Russia would be met with a response “in kind”. The next day he implied that US troops may be sent into Ukraine. On all these occasions, the president’s team have had to walk back his comments immediately afterwards.

Biden likes to claim his election constituted a return to sober-minded foreign policy in the Oval Office and a revival of American dependability on the world stage. But the president hardly seems capable of opening his mouth without making an already fraught situation more dangerous. Forgive me if I find that more nerve-wracking than reassuring.

*** Sign up to receive the DC Diary in your inbox on weekdays ***

No rally-’round-the-flag effect for Biden

According to the official White House view, recent geopolitical events are vindication of the foreign policy pivot Biden promised when he entered office. From an emphasis on reviving European alliances to the framing of geopolitics as a clash between democracies and autocracies, the administration sees its view of the world as being borne out by the confrontation with Russia. Of course, for an honest administration official, even the slightest whiff of self-satisfaction should be tempered by the fact that a European land war has broken out on their watch. But there is scant sign that the American people are especially pleased with the way in which Biden has handled things.

An NBC poll published yesterday finds that seven in ten Americans have low confidence in Biden’s ability to deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The rest of the survey makes for bleak reading for the White House. It registers the lowers approval rating for Biden since the start of his presidency. Other world leaders have found domestic political capital in the Ukrainian crisis. Macron is cruising to re-election. Embattled British prime minister Boris Johnson has bought himself time with a robust response to the conflict. But, with the midterms getting closer, Biden is stuck underwater.

Trump’s quiet night in Georgia

Donald Trump’s Georgia rally on Saturday was, by many accounts, a subdued affair (albeit according to the high standards the former president has set for himself.) On a cold and windy night, the crowd numbers weren’t what you might have expected them to be. Trump was in the all-important Peach State to boost the campaigns of his approved slate of primary contenders, foremost among them senator-turned-gubernatorial candidate David Perdue. Trailing in the polls, Perdue’s attacks on incumbent Trump foe Brian Kemp are only getting more desperate. “Let me be very clear. Very clear,” said Perdue. “In the state of Georgia, thanks to Brian Kemp, our elections were absolutely stolen. He sold us out.” As the crowd chanted “Lock him up,” Perdue flashed a smile and a thumbs up.

Perdue claims that he will support Kemp against Stacey Abrams if he fails to topple him in the primary. But with rhetoric like that on display on Saturday, will the Georgia GOP really be able to play happy families come the general?