WASHINGTON — It was historic. It was forceful. It was bold. It was presidential.
The longtime senator-turned-U.S. president with a long history of awkward moments and statements insists it was no gaffe. It could have been the signature moment of Joe Biden’s up-and-down presidency — especially for a commander in chief who has called defeating authoritarianism “the defining challenge of our time.”
Instead, his forceful declaration that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” is being widely viewed as just another Biden flub, one that sowed trans-Atlantic confusion. The clarifying statement from a “White House official” on Saturday was anything but. It was, however, another curious decision from a gaffe-phobic — and gaffe-prone — West Wing staff.
