Former Obama defense secretary Leon Panetta suggested the White House had to walk back President Joe Biden’s latest gaffe because “he’s Irish.”
During an appearance on CNN, Panetta was asked why he believes Biden made the mistake of saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” during a speech over the weekend.
He responded, “I happen to think that Joe Biden, you know, he’s Irish, really has a great deal of compassion when he sees that people are suffering. And I think it overwhelmed him in the sense of seeing all of the horrors that were resulting from this war.”
Panetta continued, “So, you know, from a personal point of view, I understand why he said it. But at the same time, when you’re President of the United States, you just have to be disciplined to make sure you don’t make comments that ultimately have to be clarified by the White House.”
Watch his comments below:
Former Obama Defense Secretary Leon Panetta:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 29, 2022
Biden made comments that the White House needed to walk back because "Joe Biden, you know, is Irish." pic.twitter.com/LlYSZHFuNN
Secretary of State Antony Blinken walked back Biden’s comments during a press conference in Jerusalem over the weekend, as IJR reported.
“Quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else. We do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else, for that matter,” Blinken said.
On Monday, several reporters pressed Biden to clarify his remarks.
“I was expressing my outrage at the behavior of this man,” Biden said. He proceeded to call Putin’s behavior “outrageous” and said his remarks about the Russian president were “more an aspiration than anything.”
He added, “He shouldn’t be in power. People like this shouldn’t be ruling countries, but they do, in fact. They do. But, doesn’t mean I can’t express my outrage about it.”
Biden sought to make it clear he “wasn’t then, nor am I now, articulating a policy change. I was expressing the moral outrage that I feel, and I make no apologies for it.”
