Joe Biden Latest Gaffe on Vladimir Putin Scrambles US Message on Ukraine, Sparks Intense Backlash

After pushing for regime change in Russia, Joe Biden is facing international pushback from his allies.

Following Joe Biden's remarks in which he referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "butcher" and stated that he "cannot remain in power," Emmanuel Macron led a chorus of opposition.

Biden's secretary of state contradicted the president in an attempt to mitigate the diplomatic damage while Downing Street stressed it was up to the Russian people to select their leader.

Diplomat: Biden Made the Situation More Dangerous

The president's passionate address in Poland on Saturday strained relations with Western allies while bolstering the Kremlin's assertion that Russia faces an "existential" danger. Donald Trump said that his successor in the White House was almost encouraging Putin to deploy nuclear weapons.

Biden had made a perilous situation much more dangerous, according to a senior US ambassador, and threatened to extend the scope and length of the fight. The 79-year-old president stated a month before the conflict that Russia would face little consequences if it limited itself to a "small invasion."

Last week, Biden said that if Russia used chemical weapons, NATO would reply "in kind." He also referred to Putin as a "war criminal" after altering his opinion during a conversation with a reporter. He told US troops in Poland over the weekend that they would see the valor of Ukrainian forces "when you're there," prompting the White House to hastily clarify that no American troops would be moved across the border, according to Telegraph.

Joe Biden's Remark Unlikely To Placate Russia

The White House's attempt to retract Biden's remarks is unlikely to appease Russia, according to Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. As per Garret Martin, a transatlantic relations professor at American University, Putin already felt the US was out to get him, so Biden's remarks are unlikely to sway his mind.

Moscow may use them to persuade Russians that America's true purpose is to undermine the Russian government, not to support Ukraine. Other components of Biden's speech and trip, according to Martin and others, will have a longer-term impact, notably the unity that Biden helped develop among allies.

In the post-Cold War era, the US and its allies have never been more united in their response to a worldwide security crisis, according to Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at New York University. He also thinks Biden deserves some credit for it, as per USA Today.

Biden warned that if Putin invaded "even a single inch of Nato territory" the West would act. He also added that the globe must prepare for a "long fight ahead" and that the conflict "will not be won in days or months" during his speech.

The US president also addressed the Russian people directly, saying that they are "not the enemy." It comes fewer than 24 hours after Russian missiles hit Ukraine's largest western city, injuring at least five people, and less than 24 hours after Putin promised to concentrate his forces on the east.

After two massive explosions, residents were advised to seek cover. During the raid, a gasoline storage facility was set on fire. As air raid sirens were sounded in the city, which is barely 45 miles from Nato member Poland's border, thick black smoke rose from a TV tower, The Sun reported.