When Joe Biden faced the media on Monday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, he was criticized online for utilizing a written ‘cheat sheet’ with responses to expected questions.

Before heading returning to Washington, DC, Biden visited Poland on Saturday and proclaimed in Warsaw that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”

When asked about his comments on Monday, which many interpreted as advocating for regime change, the 79-year-old president referred to a prepared cue card for hints.

He claimed he made “no apologies” for his off-the-cuff statements, which were not part of his prepared address.

‘It’s more an aspiration than anything. He shouldn’t be in power. There’s no — I mean, people like this shouldn’t be ruling countries, but they do. The fact is they do, but it doesn’t mean I can’t express my outrage about it,’ he said while holding his cheat sheet.

‘I was talking to the Russian people. The last part of the speech was talking to the Russian people, telling them what we thought.’

The notes read: ‘If you weren’t advocating for regime change, what did you mean? Could you please elaborate?

‘I was expressing the moral outrage I felt towards the actions of this man.

‘I was not articulating a change in policy.’

Biden had also anticipated a question on French President Emmanuel Macron’s reaction.

Macron said on Sunday that he would not have used Biden’s words, but that his goal was to ‘achieve first a ceasefire, then the total departure of [Russian] forces through diplomatic means.’

He told broadcaster France 3: ‘If we want to do that, we can’t escalate in either words or actions.’

Biden’s cheat sheet read: ‘Is this now threatening to splinter unity with your NATO allies?’

The answer Biden had ready stated: ‘No. NATO has never been more united in its history.’

Biden is a frequent user of cue cards, having been photographed using them on the campaign trail and in government.

He frequently pulled daily totals of COVID instances from his pocket, which he referred to on a regular basis.

He also used them to respond to a question about taxes in a Town Hall meeting before the election.

‘I carry this card with me,’ Biden said, referring to his card.

During his first presidential press conference, he used many cheat sheets, including one with the headshots and names of reporters he planned to call on.

Biden also used notes during a 2021 meeting with Putin, while visiting the damage caused by Hurricane Ida in Louisiana, and during a press conference at the G20 summit in Rome.

At the November discussion, Biden told the assembled reporters, ‘I’ll take your questions, and as usual, guys, they provided me a list of the people I’m going to call on.’

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky took issue with Biden’s usage of the cue cards and his off-the-cuff statements regarding Putin on Monday.

Paul questioned Biden’s mental capacity, claiming that the elderly president’s comments were a national security threat.

‘A lot of times when you’re around somebody who’s in cognitive decline, you find yourself trying to help them with a sentence, trying to help them complete it – but we shouldn’t have to do that for the commander-in-chief,’ he said to Fox News.

‘And, it is actually a national security risk because he’s sending signals that no one in their right mind would want to send to Russia at this point.

‘We aren’t trying to replace Putin in Russia. We’re not attempting to overthrow the government. We will not send troops into Ukraine, and we will not retaliate with chemical weapons.’

On social media, Biden’s usage of the cards was criticized.

‘Our @POTUS, Joe Biden is just walking around on eggshells, reading cue cards his handlers provide,’ said critic.

‘If he EVER had a backbone, he can’t remember where he put it.’

Another added: ‘Scary. Democrats are to blame for our hazardous condition. Because of Democrats and Biden, the globe is the most dangerous it has been in decades.’

Biden was claimed to be ‘living in an alternative universe completely divorced from reality,’ according to one source.

‘The White House staff gives Biden cue cards with written answers/statements, but he still has to walk back what he says on a regular basis,’ one person said.

Another added: ‘The exact opposite to Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy: ‘speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.’

‘Biden made a mess of Afghanistan & he’ll do the same with whatever he does unless he’s reading from cue cards. Even then he stumbles & says ‘Iranian’.’

 

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Objectivist. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.