Biden Says He’s ‘Not Walking Back’ Putin ‘Should Not Be in Power’ Comment

But he's 'not articulating policy change'

President Joe Biden speaks alongside Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young as he introduces his budget request for fiscal year 2023 in the State Dining Room of the White House on March 28, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

President Joe Biden told reporters on March 28 that he’s “not walking back” his March 26 comments when he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “should not remain in power.”

Biden made the initial comment about the Russian leader at the end of a speech in Warsaw, Poland, when he said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” Earlier in the day, Biden referred to Putin as a “butcher.”