President Joe Biden's speechwriters "did a good job for him" with his address from Poland, but the "horrendous gaffe" he made at the end when he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin can't remain in power points to the administration's need to "keep him on script" said Sen. Jim Risch.
"I think most people who don't deal in the lane of foreign relations don't realize those nine words that he uttered would cause the kind of eruption that they did," the Idaho Republican, ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee," said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. "Any time you say or even, as he did, suggest that the policy was regime change, it's going to cause a huge problem."
He noted that the administration has done all it can to keep the Russia-Ukraine situation from escalating further, but "there's not a whole lot more you can do to escalate than to call for regime change."
The White House has tried to walk back Biden's comment immediately, said Risch, adding that "I'll walk it back right now."
"That is not the policy of the United States of America," said the senator. "Please, Mr. President, stay on script."
Meanwhile, Russia is claiming that it is moving toward a more limited mission aimed at the Donbas region, but Biden has said he is not sure Russia has changed its strategy and Risch agreed that the "jury is out on that."
"You can't believe anything they say, so I don't put any stock in the fact that they're announcing that they're changing the policy," he said. "Things are getting more dire at home in Russia. So I'm not surprised to see them announcing something."
It's been "awe-inspiring" to see how the people of Ukraine have been fighting back against Russia, he added.
"They're doing what our patriots did in 1776," he said. "They're fighting not only for their future, their kids, their grandkids, but they're trying to pass a gift off to the next generation. To the Ukrainians that is invaluable."
Meanwhile, it's not up to the United States, but to Ukraine, to give up the Donbas region to Russia to end the war, said Risch.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they say no, we're not going to give it back," he said. "I don't know what the Russians will do, but if they do fall back there, they'll have a better time defending that particular area, but those are decisions to be made by them on the ground there."
Meanwhile, Biden has not ruled out a U.S. military response if chemical weapons are used in Ukraine, and Risch agreed that there are "four game-changers" that could determine the use of military force, including an attack on NATO or the use of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons."
Risch also said he's like to see Congress enact more sanctions on Russia, including secondary sanctions on every bank there.
"We just really need to bring the hammer down," he said. "The administration, of course, they have control of Congress, and they've been very active in persuading their party not to pass sanctions. They want to do it themselves through the administration. I get that. Every administration wants to be in full control. Obviously, I think Congress plays a role in this."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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