During a trip to Poland on Friday, US President Joe Biden told American troops in the 82nd Airborne Division they’ll soon be in Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian people have a lot of backbone, they have a lot of guts and I’m sure you’re observing it,” Biden said. “I don’t mean just the military, which we’ve been training since back when Russia moved into Southeast Ukraine, but also the average citizen.”
He continued, “Look at how they’re stepping up. And, you’re going to see when you’re there, and some of you have been there, you’re gonna see women, young people standing in the middle, the front of a damn tank saying, ‘I’m not leaving. I’m holding my ground.’ They’re incredible.”
White House reporter Andrew Feinberg posted to Twitter following the bizarre remark, writing, “I have asked the White House if there are now plans to send troops or if he misspoke.”
Providing an update, Feinberg posted, “The White House says: “The President has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position.”
Why is Biden telling US troops what they’re going to see when they’re in Ukraine? When are they going to Ukraine? pic.twitter.com/dV9u2FISMY
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) March 25, 2022
Biden made the comments while visiting soldiers near the Rzeszow airport, which is close to Poland’s Ukrainian border.
“We have 100,000 American forces here in Europe. We haven’t had that in a long, long time, because we are the organizing principle for the rest of the world,” the commander in chief said.
Biden told the troops that they are an example to the rest of the world, referencing the Declaration of Independence, which states that all men (and women, he added) are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
“They see you are a multi-ethnic group of Americans that are in fact together and united in one resolve: to defend your country and to help those who need help. That’s why you’re here,” he said.
Just now, @POTUS told US troops: "You’re going to see when you’re there, you’re going to see women, young people standing in the middle, in the front of a damn tank saying I’m not leaving".
I have asked the White House if there are now plans to send troops or if he misspoke.
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) March 25, 2022
He then moved on to the people of Ukraine, noting that both military and citizens are displaying incredible bravery in their fight against Russia’s invasion of their nation.
“You’re going to see when you’re there, and some of you have been there, you’re going to see women, young people standing in the middle, in the front of a damn tank saying ‘I’m not leaving.’ They’re incredible,” Biden said.
“But they take a lot of inspiration from us,” he added.
“We are the essential nation,” the president said, referencing an observation by the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who called the United States the “indispensable nation.”
Biden told the soldiers the world is in the midst of a “fight between democracies and oligarchs.”
“You are the finest fighting force in the history of the world,” he said.
The UK Independent’s Andrew Feinberg tweeted that he had contacted the White House to ask if preparations for the employment of US military in the Ukraine conflict had changed.
“The President has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position,” a White House spokesperson told him.
In response, Steve Guest, a former member of the Republican National Committee’s communications staff who is now an adviser to Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, tweeted, “One cannot overstate just how much of a disaster Biden is when it comes to foreign policy.
“Let’s review what happened today: Biden said troops were going to Ukraine,” which the White House later needed to “clean up.”
