Why Biden's off-script remarks about Putin are so dangerous

Why Biden's off-script remarks about Putin are so dangerous

Over the past week, US President Joe Biden has made a series of unscripted remarks that have upped the temperature of US-Russia relations to near boiling point.

However, his ad-libbed line at the end of what was billed as a "major speech" in Poland on Saturday - seemingly calling for President Vladimir Putin to be removed from power - may have landed the hardest.

Then, right before the "thank yous" and "goodbyes", Mr Biden added of his Russian counterpart: "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power."

Cue the fireworks.

He was not discussing Putin's power in Russia, or regime change.

The speed with which the US issued its "clarification" - later echoed by Mr Blinken - suggests the US understands the danger inherent in Mr Biden's words.

In both cases, Mr Biden's remarks prompted condemnations and warnings from Moscow that US-Russia diplomatic relations were being frayed to the point of breaking.

There's a line between condemning a nation's leader - the sometimes overheated rhetoric of diplomacy - and calling for his removal.

It was a line both the Americans and the Soviets respected even at the height of the Cold War.