By Mary Kay Linge New York Post

President Biden demanded the ouster of Vladimir Putin on Saturday in a fiery speech in Warsaw as the Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its second month – but the White House quickly scrambled to say the Leader of the Free World didn’t mean what he said.

“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden thundered in his most forceful attack yet on the Russian leader – hours after he referred to Putin as a “butcher” for his attack on Ukraine.

“A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love of liberty,” Biden said. “Free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness.”

But 45 minutes later, an unnamed White House official rushed to tell the president’s traveling press pool that Biden didn’t really mean it.

“The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,” the official said as Biden’s motorcade made its way to Warsaw Chopin Airport for his flight back to Washington. “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”

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