Biden says he was expressing 'moral outrage' when he said Putin can't remain in power: 'I make no apologies for it'

While facing questions from White House reporters about his call for Putin to lose power, President Joe Biden struck a defiant tone.

Biden said that he was not walking anything back, and that he was expressing the moral outrage he felt towards the way Putin was dealing.

He said that his comments did not represent a change in US policy.

Biden said that he wasn't then or now, and that he made no apologies for it.

—ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 28, 2022

Biden said that his comments were not escalatory or that he had weakened NATO by making them.

I'm not. NATO has never been as strong as it is today. Never.

Biden said he was talking to the Russians directly.

He said that the last part of the speech was talking to the Russian people. This is just stating a fact, that this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.

'This man cannot remain in power'

At the end of a speech in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday, Biden deviated off script and declared that Putin cannot remain in power.

—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 26, 2022

The White House quickly explained that Biden was not calling for regime change or a shift in US strategy.

The President said that Putin couldn't exercise power over his neighbors or the region. A White House official told reporters that he was not discussing Putin's power in Russia.

Biden called the Russian President a "murderous dictator" and a "war criminal" after the invasion of Ukraine.

The president's comments made it more difficult to achieve a ceasefire according to the French President.

If we want to do that, we can't escalate either in words or actions.