海角大神

With the last nine, unscripted words of an impassioned speech about Russia's aggression in Ukraine, President Joe Biden created a troubling distraction, undermining his effectiveness as he returned home to face restive Americans who strongly disapprove of his performance on issues that matter most to them.

His comment that Russia鈥檚 Vladimir Putin聽鈥渃annot remain in power鈥澛犫�� an assertion that his aides were forced to quickly clean up 鈥� overshadowed his larger message of solidifying the western coalition that鈥檚 confronting Moscow.

It punctuated another frustrating moment for an administration that鈥檚 struggled to regain its footing 鈥� and the American electorate鈥檚 support 鈥� in the face of an ongoing pandemic, escalating inflation and an increasingly complicated foreign policy crisis that raises the specter of nuclear conflict.

Although he鈥檚 forged a united front to聽punish Russia with sanctions聽for the invasion of Ukraine, polls show Americans feel no better about his leadership as the war continues. Meanwhile, Democrats are in danger of losing control of Congress in November鈥檚 midterm elections, leaving Biden with limited opportunities to advance a progressive domestic agenda that remains stalled.

The president is on the verge of聽securing the confirmation聽of the first Black woman, Ketanji Brown Jackson, on the U.S. Supreme Court, yet there's no clear path forward for him to fulfill other campaign promises around voting rights, criminal justice reform and fighting climate change. While polls show that Jackson is broadly supported by Americans, it hasn't helped improve Biden's standing with voters less than eight months before the midterms, which Republicans hope to frame as a referendum on the president.

The war in Russia has consumed much of the White House's messaging bandwidth, but Biden is looking to turn the spotlight onto some his domestic priorities this week.

He is expected to unveil聽a new budget proposal聽on Monday, which includes a renewed focus on cutting the federal deficit and a populist proposal to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

If approved by Congress 鈥� far from a certainty 鈥� households worth more than $100 million 鈥� a measurement of wealth, not income 鈥� would have to pay a minimum tax of 20% on their earnings.

The added revenue could help keep the deficit in check and finance some of Biden鈥檚 domestic priorities, including expanded safety net programs. There are few if any signs of Republican support for the proposal so far, and even some Democrats have been lukewarm to the idea.

Biden's case isn't helped by his approval ratings. Most Americans say they support the Ukraine war effort,聽with 55% saying it鈥檚 a bigger priority for the U.S. to effectively sanction Russia than to limit damage to the U.S. economy,聽聽by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Most Americans don't blame Biden for high gas prices.聽Americans are more likely to say that higher than usual gas prices are more because of factors outside of Biden鈥檚 control than because of Biden鈥檚 policies, 55% to 44%.

But a slim 34% of Americans say Biden is doing a good job handling the economy, which is normally the top issue for voters in an election year.

His contentious assertion about Putin in his Warsaw speech did little to help things.聽The White House rushed to clarify that Biden wasn鈥檛 actually calling for 鈥渞egime change,鈥� but by the next day it became clear that the dramatic statement had produced some of the first overt cracks in unity among NATO nations that聽had just convened in Brussels聽for an emergency meeting.

Some leading Western European allies, including France and Germany, tend to be more cautious than the U.S. about how to confront Russia. Until Saturday night, Biden had calibrated his words carefully. French President Emanuel Macron said Biden鈥檚 remarks could make it harder to resolve the conflict.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 use those terms, because I continue to speak to President Putin, because what do we want to do collectively?鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to stop the war that Russia launched in Ukraine, without waging war and without escalation.鈥�

Biden has enjoyed some rare bipartisan support for his handling of the Ukraine crisis. But some Republicans who have been generally supportive of his approach to the crisis chided him for his comments.

Sen. James Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, dryly noted on CNN's 鈥淪tate of the Union鈥� on Sunday, 鈥淧lease Mr. President, stay on script.鈥�

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press" that Biden's final comment 鈥減lays into the hands of the Russian propagandists and plays into the hands of Vladimir Putin.鈥�

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was forced to continue clarifying Biden鈥檚 speech during聽a trip through the Middle East, where he had intended to focus on solidifying American partnerships as the administration seeks a renewed nuclear agreement with Iran.

Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem, Blinken said Biden meant that 鈥淧utin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else.鈥�

In case there was any doubt, Biden gave an emphatic 鈥淣o!鈥� when asked by a reporter outside of church Sunday if he was calling for regime change with the remark.

Even as Biden seemed to go too far for some allies with his speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemed to draw little comfort from it. He accused Western nations of聽lacking courage to confront Russia, and he said criticized their 鈥減ing-pong about who and how should hand over jets" and other weapons to the Ukrainian military.

The speech in Warsaw was the third, and by far most consequential, of instances from the trip where Biden鈥檚 aides needed to clean up his comments.

During a news conference in Brussels on Thursday, he said the U.S. would respond 鈥渋n kind鈥� if Putin used chemical weapons in Ukraine. The next day, national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the president meant that 鈥渨e鈥檒l respond accordingly,鈥� not that the U.S. would use chemical weapons of its own.

And then, while speaking to members of the 82nd Airborne Division soldiers recently deployed to Poland, Biden seemed to suggest they would be going to Ukraine. Speaking about the bravery of Ukrainians, Biden said, 鈥淟ook at how they鈥檙e stepping up. And you鈥檙e going to see when you鈥檙e there.鈥�

Afterwards, the White House reiterated that Biden had no intention of sending troops into Ukraine, something the president has insisted since the beginning of the conflict.

While running for office two years ago, Biden repeatedly told voters that 鈥渢he words of a president matter,鈥� and he promised that his foreign policy experience would serve the country well on the international stage.

There鈥檚 little doubt that Biden has been able to maintain unusual unity among allies during this war. But by speaking with more passion than caution 鈥� particularly in his speech in Warsaw 鈥� Biden has also reminded Americans of his proclivity for misstatements at a precarious time for his presidency.

Just 26% of Americans have faith that Biden can manage a crisis or the military, according to last week's AP-NORC poll. There鈥檚 also been a mixed response to Biden鈥檚 approach to Russia. Although Americans have been skeptical of getting involved in another foreign crisis, they鈥檝e also watched with horror as Putin continues to raze Ukrainian cities despite an array of punishing sanctions.

Only 36% said his approach has been 鈥渁bout right,鈥� while 56% said Biden has聽

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Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.