Joe Biden was spotted holding a cheat-sheet as he clarified his claim that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”, in an apparent attempt to avoid another gaffe.
The comment in a speech in Warsaw over the weekend triggered an international backlash and forced the White House to issue an embarrassing clarification.
As he defended his off-the-cuff remark before reporters on Tuesday, Mr Biden insisted that “nobody believes” he was talking about the US “taking down Putin”.
On the small card, headed “Tough Putin Q&A talking points”, White House aides had listed prospective questions for the president to answer.
One question referenced French president Emmanuel Macron’s disapproval of the comment and the UK government suggesting Mr Biden’s remark “was a problem”.
The crib sheet instructed Mr Biden to respond to any such question by insisting that Nato “has never been more unified”.
Another prospective question on the sheet said: “If you weren’t advocating for regime change, what did you mean? Can you clarify?”
In bullet points below, White House aides had advised Mr Biden to say: “I was expressing the moral outrage I felt towards the actions of this man. I was not articulating a change in policy”.
Mr Biden, 79, hewed closely to his cheat-sheet as he was grilled by White House reporters, evidently eager to avoid further confusion over his administration’s foreign policy.
