U.S. President Joe Biden has delivered a fiery response to comments by his predecessor, Donald Trump, that encouraged Moscow to attack certain NATO countries not living up to nonbinding defense spending commitments, while urging Republicans to pass military aid legislation crucial for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
"For God's sake, it's dumb, it's shameful, it's dangerous, it's un-American," Biden said during a televised address at the White House on Tuesday intended to urge the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to vote on the Ukraine aid bill.
"Can you imagine a former president of the United States saying that? The whole world heard it. And the worst thing is he means it," Biden said of Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
"No other president in our history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator,” he added. “Well, let me say this as clearly as I can: I never will."
Trump, long a critic of the U.S. alliance system, delivered his unprecedented comments at a campaign rally Saturday, describing what he claimed was a chat with another head of state at a NATO meeting.
"One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, 'Well, sir, if we don't pay, and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?' I said, 'You didn't pay, you're delinquent? No, I would not protect you,'" Trump said. "In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”
Biden’s retort appeared to be part of an attempt to reassure not only Kyiv but other allies — including top U.S. partners in Asia, Japan and South Korea. Many opponents of Trump have alleged that, much like his views on NATO, the former U.S. president also sees American forces based in the two Asian countries as part of a “protection racket.”
In pushing for the passage of the $95.34 billion aid package, Biden emphasized that it includes “critical funding for our national security priorities in Asia, because even as we focus on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, we must not take our eye off our national security challenges in the Pacific.”
The legislation, which includes more than $8 billion for Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific allies, passed the Democrat-controlled Senate 70 to 29 early Tuesday. The issue of democratic Taiwan — which China claims as its own and has vowed to return to the fold, by force if necessary — has been among major causes of tensions in the growing Sino-U.S. rivalry.
In a statement late Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted that the military aid bill, which Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson — a close ally of Trump — has said would not be tabled for a vote, also included crucial dollars that would “bolster our deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.”
Austin lamented that a failure to approve the bill would leave the U.S. and its allies in a precarious position.
“Only one country can provide the leadership that this moment demands — and that's the United States of America,” he said. “The dangers of our time will only grow worse without strong and steady American leadership. If we do not deter other would-be aggressors, we will only invite more aggression, bloodshed and chaos. So the cost of American leadership remains far lower than the cost of American abdication and retreat.”
Speaking at a news conference the same day, Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh echoed this chorus.
“Our allies and our adversaries are watching to see whether the U.S. will continue to stand with Ukraine, to stand with Taiwan, to stand with Israel,” she said. “And so it's really important to send a message of resolve across the world and a message to our allies — and sovereign nations who were invaded, such as Ukraine — that we do have your back, and that we will have your back, and we're going to continue to have your back.”
White House officials will get another chance to address allies’ concerns during the Munich Security Conference in Germany, which runs from Friday to Sunday. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a handful of other senior American officials are scheduled to join NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and scores of other leaders at the event. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could also make an appearance.
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