'Dumb and dangerous': Biden on Trump's NATO comments
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Responding to comments made recently by Donald Trump, Biden accuses the former President of "bowing down to a Russian dictator."
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President Joe Biden speaks at the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on February 8, 2024. (AP)
US President Joe Biden has equated the support of the new national security package to "standing up to Putin," while opposing the bill is "playing into his hands."
Biden also claimed, as advisors have before, that this package worth $95 billion in international aid provides jobs for American workers who will supply the materials needed to rebuild American stockpiles, believing that this is beneficial to US workers in an election year.
He also emphasized that the aid package would help "Israel" and "provide life-saving humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people."
Significantly, of the $94 billion bill, only $10 billion is allocated for "humanitarian efforts" in Ukraine, "Israel", and Gaza, as nearly a quarter of the Strip's residents are starving and large swaths of it have been ravaged.
Responding to comments made recently by Donald Trump, Biden accused the former President of "bowing down to a Russian dictator."
He called his remarks "dumb, shameful, dangerous, and unAmerican.”
The NATO alliance has been shaken by US former President Donald Trump’s comments and latest rhetoric, especially after he said he would encourage Russia to attack its members if they fail to pay their bills.
The comment “set off fresh tremors across Washington and in European countries already worried about America’s reliability as an ally in a potential second Trump administration,” The Washington Post reported.
Trump has long been a critic of current President Joe Biden’s endless cash support for Ukraine as a costly burden on the American taxpayer and has influenced the blocking of Biden's attempts to allocate around $61 billion for Ukraine.
The President accused Trump of viewing NATO as a burden and "a protection racket" rather than an alliance, and touted NATO's "fundamental principles of freedom, security, and national sovereignty."
Biden expressed that in recent days, and following Trump's remarks, the stakes for American security have risen, accusing him of inviting Putin to "invade some of our allies, Nato allies."
According to the President, the US commitment to NATO is "sacred", noting that "when America gives its word it means something."
Borrell says NATO not 'à la carte' depending on US President's mood
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell responded Monday to former US President Donald Trump's likely unwillingness to defend the alliance if it is attacked by Russia.
NATO cannot be dependent on the whims and judgments of US presidents, Borrell stated.
Borrell told reporters that NATO "cannot be an 'à la carte' military alliance. NATO cannot be an alliance that works depending on the 'humor' of the President of the United States in those days," stressing that the response cannot be "now yes, tomorrow no.’ … It exists, or it does not exist."
According to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, an armed attack on one NATO member is considered an attack on the entire alliance, requiring other members to respond.
In a Saturday statement, White House Spokesperson Andrew Bates said, "Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged," adding, "Rather than calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos, President Biden will continue to bolster American leadership."
This comes two months after EU diplomats and think tank officials have begun contacting former US President Donald Trump's associates to determine whether he will withdraw the US from NATO if re-elected, a report by The New York Times revealed.
With polls suggesting that Trump may be the primary contender for the Republican party, a slew of former Trump administration officials and anti-Trump commentators have declared that a second Trump presidency would spell the end of NATO.
