United States: Joe Biden has rebuked Donald Trump’s words that the United States will withdraw from the NATO military alliance as “dumb”, “shameful” and “dangerous”. In a blistering speech, Biden attacked Republican opposition to legislation partly aimed at supporting Ukraine against a Russian invasion.
Trump’s comments about encouraging Russia to attack NATO allies that don’t contribute what he called their fair share of NATO funding, set off alarm bells across Europe among leaders who view the prospect of a second Trump presidency with growing unease.
In a speech after the Senate passed a foreign aid bill that encloses support to Israel and Taiwan, Biden counselled reluctant Republicans to pass the legislation in the Republican-controlled House.
Biden has stated that “Supporting this bill is standing up to Putin, and opposing it is playing into Putin’s hands.” President Biden reproached Trump for encouraging Republicans in the House who refused to support the bill and for his comments on Russia and NATO.
“Can you imagine a former president of the United States saying that? The whole world heard it. The worst thing is, he means it. No other president in our history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator. Let me say this as clearly as I can, I never will,” Mr. Biden said.
Further the President stated that, “For God’s sake it’s dumb, it’s shameful, it’s dangerous. It’s un-American. When America gives its word it means something, so when we make a commitment, we keep it. And NATO is a sacred commitment.”
In spite of the president’s urging and the Senate’s hard-won success, it does not appear that the bill will pass through the House. Due to the absence of border enforcement provisions, Mike Johnson, the hard-right Republican House speaker, effectively rejected the aid package.
Johnson and his House Republicans, who under pressure from Trump and his allies blocked an earlier version of the aid bill that included a bipartisan immigration deal meant to address the US-Mexico border crisis.
Recently, conservatives have insisted that foreign aid packages must be linked to border security measures. However, with immigration poised to play a vital role in the November elections and the Republican nominee increasingly certain to be Trump, the party became increasingly concerned about handing Biden a domestic policy victory by trying to resolve the issue. Although the legislation addresses several crises, they are not limited to those related to the border, Ukraine, and Russia.
Biden has emphasized the part of the Senate package that he said, “provides Israel with what it needs to protect his people against the terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and others, and it will provide life-saving humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people who desperately need food, water and shelter. They need help.”
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