President Joe Biden froze at the podium Friday as he tried to think of a way to insult former President Donald Trump for inviting Russia to invade NATO allies.
Biden was in the Roosevelt Room talking to reporters about the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 47, who was imprisoned in a penal colony in Siberia.
After blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death, he turned his attention to Trump, the likely 2024 Republican nominee.
‘All of us should reject the dangerous statements made by the previous president, that invited Russia to invade our NATO allies if they weren’t paying up. He said if an ally did not pay their dues, he’d encourage Russia to “do whatever the h*** they want,”‘ Biden said.
He then stopped talking briefly as the composed his thoughts.
‘I guess I should clear my mind here a little bit and not say what I’m really thinking,’ he continued after the break. ‘But let me be clear. This is an outrageous thing for a president to say.’
‘I can’t fathom, can’t fathom – from Truman on they’re rolling over in their graves hearing this,’ Biden added.
The ex-president’s controversial comments were made at a rally in South Carolina Saturday.
Trump said that while serving as president he told a NATO leader to pay up or he ‘would encourage’ Russia to ‘to do whatever the h*** they want.’
‘As long as I’m president, America stands by our sacred commitment to our NATO allies – as they have stood by their commitments to us repeatedly,’ Biden said Friday. ‘Putin and the whole world should know that if any adversary were to attack us, our NATO allies would back us.’
‘And if Putin were to attack a NATO ally, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory,’ the president continued. ‘Now’s the time for even greater unity among our NATO allies.’
At the top of Biden’s remarks, the president spoke of Navalny’s bravery standing up to ‘corruption’ and ‘violence’ of Putin’s government.
‘In response, Putin had him poisonied, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, he sends him to prison, he’s held in isolation, even all that didn’t stop him from calling out Putin’s lies,’ Biden said. ‘Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth, which is kind of amazing when you think about it.’
Biden pointed out that Navalny could have lived out his life safely in exile after the 2020 assassination attempt but decided to go home to Russia ‘knowing he’d likely be imprisoned or even killed.’
‘Reports of his death if they’re true, and I have no reason to believe they’re not, Russian authorities are going to tell their own story,’ Biden said. ‘Make no mistake, make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible.’
‘What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality,’ the president added.
Biden said that Navalny was ‘so many things that Putin was not.’
‘He was brave, he was principled, he was dedicated to building a Russia where the rule of law existed and where it applied to everybody,’ Biden said. ‘Navalny believed in that Russia, that Russia, he knew it was a cause worth fighting for, and obviously even dying for.’
In June 2021, Biden promised there would be ramifications if Navalny died in prison.
‘I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia,’ the president said at the time, directly after meeting with Putin in Geneva.
Asked about that threat on Friday, Biden said Russia was already suffering that fate.
‘That was three years ago,’ he said. ‘In the meantime they faced a h*** of a lot of consequences.’
Biden pointed to the 350,000 dead or wounded Russian soldiers, from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and the heavy sanctions on Russia the U.S. has deployed.
‘And we’re contemplating what else could be done,’ Biden said. ‘But what we were talking about at the time there were no actions being taken against Russia. And look at all that’s transpired since then.’
‘We’re looking at a whole number of options, that’s all I’ll say right now,’ Biden added.
The president also stated that there was no way for the U.S. to give additional ammunition to the Ukrainians without the supplemental funding bill being passed by Congress.
‘It’s about time they step up don’t you think? Instead of going on a two-week vacation,’ Biden said in a whisper before raising his voice. ‘Two weeks. They’re walking away. Two weeks! What are they thinking? My God.’
‘This is bizarre. And it’s just reinforcing all the concern and almost, I won’t say panic, but real concern about the United States being a reliable ally,’ Biden continued. ‘This is outrageous.’
He told reporters ‘I hope to God’ Navalny’s death sparks action on Capitol Hill to get the funding bill through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
‘Come on. What are these guys doing? What are they doing?’ Biden urged.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
