Joe Biden denounced President Trump’s cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin after reports Russia offered bounties to the Taliban to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
“When I’m president, this and so many abuses will not stand. Make no mistake. I’ll confront Putin. I’ll strengthen NATO. I’ll make clear to Putin that they’ll have a price to pay for interference in our democratic processes,” Biden told donors Monday, referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
If he had been briefed on the matter, the two-term vice president and presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee said his administration would’ve raised the issue with the United Nations Security Council. He would’ve also worked “like hell with our allies to impose new sanctions on Russia, identify other opportunities to impose cost, and further isolate Russia on the world stage.”
Biden blasted Trump for not saying he had received intelligence that a Russian spy unit paid Taliban-connected militants to slaughter U.S. and coalition armed forces as the Trump administration tried to broker a peace deal with the Taliban and the Afghan government.
“There are still a lot of discussion about what the facts are. But if the president knew this and did nothing, it’s outrageous. It’s clearly a betrayal of a sacred duty to protect troops that he sends into harm’s way,” he said.
Trump has denied the New York Times’s claim he was told about the intelligence in March, saying it wasn’t “credible.” Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe has backed up Trump’s denials, but they’ve been skewered by Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Biden initially responded to the New York Times story over the weekend during a presidential forum hosted by Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote.
“Donald Trump has continued his embarrassing campaign of deference and debasing himself before Vladimir Putin,” Biden said, ripping Trump for being willing to invite Putin to the White House and for being open to Russia rejoining the Group of Eight.
Twenty-four U.S. service members have been killed in combat in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2019. It’s unclear which of those killings may be under suspicion of having resulted from the bounty plot. The United States and the Taliban struck a shaky peace agreement in February, and the Taliban have not attacked any U.S. positions since then.
