President Joe Biden admonished former President Donald Trump for scrutinizing NATO amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “dumb,” “shameful,” “dangerous,” and “un-American.”
Trump said during a campaign rally in South Carolina over the weekend that he would “encourage” Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to member countries that are “not up to date with” or “delinquent” on their payments to the organization.
“Imagine a former president of the United States saying that,” Biden told reporters at the White House Tuesday of Trump’s comments regarding NATO. “The whole world heard it. The worst thing is he means it. No other president in history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator.”
“I never will. For god’s sake, it’s dumb,” Biden said, also pledging that he “will not walk away” from the alliance.
Biden stated that Trump’s comments set a “dangerous and shockingly, frankly un-American signal to the world.”
Without taking questions in the State Dining Room, Biden also called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to introduce the Senate’s $95 billion foreign aid bill directly on the House floor, contending some of its money will be spent in the U.S.
“I urge Speaker Johnson to bring it to the floor immediately,” Biden said. “Immediately. There’s no question that a Senate bill put on the floor in the House of Representatives, it would pass. It would pass. The speaker knows that.”
“For Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable, history is watching,” he added. “History is watching. History is watching. Failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.”
An hour earlier, the White House circulated a memorandum asserting the House should side with “American national security and NATO,” not Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran.
“Months ago, President Biden submitted a request for critical national security funding to Congress — every aspect of which has strong bipartisan support,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates wrote. “But a subset of congressional Republicans delayed that urgently needed action, choosing politics over national security.”
“Will House Republicans side with President Biden and Senators on both sides of the aisle in supporting American national security? Or will House Republicans, in the name of politics, side with Vladimir Putin and the regime in Tehran?” Bates continued. “The House GOP cannot lose sight of this binary choice. It would be devastating to undercut American national security by voting against our interests and values.”
The Senate passed a $95 billion national security funding bill for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan on Tuesday morning, 70-29, with 22 Republicans supporting the proposal.
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Johnson issued a statement Monday criticizing the legislation for not addressing national security concerns at the southern border, downplaying the likelihood of a scheduled floor vote.
His refusal could force Democrats to attempt a rare maneuver known as a “discharge petition,” which allows members to force a House vote if they can obtain the signatures of 218 representatives, more than half the House’s members. The last successful discharge petition was filed in 2015.
