First Interview Since Leaving Office with the BBC
Criticism of the Trump Administration... "Nothing Has Been Successful"
On Ukraine's Territorial Concessions: "A Modern-Day Appeasement Policy"
Former U.S. President Joe Biden delivered strong criticism of the potential second Trump administration in his first media interview since leaving office. He warned that the Trump administration’s disregard for alliances would cause the United States to lose trust in its leadership within the international community.
In an interview with the BBC, released on May 7 (local time), Biden described the Trump administration’s pressure on Ukraine to cede territory as a “modern-day appeasement policy.” In this first interview since leaving office, he stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes Ukrainian territory is part of Russia, and that it is foolish to think Putin would stop if allowed to take some of that territory. The Trump administration has effectively pressured Ukraine to concede territory by proposing that the current front lines, where Russia has seized Ukrainian land, remain unchanged.
Biden compared this to the appeasement policy of then-British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who tried to prevent war in the late 1930s by accommodating the demands of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, but ultimately failed. He referred to President Putin as “a dictator and a thug,” stating, “I simply cannot understand how people think they can satisfy a dictator and a thug by allowing him to take a significant amount of land that does not belong to him.”
In the same interview, Biden also criticized former President Trump’s territorial ambitions regarding the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada, saying such attitudes are not the right way to treat allies. He questioned, “Has any president in history ever spoken like this?” and added, “We (the United States) are a country of freedom, democracy, and opportunity, not a country of seizure.”
Biden stated that if Trump’s disregard for alliances continues, U.S. leadership will lose trust in the international community, especially in Europe. He added that European leaders are now questioning whether they can rely on the United States. Regarding the Trump administration’s actions as it recently marked its 100th day, Biden said, “History will judge,” and assessed that none of the Trump administration’s policies have been successful.
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