Biden Denounces Trump’s Comments on Russia and NATO as ‘Un-American’ – The New York Times
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The president cited the former president’s comments in seeking to increase pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a floor vote on a $95 billion package of security aid for Ukraine and Israel approved by the Senate.
transcript
There’s no question that if the Senate bill was put on the floor in the House of Representatives, it would pass. It would pass. And the speaker knows that. So I call on the speaker to let the full House speak its mind and not allow a minority of most extreme voices in the House to block this bill even from being voted on. The stakes are already high for American security before this bill was passed in the Senate last night. But in recent days, those stakes have risen. And that’s because the former president has set a dangerous and shockingly, frankly, un-American signal to the world. Just a few days ago, Trump gave an invitation to Putin to invade some of our NATO allies. He said if an ally didn’t spend enough money on defense, he would encourage Russia to, quote, “Do whatever the hell they want,” end of quote. 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. Well, let me say this as clearly as I can — I never will. For God’s sake, it’s dumb, it’s shameful, it’s dangerous, it’s un-American.
Reporting from Washington
President Biden denounced former President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday for encouraging Russia to attack certain NATO allies, calling the comments “dumb,” “shameful,” “dangerous” and “un-American” as he implored House Republicans to defy their putative nominee and pass new security aid for Ukraine and Israel.
In a televised statement, Mr. Biden said a $95 billion spending package that the Senate passed earlier in the day on a bipartisan vote was imperative to help defeat the “vicious onslaught” of President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia against Ukraine. And he linked the legislative debate to Mr. Trump’s campaign speech siding with Moscow over European allies that he deemed “delinquent.”
“Can you imagine?” Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House. “A former president of the United States saying that? The whole world heard it. And 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. For God’s sake, it’s dumb, it’s shameful, it’s dangerous, it’s un-American.”
Mr. Trump, who has long expressed admiration for Mr. Putin and derision for NATO and Ukraine, boasted at a campaign rally over the weekend that he had warned NATO allies that did not spend enough on their own militaries that he would not come to their defense if Russia attacked them. That would effectively render toothless Article 5 of the alliance’s charter, which requires members to aid one another in the event of an outside attack. But not only would he not help the allies, Mr. Trump added that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” against them.
The former president’s stunning comments favoring a longtime foe over longtime friends have inflamed the debate on Capitol Hill over renewing military aid for Ukraine, which has been stalled for months even as troops there run short of ammunition and struggle to recapture territory seized by Russian forces.
The Senate finally passed the $95 billion security aid package early Tuesday on a 70-to-29 vote, with 22 Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in supporting the financing. The package includes $60.1 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, $9.2 billion for humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, Ukraine and other conflict zones, and $4.8 billion for Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific allies concerned about an aggressive China.
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