Former U.S. president Joe Biden, in a lengthy address (via CBS) at a conference in California on Wednesday night, said some of his most significant achievements in office are “changing so rapidly” under the current administration that some European leaders have turned to him for advice.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), without ever mentioning President Donald Trump by name, Biden spoke for more than an hour to thousands of human resources experts invited by the HR trade group SHRM to a gathering in San Diego about the risks of the U.S.’ move toward isolationism and the dangers of abandoning his administration’s efforts to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance.
“We strengthened NATO in a significant way,” he told the audience on Wednesday, adding that now, he is “getting calls … from a number of European leaders asking me to get engaged.”
“I’m not, but I’m giving advice,” he continued.
Both Finland and Sweden joined NATO while Biden was in office, largely in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, the U.S. and other NATO members have supplied the war-torn country with billions of dollars in aid and ammunition.
But Trump has been critical of other NATO members’ military spending, and left last month’s G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., early, despite saying the alliance was “not a rip-off.”
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The White House responded to Biden’s remarks by criticizing his foreign policy, telling the WSJ that it left “America weaker than ever before.”
“Thanks to President Trump, NATO allies have made a historic 5 per cent defence spending pledge, Iran’s nuclear capabilities are obliterated, and our country’s standing on the world stage is restored,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said.
