US President Joe Biden has accused his predecessor, Donald Trump, of being unfit for the role of commander-in-chief, claiming he ‘bows down to dictators’.
The outgoing president spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday to urge voters to support the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election. Last month, he was pressured by party heavyweights to drop out of the race after a disastrous debate against Trump.
Biden brought up the story about Trump allegedly calling World War I soldiers buried in Europe “suckers and losers” to attack the former president, saying someone like this cannot lead the US military.
”No commander-in-chief should ever bow down to a dictator the way Trump bows down to Putin. I never have, and I promise you, Kamala Haris will never do it,” he said.
Trump broke from the policy of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, by greenlighting the delivery of military aid to Ukraine, fueling tensions with Russia over NATO’s intention to make Ukraine a member of the US-led bloc. In 2021, Moscow proposed freezing NATO expansion to address its concerns, but was told by Washington that it cannot dictate who joins the organization.
The Republican nominee now claims he can end the ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, which broke out in February 2022 under Biden’s watch. Presumably, Trump intends to leverage US aid to Kiev to force concessions on its part. Biden has vowed to prop up Ukraine against Russia “for as long as it takes” to defeat it.
During his speech in Chicago, Biden took credit for getting European members of NATO to unite in support of Ukraine. He claimed that Europeans have been looking at Russia “with dread” since the times of Napoleon.
Trump has argued that getting along with foreign leaders, including those that some may call dictators, is a good thing for a president, as this helps cool tensions and prevent unnecessary conflicts.