Biden Slams Trump’s ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Unacceptable’ Attitude Toward Putin to Kick off State of the Union
President Joe Biden wasted little time in taking a swing at his predecessor during his State of the Union address Thursday evening, warning that former President Donald Trump’s attitude toward Vladimir Putin was “dangerous” and “unacceptable.”
After joking that “If I were smart, I’d go home now,” Biden’s tone turned serious, referencing President Franklin Roosevelt’s January 1941 speech “to wake up Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary time,” because of the dangers posed by Adolf Hitler.
“Tonight, I come to this same chamber to address the nation,” said Biden. “Now it’s we who face unprecedented moment in the history of the union. And yes, my purpose tonight is to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either,” because “freedom and democracy” were “under assault” both at home and overseas, with Putin’s Russia invading Ukraine “and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond.”
“And if anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not,” said Biden. “But Ukraine. Ukraine can stop Putin. Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all. That is all Ukraine is asking. They’re not asking for American soldiers. In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. And I’m determined to keep it that way.”
The president denounced the aid to Ukraine “being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership” and referenced President Ronald Reagan’s famous “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” speech, before directing his verbal fire at Trump.
“Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘do whatever the hell you want.’ That’s a quote, a former president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader. I think it’s outrageous. It’s dangerous, and it’s unacceptable.”
Biden mentioned America’s role as a founding member of NATO after World War II, “and today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever” after welcoming Finland last year “and just this morning, Sweden officially joined.”
“Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome!” Biden called out as he introduced the Prime Minister of Sweden in the audience.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
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