‘Are We Going to Be Okay?’ Biden Says World Leaders at G7 Told Him How Shook They Were By Pro-Trump Jan. 6 Riot
L: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images R: L: Brent Stirton/Getty Images
President Joe Biden tore into Republicans at a small private DNC fundraiser, and recounted how world leaders at the G7 told him how shaken they were by the attack carried out by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The president spoke to a small gathering of around 40 people at the home of Henry Laufer and Marsha Laufer in New York City this week, where he told one of the anecdotes that has become a regular part of his post-insurrection stump.
But this telling had an added dimension, as elsewhere in the speech, Biden also ripped into the threats of violence if Trump is punished for any of the crimes of which he is accused.
He then told of G7 leaders saying their faith in America’s longevity was shaken by the attacks — and wondering “Are we going to be okay?”:
And so I went to the first G7 meeting in England, and I sat down with the leading heads of state and of the seven most prosperous countries in the world. And I said, “America is back.” And my word — the comment from one of them and then echoed by three others was, “For how long?” “For how long?”
And then one of them said — I think it was Macron who said to me, “Imagine if we left this meeting, turned on the television…” — I think it was Macron. Don’t quote me on that. I’m not positive if it was. (Laughter.) And turned — one of them said, “…turned on the television and saw that there are a crowd of close to 1,000 people running down the halls of the Parliament and breaking down the doors of the — of the House of Commons. People being killed and end up dying to try to overthrow the outcome of an election. What would you think in America?”
All kidding aside, think about it. What would you all think if they did same thing in the Bundestag? I’m serious. We’d wonder whether or not it was still a relevant country, whether it was still a democracy.
And then, on top of that, if you had defended — defended these people as patriots for doing that, what would you think?
So, my point is that we have an obligation. Because I’ve always known that the United States, as Madeleine Albright has said it, of the last — at least the last 100 years, 70 years for certain — is the essential country. And I’ve known that because that’s been my —
But now I realize when I walk in a room, every other world leader looks at me like, “Are we going to be okay?” Not because of me. But I’m the President of the United States of America. They’re looking for America to lead. And we have all the tools to do it. We have all the tools. I’ve never been more optimistic about the prospects for the United States in the world than I am today.
The president was in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly.
