Biden Takes Painfully Long Pause When Blasting Trump’s Comments on Russia and NATO: Should ‘Not Say What I’m Really Thinking’

While addressing the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny on Friday, President Joe Biden cited former President Donald Trump’s recent comments suggesting Russia can attack NATO allies.

“You know, we have to realize what we’re dealing with with [Vladimir] Putin,” Biden said. “All of us should reject the dangerous statements made by the previous president that invited Russia to invade our NATO allies if they weren’t ‘paying up.’ He said, if an ally did not pay their dues, he’d encourage Russia to, quote, ‘Do whatever the hell they want.'”

Biden then paused, seeming to struggle with what to say next.

“I guess I should clear my mind here a little bit and not say what I’m really thinking,” he said, finally continuing:

But let me be clear: this is an outrageous thing for a president to say. I can’t fathom, can’t fathom — from Truman on, they’re all rolling in their graves hearing this. As long as I’m president, America stands by our sacred commitment to our NATO allies, as they have stood by their commitments to us repeatedly.

Putin and the whole world should know: if any adversary were to attack us, our NATO allies would back us. And  if Putin were to attack a NATO ally, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory. Now’s the time for even greater unity among our NATO allies. To stand up to the threat that Putin’s Russia poses.

In December, Navalny was moved from a prison in central Russia to a maximum security “special regime” penal colony above the Arctic Circle. The Russian prison service said Navalny “lost consciousness after a walk on Friday and could not be revived by medics,” according to reports.

Navalny nearly died in 2020 when he was poisoned with the Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent. German doctors nursed him back to health and Navalny directly accused Putin of masterminding the attack. Rather than going into exile, Navalny returned to Russia and continued to openly oppose Putin’s regime.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet Newsletter
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!