Former U.S. President, Joe Biden has criticized his successor, Donald Trump, accusing him of pressuring Ukraine to surrender territory to Russia, a move Biden described as “modern-day appeasement” that he believes will never satisfy Moscow.
In an interview with the BBC—his first since leaving the White House, Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin sees Ukraine as part of “mother Russia,” and warned that “anybody who thinks he’s going to stop is just foolish.”
“I just don’t understand how people think that if we allow a dictator, a thug, to take significant portions of land that aren’t his, that it’s going to satisfy him,” Biden said. The interview was aired Wednesday, May 7, but recorded on Monday
Trump has shifted U.S. policy on the Ukraine conflict, urging Kyiv to accept a ceasefire and dialing back pressure on Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump has said his aim is to stop the bloodshed.
Biden expressed concern over the implications of Trump’s stance for U.S. credibility on the global stage. “Europe is going to lose confidence in the certainty and leadership of America,” he warned.
He said European leaders are now questioning America’s reliability: “They’re wondering, ‘What do I do now? Can I rely on the United States? Will they be there?’”
Reflecting on a tense February meeting at the White House involving Trump, senior U.S. officials, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Biden added, “I found it sort of beneath America—the way that took place.”
