Former President Trump hit President Biden on foreign policy, pointing to Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war against Hamas as the whole world “blowing up under him.”
Trump briefly addressed policy questions, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s terms to end the war are “unacceptable” and encouraging Israel to “finish the job” against Hamas, but he largely avoided explaining how he would handle the major wars if he were elected in November.
Instead, Trump pointed to Iran’s funding of terrorism and Biden overseeing a chaotic and deadly pullout of Afghanistan as encouraging global conflict.
Trump’s attacks were widely expected, and he also criticized U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and repeated complaints over NATO allies who have yet to meet their commitments to defense spending — although more than 70 percent of NATO allies are on track to meet their spending commitments in 2024.
Biden responded to Trump calling it “malarkey” and “foolishness,” pointing to Trump dismissing the seriousness of attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq by Iranian-backed militias and that the former president encouraged Putin’s violence.
“That’s exactly what Trump did to Putin, encourage him, do whatever you want,” Biden claimed.
In February, Trump said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that had not met their defense commitments.