Trump says Biden ‘dragging’ US ‘into World War III’ by sending Ukraine cluster bombs

Former President Trump ripped President Biden for his decision to send Ukraine cluster bombs and claimed Biden was “dragging” the United States “into World War III” by making the controversial decision.

“Joe Biden should not be dragging us further toward World War III by sending cluster munitions to Ukraine—he should be trying to END the war and stop the horrific death and destruction being caused by an incompetent administration. These unexploded cluster munitions will be killing and maiming innocent Ukrainian men, women, and children for decades to come, long after the war—we pray—has ended,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday. 

Biden announced last week his decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine and has received criticism from factions of both parties as a result. 

Biden has said it was a difficult, but necessary, decision to make in light of the rapidly depleting stockpiles of unitary munitions — in Ukraine and around the world. Some allies who have hesitated to fully back the decision have still stressed the importance of the agreement with Ukraine to minimize civilian risk.

Cluster bombs release submunitions that cover a vast area when they explode, making them effective at targeting mass formations of soldiers, but also making unexploded cluster bombs dangerous to civilians. More than 100 countries have banned their use, although the United States, Russia and Ukraine are not among them.

In his statement, Trump railed on Biden for his resolve to supply Ukraine with a vast supply of weapons and said, “We should not be sending Ukraine our last stockpiles at a time when our own arsenals, according to Crooked Joe Biden, are so perilously diminished.”

Trump also called for a de-escalation of the war in Ukraine but did not specify what steps to take to do so.

“Joe Biden is needlessly and dangerously leading us into World War III, which would be a nightmare beyond imagination—obliteration! We must stop this insanity, immediately end the bloodshed in Ukraine, and return to a focus on America’s vital interests,” Trump wrote in the statement. 

Trump’s position against cluster munitions is an apparent shift from the policies enacted during his administration. In 2017, Trump’s defense secretary, Gen. Jim Mattis, decided to cancel an Obama-era policy that would have ended the United States’s use of most cluster bombs by 2018.