Biden calls Trump's NATO remarks 'un-American'

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden rebuked former President Donald Trump on Tuesday for recently saying that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO nations that he thought had insufficiently spent on defense as part of the mutual protection agreement.

"The former president has sent a dangerous, and shockingly, frankly, un-American signal to the world. Just a few days ago, Trump gave an invitation to Putin to invade some of our NATO allies," Biden said in remarks from the White House.

Biden continued: "He said if an ally didn't spend enough money on defense, he would encourage Russia to, 'Do whatever the hell it wants.' Can you imagine? A former president of the United States saying that. The whole world heard it, and the worst thing is he means it. No other president in history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator. Let me say this as clearly as I can: I never will. For God's sake, it's shameful, it's dangerous, it's un-American."

The NATO treaty requires that if one member nation is attacked, the other members will aid in their defense. The only time the clause has been invoked was after the 9/11 attack, when the U.S. requested that other NATO countries help with the response.

The president said that Trump views NATO as a "burden" and "doesn't see the alliance that protects America and the world." He said that Russian leaders likely "cheered" when they heard Trump's comments.

"As long as I'm president, if Putin attacks a NATO ally, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory," Biden said.

Trump and Biden are likely to square off in a rematch for the presidency in the November election.

Trump has faced heavy backlash since his remarks Saturday at a rally in South Carolina. He said he would urge Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” if it attacked a NATO country that didn’t contribute enough toward the alliance's defense spending. While president, Trump frequently complained about the amount of money other NATO nations were spending on their defense, which is part of the treaty.

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“Let’s say that happened. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want,” Trump said. “You got to pay your bills.”

Biden also called on the Republican-controlled House to pass the $95 billion aid package approved by the Senate earlier in the day to provide assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., however, has said that he wouldn't bring the legislation to the House floor.

Biden stressed that the U.S. cannot abandon Ukraine because, he said, "that's what Putin is betting on."

"If we don’t stop Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won’t limit himself just to Ukraine, and the cost for America and our allies and partners are going to rise," he said.