Former President Joe Biden accuses Trump of appeasement of Russia
The comments echoed criticism of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain before World War II.
WASHINGTON – Former President Joe Biden called President Donald Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to surrender territory to Russia “modern-day appeasement” in an exclusive interview with the BBC.
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes Ukraine was part of Russia and "anybody that thinks he's going to stop" after territorial concessions "is just foolish," Biden said in the interview, which was broadcast on May 7 and recorded May 5 in Delaware.
Trump has argued that both sides should negotiate a permanent cease-fire and end the war to avoid more bloodshed, after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Trump has said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy understands Russia will keep at least the Crimean region annexed in 2014.
"I have no favorites,” Trump said in April when asked about recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea. “I want to have a deal done.”
The Biden interview was the first since he left office in January. His use of the term appeasement echoed the criticism of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who conceded Germany’s annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland in 1938 before World War II.
"It is modern-day appeasement," Biden said. "Europe is going to lose confidence in the certainty of America and the leadership of America.”
Biden criticized Trump for other foreign-policy proposals, including reclaiming the Panama Canada, acquiring Greenland and annexing Canada as the 51st state.
"What the hell's going on here? What president ever talks like that? That's not who we are," he said. "We're about freedom, democracy, opportunity, not about confiscation."
Trump met May 6 at the White House with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said his country wasn’t for sale.