Joe Biden calls Vladimir Putin a ‘crazy SOB’ and says Donald Trump is no Navalny
Joe Biden slams Vladimir Putin as a 'crazy SOB' and questions Donald Trump's comparison to Navalny at a fiery San Francisco fundraiser.
US president, Joe Biden, threw a scathing attack on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and his former rival, Donald Trump, at a fundraising event in San Francisco on Wednesday. Biden accused Putin of being a “crazy SOB” and expressed his disbelief at Trump’s self-comparison to the late Russian dissident, Alexey Navalny.
Biden said that Putin and other leaders like him posed a constant threat of nuclear war.
“We have a crazy SOB like that guy Putin, and others, and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict,” he said. He also slammed Trump, who is seeking to challenge him in the next presidential election, for likening himself to Navalny, who died after being poisoned and imprisoned by the Kremlin.
“I don’t know where the hell this comes from,” Biden said.
“It astounds me the things that are being said. I mean, if I stood here 10, 15 years ago and said any of this, you’d all think I should be committed.”
It was a part of a San Francisco fundraiser
The fundraiser was part of Biden’s three-day trip to the West Coast, where he also attended events in Southern and Northern California. According to reports, his campaign has raised $130 million as of the end of January.
Trump equates himself with Navalny
On Tuesday night, Trump appeared on a Fox News town hall, where he sympathized with Navalny’s plight and claimed that he faced similar political persecution. He said that Navalny’s death was a “very sad situation” and that his own four criminal indictments were motivated by his opponents. He did not criticize Putin for his role in Navalny’s death or the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
ALSO READ| ‘Not happening’: Truckers backtrack on NYC boycott as protest over Trump trial judgment fizzles out
Meanwhile, the White House announced that it would unveil a “major sanctions package” against Russia on Friday, in response to Navalny’s death and the continued aggression in Ukraine. The sanctions would add to the existing measures against Putin’s regime.
However, Congress has not yet approved more aid to Ukraine, as partisan disputes stall the issue. The House of Representatives is on a break this week.