Biden accuses Trump of 'destroying NATO,' 'choosing Putin over American allies'

Former U.S. President Joe Biden criticized his successor, Donald Trump, for his approach to NATO and Russia during a Democratic Party fundraising gala in Maryland on June 27, in one of his rare public speeches since leaving office in 2025.

Speaking ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, Biden accused Trump of "destroying NATO" and "choosing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin over American allies."

"It's not just his deliberate distortion and destruction of NATO and his choosing Putin over American allies or the fact that he's diminished our standing in the eyes of the world more than any president in history has," Biden said.

Biden's comments come as the Trump administration's efforts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia have largely stalled, as both warring sides remain far apart on territorial issues.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration's focus shifted to the war with Iran. Since then, Ukraine and its European allies have increasingly taken the lead in discussions on security guarantees and efforts to end the war, while U.S. involvement has become less visible.

The new U.S. leadership has also drastically reduced aid to Ukraine, leaving Europe to shoulder the financial burden of helping Kyiv resist Russian aggression.

Trump's tenure has also seen unprecedented ruptures within NATO as the U.S. president threatened to exit the alliance over allies not joining his war with Iran.