Former US president Joe Biden has described Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to cede territory to Russia as “modern-day appeasement” in his first interview since departing the White House.
Biden spoke to BBC Radio 4 from his home in Delaware and gave his unfiltered thoughts on the Trump administration’s approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his treatment of key US allies.
“What the hell’s going on here? What president ever talks like that?” Biden said of his two-time political rival’s proposal to assume control the the Panama Canal, own Greenland and make Canada the 51st US state.
READ MORE: What went wrong for the Coalition’s federal election campaign?
“That’s not who we are. We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity, not about confiscation.”
Biden said democracy “hangs in the balance” and warned Trump’s leadership could result in a loss in confidence from major world leaders.
The former president, who dropped out of the US election race less than four months before Americans went to the polls, delivered a scathing criticism of Trump’s global reputation.
He said a breakdown in relations between the US and Europe “would change the modern history of the world”.
“Europe is going to lose confidence in the certainty of America and the leadership of America,” Biden continued.
He said major world leaders could be wondering “well, what do I do now?” and “can I rely on the United States? Are they going to be there?”
When asked about Trump’s handling of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Biden labelled Putin a dictator.
READ MORE: New PM tells Trump Canada ‘won’t be for sale, ever’
READ MORE: Who is Ali France, the Labor MP who conquered Peter Dutton?
He also echoed former UK prime minister Neville Chamberlain’s words when he described Trump’s attempts to push Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give up territory as “modern-day appeasement”.
“I just don’t understand how people think that if we allow a dictator, a thug, to decide he’s going to take significant portions of land that aren’t his, that that’s going to satisfy him,” Biden said.
“I don’t quite understand.”
Biden also spoke of his choice to drop out of the race in July last year and said he believed it was the “right decision”.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
