President Joe Biden affirmed the US commitment to NATO and accused Moscow of election interference at the same Helsinki site where former President Donald Trump famously said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin over US intelligence sources.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden affirmed the US commitment to NATO and accused Moscow of election interference at the same Helsinki site where former President Donald Trump famously said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin over US intelligence sources.
At a press conference Thursday with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Biden said he could “absolutely guarantee” US dedication to NATO. As president, Trump — the current 2024 Republican frontrunner — repeatedly threatened to pull the US out of the alliance if members didn’t reach the group’s goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense annually.
“There is no question there’s overwhelming support from the American people, there’s overwhelming support from the members of Congress, both House and Senate, and both parties, notwithstanding the fact there’s some extreme elements of one party. We will stand together,” Biden said at the Presidential Palace by the Baltic Sea.
Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in April as its 31st member, just under a year after filing an application prompted by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The Nordic nation has a history of wars with its eastern neighbor and guards a border more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) long.
Read more: Finland Joins NATO as Defense Alliance Expands Northward
“As sure as anything could possibly be said about American foreign policy, we will stay connected to NATO,” Biden said, adding, “We want the people of Finland to know: The United States is committed to Finland, committed to NATO, and those commitments are rock solid, that we defend every inch of NATO territory, and that includes Finland.”
Biden also underscored the Kremlin’s role meddling in the 2016 elections, another break from Trump.
“They’ve already interfered in American elections,” Biden said. “So that would not be anything new. They did that last time, they tried to.”
Five years ago at the same Presidential Palace, Trump downplayed the Kremlin’s role in the 2016 US election, saying he believed Putin, who had just denied Russian involvement.
“I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be,” Trump said at the time.
–With assistance from Jenny Leonard and Justin Sink.
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