Former Vice President Joe Biden slammed President Trump amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, saying the U.S. will have to bear the burden of “Trump’s folly” in the wake of a U.S. drone strike that killed senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.
“We are alone now. We’re alone and will have to bear the cost of Donald Trump’s folly,” Biden said during an address in New York City on Tuesday.
“While I don’t expect Donald Trump to listen to me, I hope he will listen to those around him who understand the gravity of the threats we now face,” he continued.
The Trump administration’s decision has sparked intense scrutiny and debate over whether it acted within international law in Soleimani’s killing.
Administration officials say that the airstrike stopped an “imminent” attack from Soleimani but has not been transparent on the specifics of the attack. Rather, it has referenced a number of past attacks orchestrated by Soleimani, including the deaths of more than 600 American service members between 2003 and 2011.
Biden acknowledged Soleimani’s past actions but said the problem was with Trump’s strategy on taking him out.
“The question is was the reward of removing a bad actor worth risk of what comes next,” Biden said. “President Trump has no strategy here. He has no endgame.”
The former vice president went on to tout his own experience, specifically pointing to his tenure on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the time he spent in the Obama administration.
“I served in the executive branch of our government for eight years, but I served in the legislative branch for 36 prior to that — and I understand better than anyone that the system will not hold unless we find ways to work together to advance our national interests — not the political interests of one person or one party,” he said.
Biden’s comments come as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has hit him over his support of the invasion in Iraq, saying it led to U.S. involvement in an “endless war.”
“Joe Biden voted and helped lead the effort for the war in Iraq, the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in the modern history of this country,” Sanders said Monday on CNN.