Biden on Trump So Far: 'What the Hell's Going On Here?'

Former President Biden had his first official interview since leaving office in January, and he had a lot to say about his successor in the Oval Office. Speaking with the BBC in an interview that aired Wednesday, the former commander in chief slammed President Trump's handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US' fractured relations with its allies, and more. Some standout quotes from No. 46, per the BBC, USA Today, and the New York Times:

• Russia-Ukraine war: Biden called Trump pressing Ukraine to permanently give up some territory Russia has seized "modern-day appeasement," adding that "Europe is going to lose confidence in the certainty of America and the leadership of America." Meanwhile, "anybody [who] thinks [Vladimir Putin is] going to stop is just foolish."

• Tense Oval Office meeting: Biden also weighed in on the acrimonious gathering of Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in February, noting, "I found it sort of beneath America in the way that it took place."
• Seizing other nations: "What the hell's going on here?" Biden said of Trump's continued insistence that the US will take over the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada. "What president ever talks like that? That's not who we are. We're about freedom, democracy, opportunity, not about confiscation."
• Future of NATO: Biden said it was a "grave concern" on what would happen if the US leaves the international alliance, possibly spurring its disintegration. "I think it would change the modern history of the world if that occurs," he noted. "We are not the essential nation, but we are the only nation in position ... to bring people together to lead the world."
• Leaving the 2024 race: When asked if he should've dropped out in his presidential run sooner, Biden shrugged, "I don't think it would have mattered." He added of his vice president, Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee: "We left at a time when we had a good candidate, she was fully funded."
• Why'd he want to serve again? Biden had hinted during his first presidential campaign that he'd only do one term, and he told the BBC that was his intention. But then, "things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away. It was a hard decision." Still, he thinks his eventual decision to step down was the "right" one.
• Trump's first 100 days: "I don't see anything that was triumphant," Biden said, though he said he'd let history ultimately be the judge.
• On Trump's future moves: "I don't think [he'll] succeed," Biden said of Trump's efforts to weaken the courts or Congress, because Republicans are "waking up to what Trump is about."

(More Joe Biden stories.)