‘I worked so damn hard’: Biden laments changes in U.S. since he left office – National | Globalnews.ca
Former U.S. president Joe Biden, in a lengthy address (via CBS) at a conference in California on Wednesday night, said some of his most significant achievements in office are “changing so rapidly” under the current administration that some European leaders have turned to him for advice.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), without ever mentioning President Donald Trump by name, Biden spoke for more than an hour to thousands of human resources experts invited by the HR trade group SHRM to a gathering in San Diego about the risks of the U.S.’ move toward isolationism and the dangers of abandoning his administration’s efforts to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance.
“We strengthened NATO in a significant way,” he told the audience on Wednesday, adding that now, he is “getting calls … from a number of European leaders asking me to get engaged.”
“I’m not, but I’m giving advice,” he continued.
Both Finland and Sweden joined NATO while Biden was in office, largely in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, the U.S. and other NATO members have supplied the war-torn country with billions of dollars in aid and ammunition.
But Trump has been critical of other NATO members’ military spending, and left last month’s G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., early, despite saying the alliance was “not a rip-off.”
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The White House responded to Biden’s remarks by criticizing his foreign policy, telling the WSJ that it left “America weaker than ever before.”
“Thanks to President Trump, NATO allies have made a historic 5 per cent defence spending pledge, Iran’s nuclear capabilities are obliterated, and our country’s standing on the world stage is restored,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said.
Despite his health, Biden said he continues to participate in political discussions with both Democratic and Republican officials.
“I really cared about what I was doing,” he told the crowd of his time as president. “Many of the things I worked so damn hard, that I thought I changed in the country, are changing so rapidly.”
The 82-year-old, who was diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer in May, made no mention of Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill,” which narrowly passed through Congress hours earlier, and will fund his deportation policy while slashing funding for Medicaid and other social safety nets.
The SHRM conference was one of only a few appearances made by the former president since leaving office. He has stepped away from public service to focus on his health and to spend time with his family.
Citing the American Cancer Society, fewer than 40 per cent of patients diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer are alive after five years.
SHRM president Johnny C. Taylor Jr. joined Biden on stage after his speech and asked him what he would most like to be remembered for.
“Being a good father,” Biden said.
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