Joe Biden shared strong opinions about Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. His reflections follow Trump’s non-verbal reaction to Biden’s first public speech since leaving the White House.
Recently, former United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden sat down for an exclusive and candid interview with the BBC. During the discussion, Biden shared his thoughts on U.S. President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, expressing his disappointment in Trump’s declarations and decisions thus far. Biden also reflected on his fears surrounding the future should the Atlantic Alliance collapse.
Seated across from BBC’s Nick Robinson in a Delaware hotel, Biden didn’t mince words as he expressed deep unease over the direction the country — and the world — seems to be heading under Trump’s leadership.
In his first interview since leaving the White House, Biden, once cautious about publicly criticizing successors, appeared driven by conviction rather than politics.
His frustration peaked when discussing Trump’s controversial Oval Office altercation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February 2025, calling the exchange “beneath America.”
He also highlighted Trump’s bizarre and provocative remarks about the “Gulf of America,” acquiring territories like Greenland, and turning Canada into state 51.
“What President ever talks like that? That’s not who we are,” Biden stated, his voice tinged with disbelief. “We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity — not about confiscation.”
Though Trump has invoked Biden’s name hundreds of times since returning to office — blaming economic downturns on the so-called “Biden’s stock market” and touting recoveries as his own — Biden largely sidestepped domestic grievances.
His focus, instead, remained fixed on the international stage, more specifically, the concern that Biden believes threatens the eight-decade alliance of democracy, peace, and freedom between the U.S. and Europe.
After placing a gold coin from a D-Day commemoration into Robinson’s palm at the start of the interview, Biden warned of what he described as a “grave concern” for the Atlantic Alliance, citing his belief that it appears to be dying.
“I think it would change the modern history of the world if that occurs,” he cautioned, arguing that the collapse of Western unity would embolden adversaries like China and Russia.
He lamented growing doubts among European leaders about America’s reliability, especially as Trump and his administration have cast long shadows over long-standing military alliances, with senior U.S. officials accusing Europe of “free-loading” and draining American resources.
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Biden emphasized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) founding pledge as a “sacred obligation,” reminding audiences that under his leadership, Finland and Sweden had joined the alliance — an achievement now at risk of being unraveled.
“We did all that — and in four years we’ve got a guy who wants to walk away from it all,” he said. The concern, Biden explained, is not just about the military alliance but the crumbling confidence in American leadership.
I’m worried that Europe is going to lose confidence in the certainty of America,” he admitted, “and the leadership of America in the world, to deal with not only Nato [sic], but other matters that are of consequence.”
Reflecting on his own decision to withdraw from the 2024 election campaign, Biden remained resolute, even as critics questioned the timing of his exit and his fitness to serve.
Dubbed an “at times addled old man” by journalists such as Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson and faltering during debate performances, Biden’s age has been heavily scrutinized in the public sphere.
Speaking on his decision not to run, Biden, who was 82 years old when he left the White House, plainly noted, “I don’t think it would have mattered.”
While he admitted that dropping out of the presidential race 107 days before election day was difficult, Biden maintained that former Vice President Kamala Harris was prepared, well-funded, and positioned to lead.
“What we had set out to do, no-one [sic] thought we could do. And we had become so successful in our agenda, it was hard to say, ‘No, I’m going to stop now’… It was a hard decision,” reflected Biden
Remarking on where the world seems to be headed at another point in the interview, Biden shared, “Instead of democracy expanding around the world, [it’s] receding. Democracy — every generation has to fight for it.”
When asked whether he thinks Trump is behaving more like a monarch than a “constitutionally limited president,” Biden carefully worded his response. He stated that his successor is not behaving like a Republican president.
However, he also mentioned that he is less worried about the future of the country’s democracy as the “Republican Party is waking up to what Trump is about.”
At a different moment during the discussion, Biden reflected on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Notably, his approach to dealing with the tension stands in sharp contrast to that of Trump’s. Reportedly, Trump has told Ukraine that it needs to consider giving up territory should it want the war to end.
Biden has since dismissed Trump’s approach as “modern day appeasement,” sharply warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin “believes he has historical rights to Ukraine,” and anyone who assumes he’ll stop there is “just foolish.”
The former president defended his administration’s support of Ukraine, rejecting accusations that he held back out of fear. “We gave them [Ukraine] everything they needed to provide for their independence. And we were prepared to respond more aggressively if in fact [sic] Putin moved again,” he asserted.
Biden also said he had to weigh the very real possibility of nuclear escalation — “This is not a game or roulette,” he warned — and believed he made the necessary calls to avoid World War III.
Even though he had admitted to worrying less about the future of U.S. democracy earlier on in the interview, toward the end of his reflections, Biden didn’t downplay the stakes. “Every generation has to fight to maintain democracy, every one [sic]. Everyone’s going to be challenged,” he remarked.
Holding onto the legacy of leaders like Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose portrait once hung in the Oval Office during his term, Joe Biden seemed to carry the weight of history in every word.
“We’ve done it well for the last 80 years,” he concluded. “And I’m worried there’s the loss of understanding of the consequences of that.”
The former U.S. president’s BBC interview comes after he broke his post-presidency silence with a speech that stirred emotion and reflection. His words prompted a non-verbal reaction from Trump.
In addition to Trump, Biden’s speech also caught the attention of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. She made headlines with her blunt response to his first public address, sparking backlash and stirring debate over political decorum among netizens.
