WASHINGTON: Vice President Joe Biden told President-elect Donald Trump Thursday to “grow up.”
Biden dismissed Trump’s complaint on Twitter about how the Obama administration has handled the transition. The vice president told “PBS NewsHour” in an interview that it’s time for Trump “to be an adult.”
Biden said to Trump: “You’re president. You’ve got to do something. Show us what you have.”
The vice president also said that Trump as president will have to propose legislation that Congress and the public can then assess. He said that it’ll be “much clearer what he’s for and against” once he’s in the position of governing.
Vice President Joe Biden says it’s “dangerous” for President-elect Donald Trump to publicly criticize the US intelligence community.
Biden also said it’s “absolutely mindless” for a president not to have confidence in or listen to the intelligence agencies. The vice president said it would be legitimate to question intelligence and ask for more detail or disagree. But he said that’s different than Trump claiming he knows more than the intelligence agencies.
Biden said that’s like saying, “I know more about physics than my professor.” He says that’s worrisome, but he assumes Trump’s behavior will change. He said that Trump is surrounding himself with “very smart people” like retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, the billionaire businessman’s pick for defense secretary.
Time for US President-elect Trump to 'grow up', says VP Biden
Time for US President-elect Trump to 'grow up', says VP Biden
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
