ISTANBUL

US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday criticized the foreign policy record of outgoing President Joe Biden, calling it a new low in US history.

"When you look at what happened during this last four-year period, I think it was the lowest point in the history of our country. It's been so bad," Trump told the right-wing channel Newsmax on Monday.

Earlier Monday Biden delivered a speech boasting of his foreign policy team's accomplishments, claiming they were "the best ever assembled in US presidential history."

Trump also discussed the global challenges he is inheriting, including the Russia-Ukraine war – now nearly three years old – and the recent Israel-Iran conflict, while rejecting Biden's claims that America and its alliances are stronger than four years ago.

"I don't want to insult people when they're on their way out," Trump remarked, before labeling Biden’s foreign policy "terrible."

During his first term in 2017-2021, Trump was well known for tense relations with traditional US allies such as Germany and other NATO members, leading to fears that the US might quit the longstanding military alliance. He also sought stronger ties with traditional US rivals such as Russia and North Korea.

Since his election last fall, Trump has raised tensions with NATO member Canada by referring to it as a US state, and also declined to rule out using military action to acquire Greenland, a territory of Denmark, another NATO ally.

Global crises

Trump also argued: "We wouldn't have had any wars. You wouldn't have had Russia-Ukraine. We shouldn't have ever had Israel; Israel would not have been attacked by Iran, which because ultimately, it was Iran that did it.”

He said the Biden administration’s handling of global affairs has been catastrophic, citing the “bumbling and incompetence” of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

"And you know what he did with the ... craziness, and 13 dead soldiers, and leaving billions and billions of dollars' worth of equipment in the hands of the Taliban. It's just, you know, it just couldn't have been any worse than that.”

The withdrawal “led to more global crises," Trump said.

Biden’s team point out that Trump as president set the date for the US withdrawal, and charge that Trump shortchanged preparations for an orderly withdrawal. They also dispute claims that the US left behind a large amount of equipment.

Trump also argued that the pullout emboldened US adversaries.

"And I think probably that's why (Russian President Vladimir) Putin invaded (Ukraine in February 2022); when he saw the incompetence of (then-US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark) Milley and these people, he said, 'Wow, these people are not so good. We're going to go and do the invasion of Ukraine.' I really think that was a big, a big factor."

After being nominated by then-President Trump in 2018, Milley served as the US military chief from 2019 to 2023.