Joe Biden warns of ‘world order’ collapse before Trump even takes office
Vice President Joe Biden warned about the collapse of the “world order” Wednesday during his last time addressing global leaders in his official role.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Biden urged influential leaders in Europe and the U.S. to “lead boldly” and defend democracies against dangers that he said include Russian President Vladimir Putin.
CNBC quoted Biden, who said Putin “has a different vision of the future,” and he accused the Russian leader of trying to “roll back decades of progress.”
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“Russia is working with every tool available to them to whittle away at the edges of the European project, test for fault lines among Western nations, and return to a politics defined by spheres of influence,” Biden said.
Biden said Russia used “cyber aggression” to meddle in the U.S. election and the “purpose is clear” — that Putin wants to see a “collapse of the international order.”
Trump’s world view is “America First,” which runs counter to Biden’s view.
Biden didn’t merely urge the world leaders at Davos to maintain the status quo. He warned that the reason for the pressure on the democratic order is the rise in income inequality and the hollowing out of the middle class, as the rich get richer and people in developing nations see their lives gradually improve.
He said the top 1 percent is not paying their fair share, and as a result we are seeing social instability increase.
“We need to tap into the big heartedness,” Biden said. “This is a moment to lead boldly.”
Back on 2013, Biden’s “world order” remarks also created a stir: “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been there longer than any of them and I hope you all haven’t noticed…the affirmative task we have now is to actually create a new world order because the global order is changing again and the institutions of the world that worked so well in the post-World War II era for decades, they need to be strengthened and some have to be changed. So we have to do what we do best. We have to lead.”
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