President Donald Trump got a little tongue-tied speaking with reporters on Air Force One, appearing to suggest his predecessor had left the United States vulnerable to attacks by forces of nature.
Asked by one journalist about the threat of Iranian retaliation on U.S. soil following strikes against three nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic over the weekend, the president was quick to pin the blame on Joe Biden.
“Biden let a lot of supercells into the United States. He was an incompetent president. He had no idea what he was doing,” Trump said in audio of the exchange obtained by Fox News.
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“It was gross incompetence,” he went on. “Among everything else, he let a lot of supercells in, many from Iran. But hopefully we’ll take care of them. What Biden did to this country should never be forgotten.”
There has been mounting concern in recent days over the prospect of Iran activating “sleeper cells” of terrorist agents embedded in the U.S. to carry out attacks against American citizens and infrastructure.
The term “supercell,” meanwhile, refers to a type of thunderstorm that rotates on an axis as the result of powerful updrafts.
Trump’s comments came as he flew to the Netherlands for a NATO summit at The Hague, where he is expected to discuss mounting global instability with other alliance leaders.
Another journalist aboard the aircraft pointed out that at a time of increasing conflict, many member states have expressed concern over the president’s historically tepid view of Article Five, pertaining to NATO’s provisions for mutual defense.
Asked whether he stood by those provisions, Trump responded, “Depends on your definition.”
“There’s numerous definitions of Article Five, you know that, right? But I’m committed to being their friends,” he said. “I’m gonna give you an exact definition when I get there. I just don’t wanna do it on the back of an airplane.”
