Former President Joe Biden has fielded a lot of calls since he left the White House, and at least some of them are coming from NATO allies in Europe.
“I’m getting calls. I’m not going to go into it, I can’t, from a number of European leaders asking me to get engaged," Biden said on Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Biden added that he is not actively involved with NATO issues, but he is "giving advice."
Strengthening the NATO alliance was one of Biden's signature accomplishments while he was in office. The alliance expanded to include countries like Finland and Sweden, and he also got alliance members to show considerable support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Biden's comments speak to the sense of unease that America's allies across Europe have felt since President Donald Trump took office for his second term. Trump has repeatedly bashed the alliance, even as he sought to force NATO members to increase their spending on defense up to 5% of GDP.
During Trump's most recent meeting with NATO, allies showered him with praise and affection. For instance, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called Trump "daddy" during a news conference and thanked him for pressuring allies into increasing their defense spending.
Rutte told Reuters after the meeting that he used the word metaphorically.
"In Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, 'Hey, Mark, will the U.S. stay with us?' And I said that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, 'Hey, are you still staying with the family?'" Rutte told Reuters. "So in that sense, I used 'daddy', not that I was calling President Trump 'daddy," Rutte said.
