Ukraine war: ‘First time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of the use nuclear weapons’, says President Biden
US President Joe Biden has said the world is facing the biggest threat of nuclear “Armageddon” since the days of President Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in New York, his ‘off camera’ comments were overheard by journalists from the White House pool.
It comes as Russian officials warned of the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering huge military setbacks in the invasion of Ukraine.
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Describing Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Biden said he had “got to know the guy pretty well”.
“He’s not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is you might say significantly underperforming.”
And he made clear his concerns that if such weapons were deployed it would quickly escalate into world nuclear conflict.
“First time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of the use nuclear weapon if in fact things continue down the path they are going,” he said.
During the 1962 crisis, the United States under President John Kennedy and the Soviet Union under Nikita Kruschev came close to using nuclear weapons over the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
Mr Biden said he and US officials were searching for a diplomatic off-ramp.
“I’m trying to figure out what is Putin’s off-ramp?” he said. “Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?
“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis.”
He added: “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.
“I didn’t realise how much serious damage the previous administration did to our foreign policy.”
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What is a tactical nuclear weapon?
US officials have warned for the last few months about the prospect of Russia using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine after numerous strategic setbacks on the battlefield.
Mr Putin has repeatedly alluded to using his country’s vast nuclear arsenal.
Last month, when he announced plans to conscript Russian men to serve in Ukraine, he said: “I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction … and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal.”
With a lingering stare at the camera, he added: “It’s not a bluff.”
On Thursday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr Putin understood the “world will never forgive” a Russian nuclear strike.
“He understands that after the use of nuclear weapons he would be unable anymore to preserve, so to speak, his life, and I’m confident of that,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
US
Joe Biden welcomes Donald Trump at White House for transition of power meeting president was never offered
US President Joe Biden has welcomed Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House aimed at ensuring the smooth transition of power from one leader to another.
It is the first time the president-elect has visited the White House since he left the Oval Office after being defeated by Mr Biden in the 2020 election.
Mr Biden and Mr Trump were seen exchanging pleasantries as they sat side by side in front of a roaring fire in the Oval Office.
“Donald, congratulations,” Mr Biden said, greeting Mr Trump with a handshake and adding that he looked “forward to a smooth transition.”
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The president and president-elect shaking hands. Pic: Reuters
The president-elect thanked Mr Biden for the invitation and for a peaceful transition of power saying it will be “as smooth as it can get”.
Mr Trump added: “Politics is tough. And it’s, in many cases, not a very nice world. But it is a nice world today and I appreciate it very much.”
First lady Jill Biden also made an appearance at the meeting, greeting the president-elect as he arrived at the White House and giving him a “handwritten letter of congratulations” for his wife, Melania Trump, a statement from her office said.
The letter also “expressed her team’s readiness to assist with the transition”.
The incoming first lady was invited to meet Mrs Biden, but reportedly declined the invitation.
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Mr Trump thanked the outgoing president for a smooth transition of power. Pic: Reuters
The meeting follows the longstanding tradition of outgoing presidents meeting their successors to discuss a smooth transition from one administration to the other.
However, Republican Mr Trump failed to give the same opportunity to Mr Biden in 2020 as he refused to accept his defeat against his Democratic rival.
Mr Trump, who previously won the keys to the White House when running against Hillary Clinton in 2016, will be sworn in as president in January following his decisive election win against vice president Kamala Harris last week.
The last time Mr Trump and Mr Biden met in person was for the presidential debate on 27 June, when the Democrat’s gaffes cost him his candidacy. Mr Biden dropped out a few weeks later in July, endorsing Ms Harris to run in the presidential race instead.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Mr Trump met with billionaire Elon Musk earlier today before he celebrated his victory with Republicans in the House of Representatives who have a good chance of maintaining control of the chamber as election results continue to trickle in.
“Isn’t it nice to win? It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win,” Mr Trump said. “The House did very well.”
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‘It’s always nice to win’
Mr Trump received a standing ovation from House Republicans, many of whom took videos of him as he ran through their party’s victories up and down the ballot, in what would be his final presidential election.
“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say ‘he’s good, we’ve got to figure something out’,” Mr Trump said to laughter.
President Joe Biden has invited Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House today.
This is what we expect is likely to happen.
Guest List
The meeting takes place at 11am local time (4pm UK time). It’s unclear whether they’ll be joined by anyone else for the “meet and greet”.
The final plans are still fluid but, as of last night, vice president Kamala Harris wasn’t expected to attend and JD Vance, the vice president-elect, hadn’t received an invitation from her.
The future first lady, Melania Trump, has been invited to accompany her husband on the visit but it’s thought unlikely she will attend. She did make the visit in 2016 and had tea in the Yellow Oval Room with the then first lady Michelle Obama.
It’s unclear whether the current first lady, Dr Jill Biden, will participate, although she is scheduled to be at the White House.
Enemies Reunited
The Oval Office meeting will be the first between Mr Biden and Mr Trump since the pair shared a TV debate stage in Atlanta last June. It was the night Mr Biden’s gaffes cost him the candidacy.
On that occasion, there was no handshake between the two old enemies and the mood darkened as the verbal sparring began.
“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” said Mr Trump. “I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Mr Biden said of Mr Trump: “You’re the sucker, you’re the loser.”
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It was the language of loathing that has long characterised the pair’s interactions. In the past, Mr Biden has called Mr Trump a “threat to this nation”, and Mr Trump has called Mr Biden “stupid”, and a “low-IQ individual”.
And remember, Mr Trump has threatened to pursue retribution against Mr Biden, stating he would hire a “real special prosecutor” to go after him.
On this historic occasion, expect the coldest handshake in American history.
Precedent
Former president Barack Obama invited then president-elect Trump to meet at the White House two days after the 2016 election.
The sit-down in the Oval Office lasted approximately 90 minutes and Mr Obama called it “an excellent conversation” that was “wide-ranging”.
Then vice-president Biden met with then VP-elect Mike Pence during that time as well.
Six days later, the Bidens hosted the Pences at their home.
Mr Trump did not invite Mr Biden for a 2020 visit to the White House, while refusing to concede the election.
In snubbing Mr Biden, Mr Trump bucked a presidential tradition that had gone back decades.
Former president George W Bush hosted Mr Obama in 2008 and Laura Bush hosted Michelle Obama, while former president Bill Clinton hosted Mr Bush in 2000.
What will Mr Biden and Mr Trump discuss?
There is no published agenda but there’s every chance we’ll hear it first hand from either, or both. TV cameras will film the event and both men will have the opportunity to take questions.
Following his 2016 meeting with Mr Trump, then president Barack Obama said: “We talked about some of the organisational issues in setting up the White House. We talked about foreign policy.
“We talked about domestic policy and, as I said last night, my number-one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our president-elect is successful.”
It is a familiarisation meeting, as much as anything else. Senior staffers, on both sides, will also meet their counterparts.
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What’s in it for them?
For both men, this meeting symbolises an orderly transition of power.
Presidents, outgoing and incoming, working for the good of the country. It works for Mr Trump because why wouldn’t it? He won decisively and will survey the spoils.
It works for Mr Biden because a peaceful transition represents everything that, for him, Mr Trump doesn’t: respect for the office, respect for the people and respect for democracy.
As much as this meeting is wrapped up in the politeness of protocol, it has hard politics at its heart.
Donald Trump has confirmed Elon Musk will co-lead the new department of government efficiency.
The president-elect said on Tuesday that the Tesla and X owner – who is also the world’s richest man – will work with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the department, which is known as DOGE for short.
The appointment fulfils a promise Mr Trump made to the tech billionaire after he endorsed him in the race for the White House, and poured more than $119m (£92m) canvassing for him in the seven battleground states.
In a statement, the president-elect said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk in Butler, Pennsylvania. Pic: AP
Despite its name, the DOGE is not a government agency and is instead set to provide “advice and guidance” from the outside of government.
The statement released by Mr Trump said it will partner with the office of management and budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”.
This will likely mean both Mr Musk and biotech entrepreneur Mr Ramaswamy will be allowed to continue working in the private sector and serve without Senate approval, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reported, as they would technically not be federal workers.
Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the department with Mr Musk. Pic: AP
Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work.
After being elected president in 2016, Mr Trump handed over control of his business empire to his sons in order to try and avoid a conflict of interest. The move was later criticised by the director of the office of government ethics that it did not go far enough and Mr Trump “still [knew] what he owned”.
‘More efficiency and less bureaucracy’
A deadline of 4 July 2026 has been put in place for the new DOGE to conclude its work.
The DOGE acronym coincides with a popular meme and the name of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin that Mr Musk promotes.
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What Musk stands to gain from Trump
Mr Trump added: “A smaller government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!”
Mr Musk said in the statement that the department will “send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste”.
The billionaire has said in the past he wants to cut $2trn from the federal budget but has provided few details on what he would cut.
Meanwhile, Mr Ramaswamy, who threw his support behind Mr Trump after suspending his own bid for the presidency in January, previously called for mass lay-offs in federal agencies.
The union representing federal workers said in a statement on Tuesday that if the DOGE implements these recommendations, or ones similar, it would “mean massive cuts” to multiple departments.
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How Trump won the election
In a string of picks for his second administration, Mr Trump also named Fox New host and army veteran Pete Hegseth as defence secretary and said he would nominate former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe to be director of the CIA.
Earlier this week, the president-elect named Susie Wiles – who ran his 2024 presidential campaign – as his White House chief of staff, the first woman in history to take up one of the most important non-elected roles in Washington.
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Florida senator Marco Rubio is reported to be named as secretary of state, who serves as the president’s chief foreign affairs adviser and the country’s top diplomat.
If chosen, Mr Rubio would be first Latino member of the president-elect’s top team, but Mr Trump could still change his mind on the appointment.
Below is a list of all the appointments Mr Trump has made for his administration so far:
• Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff
• Pete Hegseth, secretary of defence
• Mike Waltz, national security adviser
• Tom Homan, “border czar”
• Elise Stefanik, United Nations ambassador
• Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy
• Lee Zeldin, head of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
• Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East
• John Ratcliffe, CIA director
• William McGinley, White House counsel
• Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security.
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