Elbridge Colby, a former high-ranking Pentagon official from the Trump era, has sharply criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for his praise of Joe Biden, Politico reports.
On Sunday, X asked whether Scholz “really knows what he’s talking about” after he praised President Joe Biden at the G-7 summit. Colby, who served as assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development from 2017 to 2018 and is expected to take on a key role in national security if Donald Trump is re-elected, wrote: “I think it’s better if we keep each other out of the election.” He added: “What message is this supposed to send to Republicans about the current Berlin government?”
On the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Italy, Scholz praised Biden in an interview with WELT as “one of the most experienced politicians in the world” and “a man who knows exactly what he is doing.” He spoke positively about Biden’s national and international policies, saying they had promoted “orderly economic development,” “peace and security,” and “togetherness and cohesion” in the United States.
Scholz went on to say that he believes Biden will defeat his predecessor Trump in the US presidential election in November and described speculation about the outcome of the election as “somewhat strange”.
“Is the Chancellor in a position to comment on the situation of economic and social cohesion in the USA?” Colby wrote on X, criticising Scholz’s “remarkable” comments. “I think that would provoke laughter, if not contempt, among many Americans.” It is “completely inappropriate to comment on American domestic politics and elections”.
