Ex-secretary of state under Obama cited Trump’s Nato performance as a reason why he supports Biden to challenge him

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

John Kerry, the former secretary of state under Barack Obama who won the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, has announced he is endorsing Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential primary race.

“I’m not endorsing Joe because I’ve known him a long time. I’m endorsing him because I know him so well,” Kerry told the Washington Post. “The world is broken. Our politics are broken. The country faces extraordinary challenges.

“And I believe very deeply that Joe Biden’s character, his ability to persevere, his decency and the experiences that he brings to the table are critical to the moment. The world has to be put back together, the world that Donald Trump has smashed apart.”

John Kerry endorses Joe Biden in 2020 Democratic presidential race – live Read more

Kerry specifically cited the president’s performance this week at the Nato summit in London as a reason why the country needed Biden to be the Democratic presidential candidate to challenge Trump in the 2020 US election.

“The petulance and smallness and ridicule that he invited is very dangerous for all of us,” Kerry said. “And that just underscores the urgency of people recognizing the assets that Joe Biden brings to the table.”

The Biden campaign similarly criticized Trump for his performance at the Nato summit, releasing a new video featuring footage of world leaders seeming to laugh at the US president. The Biden video describes Trump as “a president the world is laughing at” and concludes: “We need a leader the world respects.”

Biden, at an event in New Hampton, Iowa, expressed embarrassment over the world reaction to the video capturing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson laughing about Trump earlier this week in London.

“Did you ever think you’d see that?” Biden asked supporters.

Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) The world is laughing at President Trump. They see him for what he really is: dangerously incompetent and incapable of world leadership.



We cannot give him four more years as commander in chief. pic.twitter.com/IR8K2k54YQ

Kerry has endorsed Biden over two fellow Massachusetts Democrats running against him in the presidential primary, the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, who is considered a “top-tier” candidate, and the former governor Deval Patrick, who made a late entry into the race this month.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest John Kerry with Joe Biden and Barack Obama at the White House in Washington DC, on 6 November 2016. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

“I like Elizabeth enormously. I worked very hard to help her win her seat. And I like Deval. I worked closely with him as governor,” Kerry told the Washington Post. “I just think Joe is the person for the moment.”

Biden is well ahead of his opponents in terms of major party endorsements, having already earned the backing of dozens of congressional Democrats. Kerry is expected to join him on the campaign trail in Iowa on Friday. “John’s a good friend,” Biden said. “He knows what’s at stake.”