Biden Calls Putin A 'Crazy SOB' And Takes Aim At Trump During Fundraiser

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — During a fundraiser for his reelection campaign Wednesday night, President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “crazy SOB” and took aim at former President Donald Trump’s comments comparing himself to the Russian opposition leader who died last week in an Arctic prison.

Biden was talking about climate change when he said, “We have a crazy SOB like Putin and others, and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict, but the existential threat to humanity is climate.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented by saying that Biden’s “churlish” remark could hardly hurt Putin but was a “huge shame” for the U.S. “Clearly, Mr. Biden behaves in the Hollywood cowboy style to serve internal political interests,” Peskov said.

Speaking to donors at a private San Francisco home Wednesday as part of a three-day California swing to raise money for his 2024 reelection campaign, Biden also said he was astounded by recent comments made by his likely Republican challenger.

Trump compared the suspicious prison death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to his own legal troubles in the U.S. Trump was fined $350 million after a New York judge found he lied for years about his wealth on financial statements in his companies. Trump said the ruling was a form of “communism or fascism.”

“Some of the things that this fellow’s been saying, like he’s comparing himself to Navalny and saying that ― because our country’s become a communist country, he was persecuted, just like Navalny was persecuted. I don’t know where the hell this comes from,” Biden said.

“I mean, if I stood here 10, 15 years ago and said any of this, you’d all think I should be committed,” he said. “It astounds me.”

“I’ve been around