Biden: I’m ‘ashamed’ of Trump’s border policies

Former Vice President Joe Biden laced into President Trump over his “zero tolerance” immigration policy that led to thousands of migrant children being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Speaking on the podcast “Anger Management with Nick Clegg,” Biden rebuked the policy as running counter to the United States’s core values, before opening up on Trump over his friendly relations with authoritarian leaders.

“It makes me feel ashamed. I really mean it,” Biden said of the family separations. “I’m proud of the response of the American people — Democrat and Republican. This is not America. This is not who we are.”

{mosads}

“We are setting a signal that I just think is so, so damaging to our ability to be a positive force and being among the leaders of the world, whether it’s that or whether it’s praising [Philippine President Rodrigo] Duterte or praising [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or praising [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un,” he continued. “I mean, what are we doing?”

The Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy prioritizes prosecutions of people who cross into the U.S. illegally. That policy, which was announced in April, has led to thousands of children being separated from their parents or guardians. 

The practice has sparked public outrage in the U.S. and has ignited calls for the administration to reunite separated families. Trump in June signed an executive order ending the separations, and a federal judge in San Diego ordered the government last month to act quickly to reunite families, though that task has proved difficult for federal officials.

The Trump administration said on Friday that it would expedite the process to reunify more than 2,500 migrant children in its custody with their families. 

Biden has been sharply critical of Trump since he left office last year. Speculation has swirled since then that the former vice president could mount a challenge to Trump for the White House in 2020.