EXCLUSIVE: Republican White House contender Nikki Haley blasted President Biden amid Russia’s suspension of the New START nuclear arms treaty.
Haley torched Biden after Russia suspended the treaty that limits the number of nuclear warheads in each country’s arsenal that was formed when Biden was vice president.
“Russia has long violated this agreement, so this is not new,” Haley said. “What’s new and dangerous is that we have a weak President our enemies think they can intimidate.”
TOP REPUBLICAN SAYS ‘ALL OPTIONS MUST BE ON THE TABLE’ AFTER RUSSIA PULLS OUT OF NUCLEAR TREATY
“That needs to change,” Haley continued.
The White House declined to comment on Haley’s remarks, citing federal ethics laws.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday his country would be pulling back from the New START treaty.
“In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” Putin said in his annual address to the nation, just one day after President Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine.
In his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address, Putin cast Russia and Ukraine as victims of Western double-dealing. He said Russia, not Ukraine, was the one fighting for its very existence.
The speech reiterated a litany of grievances that the Russian leader has frequently offered as justification for the widely condemned war and ignored international demands to pull back from occupied areas in Ukraine.
The New START treaty, first signed in April 2010, limits the U.S. and Russia from having more than 1,550 nuclear warheads deployed on delivery systems like intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missile or heavy bombers.
Both the U.S. and Russia are capable of deploying far more than the allotted nuclear warheads as Washington and Moscow have a combined total of more than 13,000 warheads – making up roughly 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal, according to data provided by the Arms Control Association.
Haley is one of several GOP contenders gunning for the White House in a growing Republican primary with fellow declared candidates former President Trump, author Vivek Ramaswamy, and long-shot candidate Perry Johnson.
The former U.N. ambassador announced her candidacy last week after much speculation about her running.
FOX News Digital’s Landon Mion and Chris Pandolfo contributed reporting.