Sullivan claims Biden admin leaves Russia, China and Iran 'weaker,' America 'safer' before Trump handoff

National security adviser Jake Sullivan claimed in an interview Sunday that Russia, China and Iran are "weaker" and the United States is "safer" after four years under President Biden's leadership. 

"Our alliances are stronger than where we found them four years ago," Sullivan said on CNN's State of the Union, referring to President-elect Trump's first term. "They're stronger than they've been in decades. NATO was more powerful, purposeful and bigger. Our alliances in the Asia Pacific are at all-time highs. And our adversaries and competitors are weaker across the board. Russia's weaker, Iran's weaker, China's weaker, and all the while we kept America out of wars."

"I think that the American people are safer, and the country is better off than we were four years ago, and we're handing off that to the next team, as well as having the engines of American power humming," Sullivan said. "Our economy, our technology, our defense industrial base, our supply chains. So the United States is in a stronger, more secure position, and our competitors and adversaries are weaker and under pressure." 

Sullivan defended Biden's handling of the withdrawal on Sunday. 

During the final weeks of his presidency, Biden has been rushing billions of dollars more in U.S. aid for Ukraine before Trump takes office.

Meanwhile, the Republican president-elect has claimed the war in Ukraine would never have started under his leadership and vowed to broker a deal to stop the fighting between Moscow and Kyiv. 

At a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, last week, Trump warned Hamas terrorists that "all hell will break out" in the Middle East if the remaining hostages aren't released before he takes office on Jan. 20. 

On the status of the negotiations, Sullivan said, "We are very, very close, and yet being very close still means we're far because until you actually get across the finish line, we're not there." 

Sullivan stressed how President Biden's top Middle East adviser, Brett McGuirk, had been in Doja for a week "hammering out with the mediators the final details of a text to be presented to both sides." 

"And we are still determined to use every day we have in office to get this done," Sullivan said.