President Joe Biden said it was a stinging comment from Irish prime minister Micheál Martin that got him seriously concerned about China

Biden spoke by phone this week with The New York Times' David Brooks for an interview that was posted late Thursday

Biden told Brooks Irish taoiseach Micheál Martin told him: 'Well, America can't lead. They can't even get their arms around COVID'

'We're kind of at a place where the rest of the world is beginning to look to China,' Biden said was his takeaway from the remark

In the interview, Biden talks about his worldview and how it differs from his party's progressive left

President Joe Biden said it was a stinging comment from Irish prime minister Micheál Martin that got him seriously concerned that the U.S. was losing its top perch in the world to China.