Former Vice President Joe Biden warned that the world may soon be without the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, lamenting about the state of affairs in the U.S. under President Trump.

At a campaign rally for fellow Democrats in Ohio on Monday, Biden said the alliance, which Trump has criticized, could be gone in five years.

"They’re not laughing," Biden said about the global community. "They’re scared to death. They’re crying. ... Because they know without a strong United States, they’re all in trouble. Not a joke. Mark my words, if we don’t turn things around, there will be no NATO in five years."

Trump has repeatedly condemned the country's NATO partners for their slow progress in achieving the alliance's defense spending target of 2 percent of GDP by 2024.

NATO was established in 1949 in the hope of promoting the national security of its membership against the Soviet Union after World War II and today remains a counter-force to potential Russian aggression.

[Related: Trump: 'I know more' about NATO than Defense Secretary Jim Mattis]