The purpose of the long-planned NATO summit was to commemorate the alliance's 75th anniversary, secure the West's long-term military backing for Ukraine, and even prepare for the possibility that Donald Trump would seek a second term.
However, no one anticipated that the gathering in Washington this week would become a public examination of President Joe Biden's health and mental abilities at the age of 81, given his reelection campaign's existential crisis following his appalling debate performance.
Biden is the most important presidential trustee of NATO since President George H.W. Bush because of his leadership of the alliance and provision of a lifeline to Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion. But his fight to preserve his political future will take precedence at the summit over his accomplishments, which include Sweden and Finland's admission into the organization.
Every move, every word, and every gesture made by Biden will be closely watched, particularly in spontaneous moments following the CNN debate in Atlanta late last month, which left 50 million viewers with a lasting impression of the aging and occasionally unintelligent commander in chief.
There will be a lot of pressure on a president who is older than the alliance to appear vigorous and coherent during a solo news conference on Thursday. Any sign of weakness or uncertainty may set off a new wave of fear among Democrats and undermine Biden's determined attempt to put an end to rumors that he is quitting the race. A barrage of inquiries concerning the president's health, medical history, and potential concealment of his illness from reporters enraged by the White House's handling of the debate repercussions should be expected.
Democrats, who are demanding he do much more to demonstrate he is capable of serving a second term that would expire when he is 86, will also want to see the press conference. For example, Sen. Patty Murray issued a warning on Monday night, saying, "In order for him to convince voters he is up to the job, we need to see a much more forceful and energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the very near future." The Washington state Democrat's response was remarkably forceful and highlighted Biden's precarious situation. "President Biden must seriously consider the best way to preserve his incredible legacy and secure it for the future at this critical time for our country," the speaker continued.
“Biden will have a sizable international following as well. The consequences of the president's aging are not limited to his political future; they now affect the West as well, since he represents the final line of defense against a spectacular Trump comeback. During his first term, the president chastised NATO partners and made friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Trump, if he thought that a member state had not adhered to NATO's defense spending limits, he would not uphold the alliance's cherished Article 5 mutual defense concept and would instead let Moscow to "do whatever the hell they want.""
International leaders will be eager to evaluate Biden for themselves. For US allies who were already making preparations for the scenario that many of them fear—a Trump triumph in November—Biden's fiasco added a new layer of complexity. So, it is inevitable that the international leaders who will spend hours with Biden this week will form their own opinions about the president and his political aspirations.
Former US ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker predicted that Biden's allies would travel to Washington seeking political and strategic reassurances on Biden and the US's continued leadership of NATO. Will President Biden be the one? Could he really do that? Will he seek for office again and succeed in doing so? If so, how does that appear? Volker revealed on Monday to CNN's Wolf Blitzer. According to Volker, allies are also anticipating an uncertain future. "They then worry about what would happen to US support for NATO and US support for Ukraine if he doesn't do that and it's former President Donald Trump returning?"
Governments and diplomats from other countries are reluctant to discuss Biden's situation on the record because they don't want to become involved in US politics. However, as CNN reported last week, ambassadors from the Middle East, Asia, and Europe voiced shock at his debate performance. Ahead of the summit, a European official expressed optimism that the leaders of the continent will maintain decorum and work to avoid any charges of meddling or favoritism in US politics. However, the individual continued, saying, "Under this calm exterior, I think (the) Biden debate is really important. Few Europeans, in my opinion, could possibly understand how Biden could still be a viable contender. The NATO echo chamber "doesn't change the US domestic political calculus in any way," according to a second European diplomat, "but every leader arriving in Washington in the coming days will ask questions about (Biden's position) and there will be a lot of speculation."
The uproar surrounding Biden's age is only the most recent shock to rock the confidence that NATO allies placed in the US as the senior member of the organization for over 60 years, from the end of the Cold War until Trump's ascent to the White House. Many friends, particularly in Europe, are thinking about how to defend themselves in a time when Washington is just as likely to be an agent of turbulence as stability as a result of America's political outbursts. Some people wonder if the US will still be around to defend them. A European official stated, "It's a reality that we have to be prepared for the unpredictability of the US ally."
Even while numerous polls indicate that the majority of Americans think Biden is too old to serve a second term, US officials refute any notion that his partners are concerned about his ability to lead the alliance. For the past three years, foreign leaders have had a close-up look at Joe Biden. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior administration source stated, "They know who they are dealing with and how effective he has been." John Kirby, the administration's national security spokesperson, refuted on Monday the idea that foreign leaders need confirmation of Biden's qualifications. There are absolutely no indications of such coming from our allies. On the contrary, he remarked.
Biden's political predicament is unlikely to have a negative impact on the summit's crucial national security content, as top military brass and diplomats have been working for months to produce deliverables. Their main concerns have been the institutionalization of aid to Ukraine and the alliance's future relations with the government of Kyiv, which hopes to someday join it. Following months of diplomatic wrangling, three people involved with the discussions told CNN that a draft copy of the final summit communiqué refers to Ukraine's "irreversible" road to membership.
Biden's political tempest is not about to let up.
With less than four months until Election Day, a sitting president is fighting to stay at the head of his party's ticket. These are strange times in Washington.
Even as concerned Democratic leaders debated whether Biden would cost his party the Senate, the House, and the presidency should he continue to run for president on Monday, the president declared that he was not going anywhere. On the House Armed Services Committee, the top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith, joined other lawmakers in urging Biden to withdraw his reelection campaign. We have a compelling message. The Democratic state representative from Washington informed CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday that the president has demonstrated his inability to effectively convey that message.
The White House, meantime, insisted that it was "not warranted" for the president to have a new cognitive test and failed to fully explain why a doctor who specializes in Parkinson's disease had met with the president's doctor earlier this year, following days of contradictory statements regarding the president's medical condition. Earlier, Biden had appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to emphasize his reluctance to give up the campaign, implying that any further push from Democratic leaders for him to drop off the ticket would result in a messy political showdown.
While his campaign aimed to use his turn on the international stage on US soil to reset the comparison between him and Trump — the central theme of his campaign, which has been obliterated by his miserable night at the debate — Biden also seized on the impending summit as evidence of his leadership abilities and success as president.
"Our allies and the rest of the world are searching for US leadership. Who else do you believe could intervene in this situation and accomplish this? stated Biden on MSNBC. In addition, the president positioned himself as crucial to international security during a Friday interview with ABC News. It's me, the future, who assembled NATO. Nobody believed I could make it larger. It was me who put an end to Putin. No one could have imagined it, added Biden.
The horrific Russian daylight airstrike on Kyiv that targeted a children's hospital on Monday is evidence that the president has not silenced Putin. However, he has successfully armed a Russian opponent more than any other since the US supported the Afghan mujahideen in their 1980s war against the Soviet Union. He has also successfully reenergized NATO and oversaw the admission of the two Nordic countries into the alliance.
A letter praising Biden's leadership in preserving Kyiv's position more than two years after the Russian invasion was disseminated by his campaign on the eve of the meeting. The letter stated that Donald Trump "is a wrecking ball to global peace, democracy, and human rights, a threat to NATO, and a gift to Putin." The campaign also brought attention to the likely Republican nominee's habit of bowing down to Putin. "This week's NATO summit, where Joe Biden has strengthened, expanded, and led the Alliance against Putin's unjustified aggression and violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, will be watched by the entire world."
Biden may find this solace inadequate, but he is hardly the only NATO leader experiencing political weakness. A new period of political instability will begin when French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Washington. In an attempt to stop Marine Le Pen's extreme right party from becoming powerful, he called early legislative elections, but they failed to deliver a majority government and instead strengthened the far-left. Following the humiliation of his party and alliance in the European Parliament elections, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in a weaker position. Prior to the general election of 2019, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the subject of considerable speculation about his future following the Liberal Party's loss in a Toronto district that it had held for decades.
Since many of the leaders are significantly younger than a president who was born during World War II and whose foreign policy acumen is refined from a half-century of political experience spanning the Cold War and the increasingly restless period since, the contentious issue of Biden's age will also be highlighted in summit photos. Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, is 47 years old. Macron is 46 as well. Even though Trudeau has ruled for almost ten years, he is still only fifty-two. In addition, newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, 61, will make his debut abroad at the summit. Starmer was elected last Thursday.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Biden has been a firm leader for NATO and has made preserving global democracy the primary focus of his presidency. But rescuing himself is a far more pressing goal for him at this week's conference.
