CNN — The NATO summit was long planned to commemorate the alliance's 75th anniversary, secure long-term military support for Ukraine, and even safeguard the West against a possible second term for Donald Trump. Before Biden can save Ukraine, he must use the summit to save himself.
However, given that President Joe Biden's reelection campaign was facing an existential crisis as a result of his disastrous debate performance, no one anticipated that this week's meeting in Washington would turn into a public examination of the 81-year-old's health and cognitive capacity.
Biden's initiative of NATO and life saver to Ukraine following Russia's attack make him the main official legal administrator of the partnership since President George H.W. Bramble. However, his struggle to safeguard his political future will overshadow his accomplishments at the summit, including the inclusion of Sweden and Finland in the group.
After the image of an elderly and at times incoherent commander in chief was burned into the minds of 50 million viewers at the CNN debate in Atlanta late last month, every step Biden takes, every gesture he makes, and every word he says will be under intense scrutiny. This is especially true in unscripted moments.
At a solo news conference on Thursday, a president who is older than the alliance will be under a lot of pressure to be energetic and clear-headed. Biden is making a concerted effort to dispel rumors that he is quitting his campaign at the first sign of weakness or confusion. The president can anticipate a barrage of inquiries regarding his health, his medical records, and the possibility that he has been concealing the true details of his condition from journalists who are enraged by the way the White House handled the aftermath of the debate.
Democrats, who are demanding that he do significantly more to demonstrate that he is fit to serve a second term that would end when he is 86, will also make the press conference one of their must-see events. “We need to see a much more forceful and energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the very near future in order for him to convince voters he is up to the job,” Sen. Patty Murray, for example, cautioned Monday evening. The Washington state Democrat's statement, which emphasized Biden's position's vulnerability, was strikingly strong. She continued, President Biden must seriously consider the best strategy for safeguarding his incredible legacy at this crucial time for our nation.
Biden will likewise have a significant crowd abroad. The president's advancing age has consequences for more than just his political future; Because he is the last line of defense against a stunning comeback by Trump, who spent his first term berating NATO allies and cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, they are now the West's problem. Trump has proposed he would let Moscow "do anything the damnation they need" and wouldn't respect NATO's sacrosanct Article 5 common guard rule on the off chance that he looked at that as a part state had not met the coalition's protection spending rules.
World leaders will be eager to provide their own evaluations of Biden. Biden's mishap added a new obstacle for US allies who were already making preparations for a possibility that many of them dread: a Trump victory in November. As a result, the world leaders who will spend hours with Biden this week will undoubtedly form their own opinions regarding the president and his political aspirations.
According to Kurt Volker, a former US ambassador to NATO, Biden's partners will arrive in Washington seeking political and strategic assurances regarding Biden and the United States' upcoming position as NATO leader. Will it be Vice President Biden? Is it safe to say that he is fit for that? Is he going to run for office again, and if so, will he win? What does that look like, if so? On Monday, Volker informed Wolf Blitzer of CNN. Volker stated, "Allies are also anticipating an uncertain future." Then they worry, "What does that mean for US support for NATO and Ukraine if he doesn't do that and former president Donald Trump comes back?"
To avoid being drawn into domestic US politics, foreign diplomats and governments are reluctant to discuss Biden's situation publicly. CNN reported last week that diplomats from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East were shocked by his debate performance. Furthermore, anticipating the culmination, one European representative expressed pioneers from the landmass would remain affable and look to stay away from any allegations of obstruction or favoring one side in US legislative issues. But the individual added: I think the Biden debate is very important beneath this cool surface. I don't think many Europeans can comprehend how Biden could still be a viable candidate. “Every leader arriving in Washington in the coming days will ask questions about (Biden's position) and there will be a lot of speculation, but the NATO echo chamber doesn't change the US domestic political calculus in any way,” stated another European diplomat.
The controversy surrounding Biden's age is just the latest blow to the security that NATO partners have placed in the United States as the alliance's senior member for more than 60 years, from the end of the Cold War to Trump's election. America's political eruptions have left many partners, particularly in Europe, taking into account how to safeguard themselves during a time when Washington is similarly prone to be a specialist of unpredictability as strength. Some inquiry whether the US will be there to shield them any longer. " A European official stated, "It's a fact that we have to be prepared for the unpredictability of the US ally."
Even though multiple polls indicate that the majority of Americans believe he is too old to serve a second term, US officials reject any suggestion that Biden's partners are concerned about his capacity to lead the alliance. For the past three years, foreign leaders have had close-up encounters with Joe Biden. Under oath, a senior administration official stated, "They know who they are dealing with and how effective he has been." John Kirby, the administration's national security spokesman, denied on Monday that foreign leaders required assurances regarding Biden's capabilities. We are not at all detecting any evidence of that from our allies. An incredible opposite," he said.
Diplomats and senior military leaders have been hammering out deliverables for months, so Biden's political crisis is unlikely to have a negative impact on the crucial national security content of the summit. They have focused on institutionalizing aid to Ukraine and the alliance's future relationship with the Kiev government and its desire to join. Three people who were familiar with the discussions told CNN that a draft of the final summit communique describes Ukraine as having an "irreversible" path to membership after months of diplomatic haggling.
These are surreal times in Washington, where a sitting president is fighting to stay on top of his party's ticket less than four months before Election Day. Biden's political storm doesn't seem to be going away.
On Monday, the president demanded he wasn't going anyplace even as stressed Majority rule legislators talked about whether Biden would cost his party the House and the Senate as well as the administration on the off chance that he remains their official competitor. Rep. Adam Smith, the top leftist on the House Furnished Administrations Board of trustees, joined administrators calling for Biden to overlap his re-appointment bid. " We have a strong message. The president has demonstrated that he is unable to effectively convey that message, the Washington state Democrat told CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday. The Democrat's expertise in foreign policy stems from his half-century of political experience during the Cold War and subsequent periods of increasing hostility. Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, is 47 years old. Also, Macron is 46. Despite being 52 years old, Trudeau has been in charge for nearly a decade. Keir Starmer, 61, the newly elected British Prime Minister, will also make his international debut at the summit.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Biden has been a steadfast guide for NATO and has made the survival of global democracy the foundation of his presidency. However, he has a much more pressing concern at this week's summit: saving himself.