WASHINGTON – NATO Leaders meeting in Washington starting Tuesday plan to step up transatlantic support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia. But for host President Joe Biden, the summit also became a demonstration that he is capable of meeting the demanding demands of the presidency for another four years.
The Heads of State of Europe and North America are faced with the prospect of the return of NATO skeptic Donald Trump as Biden tries to salvage his re-election campaign, which is in crisis after a disastrous performance in the June 27 debate against Trump.
The president said his work at the summit, where NATO celebrates 75 years, would be a good way to assess its continued ability to get the job done. He points to his work mobilizing NATO members in their tough response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a prime example of his strong leadership and one of the reasons he deserves another four years in the White House.
“Our allies are looking to U.S. leadership,” Biden said in an interview with MSNBC on Monday. “Who else do you think can step in here and do this? I expanded NATO. I solidified NATO. I made sure that we would be in a position where we would have a coalition of… nations from around the world to deal with China, with Russia, with everything that’s going on in the world. We are making real progress.”
Biden is in a blitz to persuade voters, Democrats and donors that he is still up to the job. He’s been pleading his case the campaign trailin a challenging letter to Democratic legislators and during friendly media interviews in the last days. Still, he faces skepticism from some longtime allies.
Six Democratic House members have publicly called on Biden to abandon his campaign, other lawmakers in private conversations have urged him to resign and several high-profile donors have raised concerns about his viability in the race.
The White House hopes to show wavering Democrats that Biden still has what it takes during what is expected to be a busy few days of formal summit meetings, side conversations with leaders, long diplomatic dinners and receptions, and a closing press conference. summit.
Several senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations say the president demonstrates a strong understanding of broader issues — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the threat posed by China — but about specific, incremental actions that countries or groups can take when When it comes to these conflicts, Biden appears to be, at worst, confused or does not appear to have a keen understanding of how to deal with them.
However, officials say there is not — at least not yet — a crisis of confidence about Biden’s overall mental state.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters on Tuesday before departing Berlin for the summit that he had no concerns about Biden’s health. “From the many conversations I had with the American president, I know that he prepared this summit very well and with great precision together with us,” said Scholz.
The summit will give Biden the first opportunity to meet face-to-face with new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. Biden called Starmer last week to congratulate him on his victory and plans to host him on Wednesday for talks at the White House.
The Labor Party leader was not concerned about Biden’s mental acuity during the phone call, according to a spokesman for the prime minister who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private call.
The meeting of the leaders of the 32 NATO countries – plus Pacific partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, as well as Ukraine – is expected to be one of Biden’s last appearances at an international forum before Election Day and takes place before Next week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Biden has sought to highlight his commitment to the alliance, while telling voters that Trump would turn his back on NATO if he returned to the White House.
Trump has repeatedly criticized other NATO members who have failed to meet the agreed target of spending at least 2% of gross domestic product on defense spending. European anxiety rose in February when Trump warned NATO allies in a campaign speech that he would “embolden” Russia.” do whatever the hell they want.” to countries that fail to meet defense spending targets if he returns to the White House.
Trump criticized Biden for providing a “endless flow of American treasures” to Ukraine. The Republican most recently expressed openness to lend money instead and said that Ukraine’s independence is important to the United States.
Biden aides pushed back, noting NATO’s announcement last month that 23 of 32 member countries are meeting the alliance’s defense spending target this year. Nine member countries were meeting the target when Biden took office in 2021.
Biden has also been credited with NATO expansion. Both Finland and Sweden joined following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“This is no coincidence,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby. “This is due to leadership. This is due to constant management of the alliance and other partnerships around the world. The president’s record speaks for itself.”
NATO is expected to announce details of Ukraine’s path to alliance membership during the summit. NATO, which is built around the fundamental agreement that an attack on one member is an attack on all members, has said it will not bring Ukraine into the group until the conflict with Russia ends.
Kirby said the leaders will also discuss efforts to create a coordination center in Germany to help train, equip and coordinate the logistics of Ukrainian forces for their expected eventual membership of NATO.
The U.S. and its allies plan to unveil measures during the summit to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses and military capabilities to help it deter Russian aggression, Kirby said.
Ian Brzezinski, a senior fellow at the Washington think tank the Atlantic Council, said Biden needs to use the summit to “significantly reverse the impression” he left with his poor debate performance.
“This is an immense opportunity for him to lead with vigor and energy, to underline his commitment, the administration’s commitment, indeed, Congress’s commitment to the alliance and to underline that he brings to the table the determination that has made NATO so successful. ,” said Brzezinski.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
