BARI, Italy – For all the ambitious plans that President Joe Biden and his counterparts laid out at the summit meeting that ended Saturday, the cold reality is that many of the leaders may not stay in office long enough to see them mature. .
A far-right populist movement spreading across Europe and the US threatens to unseat Biden and some of his closest allies, compromising the agreements reached in recent days in the defense of Ukraine.
The traditional “family photo” taken at the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) of the richest democracies largely portrays a group of world leaders in trouble who have lost step with some of their constituents. Successors would be free to take much of what they produced in southern Italy and destroy it if they so chose.
According to April vote from NBC News, Biden’s approval rating is in the 40s and he is tied with former President Donald Trump. If defeated in November, Ukraine will lose its most valuable partner in preventing Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading the country.
Emmanuel Macron, France’s centrist president, recently called early elections, raising the prospect of the far right gaining control of the French legislature and forcing it into a power-sharing deal.
This month’s European elections saw right-wing forces make gains in Germany, putting moderate leader Olaf Scholz’s chancellorship in question.
“This is the last time this group will meet in this configuration with these leaders,” Josh Lipsky, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Center for GeoEconomics, said ahead of the summit. “Everything conveys a sense of urgency and what is at stake around this G7. And there’s a feeling to me of [the] last chance to do something big before things change significantly.”
The fragility of the G7 leadership was nothing the members wanted to publicize. A senior Biden administration official told reporters that “our election” did not come up in the meetings. Even so, global elections loomed large over the proceedings.
A much-touted 10-year security pact unveiled Thursday between the U.S. and Ukraine could shrink to a seven-month alliance depending on how the 2024 presidential election plays out.
Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the pact with a flourish before their joint news conference Thursday night. In front of the television cameras, each signed a document and then passed it to the other across the table for signature.
Another president, however, would be free to abandon the partnership if he so desired. Either the US or Ukraine can abandon the deal simply by notifying the other in accordance with the terms of the pact.
That’s not likely to happen if Biden wins, but Trump is more of a wild card. He said that if elected he would end the war between Ukraine and Russia within 24 hours.
Zelenskyy said he doubts that is possible. Even Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, said the only way his old boss could achieve this was giving in to Putin.
G7 leaders are paying attention to the electoral calendar. Some of the agreements appeared designed to “protect Trump” from foreign policy in case Biden lost.
In another agreement revealed at the summit, leaders announced they would lend Ukraine $50 billion to help fight Russia and rebuild the country. The money will go to Ukraine this year, backed by about $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, and the US is prepared to finance the entire loan if necessary, Biden administration officials said.
The moment is important. If Trump wins, he will not take office until January 20, 2025, meaning Ukraine will have pocketed the money before Trump takes office.
Still, given the vast powers of the presidency, there is little Biden can do to ensure U.S. support for Ukraine if Trump returns and chooses to take foreign policy in the opposite direction.
“There is no such thing as ‘Trump-proof,’” said Alexander Vindman, former director of European affairs in the Trump White House. “This is a mirage. You can’t do that if the president of the United States has a diametrically opposed worldview.”
Disappeared for almost four years, Trump is a growing focus of the G7 and other world leaders as his rematch with Biden approaches. As president, he has frequently clashed with longtime American allies, some of whom question his commitment to a post-World War II order rooted in alliances between democratic nations.
“When I travel internationally, the only question I get from our friends and allies is, ‘What’s going to happen? Is the United States still committed to rules-based engagement around the world or not?'” said John Kelly, former -Trump. White House chief of staff who broke with the former president. “They also ask about our upcoming elections and what the former president, if re-elected, can do to keep the United States engaged around the world.”
“I will discuss the possibilities, but I will always conclude that most Americans understand the wisdom of staying engaged around the world, working with friends, partners, and allies to prevent war and preserve peace,” Kelly continued.
Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe, told NBC News: “The grim possibility of a Trump return is naturally part of most foreign policy discussions with our allies. None of them want Trump to return because they don’t trust him.”
In turn, Trump sought to portray Biden as a diminished figure who embarrassed the US during his appearance at the summit.
At his 78th birthday party on Friday in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump mentioned an incident the day before in which Biden and the other G7 leaders gathered to watch a skydiving exhibition.
A video that went viral appeared to show Biden walking away from his counterparts, only to be pushed aside by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“Italy’s new leader did a great job,” Trump said. “She said, ‘Turn around, you idiot.’ Now they no longer respect our country.”
In fact, the video was cut. A wider angle revealed that Biden simply walked toward one of the skydivers who had landed and gave a thumbs-up sign.
Biden chose to make the most of the summit, which could be his last depending on the election. His entourage included granddaughters Maisy, Finnegan and Naomi, who testified at the trial of their father, Hunter Biden, in Wilmington, Del.
A potential highlight of the president’s trip included a private meeting with Pope Francis on Friday. White House aides did not respond to a question about whether Biden’s granddaughters joined him.
Biden is a practicing Catholic who has expressed admiration for the pontiff, calling him “the most important warrior for peace I have ever met.”
Faith has always been a refuge for Biden. The papal visit comes as he and his family process the news of Hunter’s conviction. Biden did not disclose what was said during the meeting.
“Everything went well,” he told reporters.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
