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“The summit provides the president with an opportunity to demonstrate his strong global leadership, in contrast to Donald Trump, who would weaken NATO,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “The summit as a whole gives him a chance to demonstrate his leadership and foreign policy credentials, and the press conference gives him a chance to address people’s concerns.”
The European official said Biden’s demeanor at Tuesday’s reception for NATO’s 32 leaders was similar to his welcome speech that evening, with proactive greetings and brief, fluid engagements with other leaders. The official said the president spoke individually with the other leaders, without him or their aides present.
Another European official said some in the audience watched closely as Biden placed the medal around the neck of outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during his speech, but the ceremony went off without a hitch. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about their assessment of the U.S. president.
Biden is scheduled to hold working sessions with other NATO leaders on Wednesday before hosting new British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the White House. Later that evening, he and first lady Jill Biden will host NATO leaders and their spouses at a White House dinner.
Earlier in the day, Biden attended a meeting of AFL-CIO leaders, where the friendly group reaffirmed its support for the president. “I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future, and it’s not because of me, but because of what we’re doing together,” Biden told union leaders.
Biden’s demeanor and mental agility are likely to be closely watched at NATO meetings and dinners. At last month’s Group of Seven summit in Italy, several European leaders were surprised to find that the president looked significantly older than when they last interacted with him, which was just a year or, in some cases, just a few months, according to several officials with knowledge of their reactions.
Leaders have noted that he seems more fatigued, weaker and more likely to lose his train of thought, though he quickly gets back on track. The overall impression, officials said, is that leaders believe Biden is now capable of performing his duties but are skeptical about how he can serve another four years.
Biden sought to calm those concerns with a speech on Tuesday welcoming NATO leaders to Washington. He spoke glowingly of NATO’s resurgent strength — highlighting the admission of two new countries, Finland and Sweden, and the increase in the number of countries spending at least 2% of GDP on defense — and offered a veiled rebuke of Trump, the former president who threatened to tear up the alliance and said he would allow Russia to “do whatever it wants” to any NATO country that didn’t spend enough.
Biden did not mention Trump by name but stressed that a bipartisan majority in the U.S. supports alliances and spoke of the dangers of a world without them.
“We are stronger than ever, and that’s a good thing, because this moment in history requires our collective strength,” Biden said. “The American people understand what will happen if there is no NATO: war will once again break out in Europe, American troops will fight and die, and dictators will sow chaos.”
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