Joe Biden’s health under scrutiny as NATO meeting begins in Washington

The White House had been hoping that the Washington summit, held as the NATO defense alliance celebrates its 75th anniversary, would be a perfect opportunity for Joe Biden to demonstrate leadership on the world stage.

When Biden delivers his inaugural address at 11pm Swedish time on Tuesday, there’s an elephant in the room: How healthy is the 81-year-old actually?

Leaders of member states Jan Hallenberg, a U.S. expert at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the United States will follow every word and every gesture.

– They want to see a Biden who is as important as possible, a Biden who can continue his presidential campaign and win. Because all member states, except perhaps Viktor Orban, want Biden to win, not Donald Trump.

The summit lasts three days.

– Rachel Rizzo, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, said he had absolutely no room for mistakes or missteps. The Wall Street Journal.

Closing Press Conference Harenberg considered Biden’s meeting on Thursday the most critical agenda item in advance. Then he would have no teleprompter to rely on, the American expert said.

– If nothing unforeseen happens, I think this will be the most important. Biden believes that he should be able to control the press conference, appear as a great leader and answer questions about the global game. But the US media will also raise other questions about the president’s ability to perform his duties.

At the same time as the summit In Washington, Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives are debating the president’s future, with several top representatives wanting him to step down to make room for another candidate.

Meanwhile, crisis management continues after a very weak performance in the CNN debate with Donald Trump at the end of June. During a press conference on Monday, spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that Joe Biden is not receiving treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

Jan Hallenberg said that during the summit, the media will be watching Biden closely, looking for new piano scales and signs of health problems.

– Every time he gets up, walks down the stairs, or speaks, he will be scrutinized. Every day will be a new test.

How much room for error does Biden have?

– It depends. But if this is comparable to the debate against Trump, then in my opinion, he was smoked.

On Tuesday, Biden will also hold bilateral meetings with new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.