Joe Biden faces major test on global stage as Nato summit gets under way

President Biden’s performance at the Nato summit this week is under close scrutiny not only by leaders of the Western alliance but by Democratic lawmakers as he works to slow calls for him to exit the presidential race and seeks to prove to his party that he is the best person to take on Donald Trump.

The other 31 Nato leaders descended on Washington at the same time Democrats returned to Capitol Hill to intensify their debate on whether the President should remain their nominee. European leaders were closely parsing Biden’s public and private interactions amid anxiety about whether he can defeat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee who has threatened to shred Nato.

After his shaky debate performance against Trump on June 27, several Democratic lawmakers urged him to end his reelection bid. The President’s forceful dismissal of those suggestions initially appeared to stop the defections, but former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Wednesday morning reiterated that Biden had an important decision to make.

As Nato’s leaders arrived in Washington on Tuesday for their summit, they compared notes after their conversations with Biden, one European official familiar with the interactions said, an effort to build as complete a portrait as possible of the most important alliance leader.

Biden’s most important test will come on Thursday, when he is set to hold a rare news conference that Democrats say will be critical to prove that he has the energy and mental agility to campaign against Trump. European leaders will also closely watch the President’s news conference to try to determine whether his debate performance was a bad night, as Biden has argued, or a sign of a bigger problem that could make it more challenging to defeat Trump.

“The summit provides the President an opportunity to showcase his strong global leadership in contrast to Donald Trump, who would weaken Nato,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md). “The whole summit gives him an opportunity to showcase his leadership and foreign policy credentials, and the press conference gives him an opportunity to address concerns.”

At a Tuesday reception with all 32 Nato leaders, Biden’s mannerisms were similar to those in a welcome speech he delivered that evening, recognising other leaders without prompting and engaging in fluid if brief encounters, the European official said. The President mingled with other leaders alone, without his or their aides present, the official said.

Another European official said some people in the audience for Biden’s speech were watching closely as the President put a medal around the neck of outgoing Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, but the ceremony went off without a hitch. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss candidly their assessments of the US President.

Biden was set to take part on Wednesday in a working session with other Nato leaders before hosting Britain’s new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, at the White House. Later in the evening, he and First Lady Jill Biden will host Nato leaders and their spouses at a White House dinner.

Early in the day, Biden stopped by a meeting of AFL-CIO leaders, a friendly group that has reaffirmed its support for the President. “I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s chances, not because of me but because of what we’re doing together,” Biden told union leaders.

Biden’s demeanour and mental agility are likely to be under close scrutiny at Nato meetings and the dinner. During the Group of Seven nations summit in Italy last month, several European leaders came away stunned at how much older the President seemed from when they had last interacted with him only a year or, in some cases, mere months earlier, several officials familiar with their reactions said.

The leaders noticed that he seemed more tired, more frail and was more prone to losing his train of thought, though he would quickly get back on track. The overall impression, the officials said, was that leaders believed Biden was capable of fulfilling his duties now but wondered how he would be able to serve another four-year term.

Biden sought to quiet those concerns beginning with his speech on Tuesday welcoming Nato leaders to Washington. He spoke passionately about the renewed strength of the alliance – highlighting the addition of two new countries, Finland and Sweden, and the increase in countries spending at least 2% of GDP on defence – and gave an implicit rebuke of Trump. The former President has threatened to shred the alliance and said he would allow Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any Nato country that doesn’t spend enough.

Biden did not mention Trump by name but stressed that a bipartisan majority of Americans support the alliance and spoke of the danger of a world without it.

“It’s good that we’re stronger than ever because this moment in history calls for our collective strength,” Biden said. “The American people understand what would happen if there was no Nato, another war in Europe, American troops fighting and dying, dictators spreading chaos.”