At NATO summit, allies delicately lend Biden a hand

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden may be struggling to convince many Americans that he remains fit for office but he is enjoying votes of confidence, however delicately, from fellow Western leaders.

Biden is fighting for his political life just as he leads a 75th-anniversary summit of NATO in Washington, where he has been eagerly shaking hands, bear-hugging and patting the backs of fellow leaders as he seeks to show a united front against Russia in defending Ukraine.

Whether motivated by direct observation, fear of the return of Donald Trump or a simple reluctance to offend their host, no leaders have openly questioned the competence of Biden, who at 81 is six years older than the alliance itself.

New UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that senility allegations against Biden were misguided and that the two allies covered wide ground for nearly one hour in the Oval Office, longer than expected.

“We did it at pace. He was on good form,” Starmer, whose Labour Party last week swept out the Conservatives and has no love lost with Trump, told British media after the meeting.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, who had forged close ties with Trump but has appreciated Biden’s support for Ukraine, told reporters: “I talked with President Biden, and there is no doubt that everything is ok.”

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, asked if he had concerns about the United States, said that in democracies there is “always turmoil before elections”.

“I have absolutely no concern about the capacity of the current president of the United States to lead his country and to lead our fight for Ukraine and to lead NATO,” he said.

“The only thing I’m worried about is that the political climate in the United States right now is too toxic, is very polarised, and that doesn’t leave enough room for a civilized and constructive debate” on policy, he told reporters.

TRUMP WORRIES

Many NATO leaders privately fear a victory in November of Trump, who has loudly criticised the alliance, with its promise of collective defence, as an unfair burden to the United States.

One senior European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Biden had been “excellent” on Ukraine and said he spoke with a “clear, strong voice” during NATO talks.

“He seemed like he was in the game,” the diplomat said. “Biden has always managed to come from behind.”

Trump aides have mused about conditioning aid to Ukraine to force Kyiv to surrender territory and make a quick deal to end the war, which they call a distraction from a larger challenge of China.

NATO’s outgoing secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has highlighted how 23 of the 32 alliance members now meet a target of spending two percent of GDP on defense, up from just three a decade ago.

“The United States has in NATO something that no other major power has and that is more than 30 friends and allies. Russia doesn’t have that, China doesn’t have that,” Stoltenberg said.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, while saying she would not comment on the US election, said that “not a single paper” should come between the United States and Europe no matter who wins the election.

“You saved us once,” she said of the United States. “Please stick to that way of working.”

One discordant voice in NATO has been Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban.

He traveled to Russia and China, as well as Ukraine, before the NATO summit and, after it is over, will head to Florida to see Trump.