All Eyes On Biden At Nato Summit As Leaders Brace For Trump Presidency

As European leaders and top defense officials from 31 Nato countries descend on Washington tomorrow, all eyes will be focused firmly on Joe Biden, whose faltering performance at last month's debate has added to concerns about the country that some Europeans already described as their "unpredictable ally".

- Andrew Kotn

The US president has hoped that his leadership at the summit will rescue his campaign against Donald Trump amid concerns about his age and mental acuity. In a primetime interview on US television this week, he said: "And who's gonna be able to hold Nato together like me? You're gonna have the Nato conference here in the United States next week. Come listen. See what they say."

But in private conversations, some European officials and diplomats have expressed concerns about his "shaky" public appearances and worries about the likelihood of a second Trump term. "You can't just put the genie back in the bottle," said one European diplomat of the questions concerning Biden's age. "It is one of the big issues [around the summit]."

Officials who normally focused on security policy said they would pay close attention to Biden's behaviour during his public appearances at the summit, including a speech tomorrow and then meetings with the other member and partner countries on Wednesday. Some expressed confidence in his team, including the national security adviser Jake Sullivan, to manage major crises but said the question of Biden's political future had taken a toll.

Several foreign officials said Biden's slump in the polls would compound problems from this year's bruising fight in Congress over the $60.8bn in military aid to Ukraine and make it less likely for the administration to take bold action.