It is a week of reckoning for Joe Biden.
Twelve days after a halting debate performance that may go down as one of the most damaging in modern American history, the president is fighting for his political survival under intense domestic and global scrutiny.
This week’s Nato summit in Washington DC may be his path to at least a temporary reprieve – or this president’s last stand.
In the past few days, Mr Biden has railed against his critics, claimed the mandate of Democratic primary voters and challenged opponents to step forward and try to unseat him.
He has promised repeatedly that he is moving ahead with his campaign and that the time for second-guessing and hand-wringing is over. That pressing ahead will start at the Nato summit.
Mr Biden will host alliance leaders for three days of meetings and public events culminating in a solo press conference on Thursday afternoon.
It is a stage on which Mr Biden, a man well versed in foreign relations, should be comfortable. But it also raises the already high stakes for his presidency, given that a poor showing will have international as well as domestic ramifications.
A mistake could start a political stampede among Democrats that extinguishes his hopes of even making it to the November general election, let alone winning it.
It could also sharpen concerns from European allies who are concerned about the increasing likelihood of a Donald Trump presidency and the dramatic foreign policy shifts that would come with it.
“Biden is entering this week diminished,” said Kristine Berzina, managing director of the German Marshall Fund Geostrategy North.
“We don’t know how he’s going to exit it.”
Foreign leaders concerned
It is understood that many European leaders are anxious about Trump and his foreign policy strategy. The former president has disparaged multilateral international alliances.
Ms Berzina said that in the past two weeks, however, these leaders have been experiencing something new – Biden anxiety.
After his halting debate performance, she says, American allies have begun doubting whether the president is up to the task.
Heading into the Nato summit, they are hoping to see some evidence that his performance that night was an aberration and not reflective of a new normal.
-BBC
