Biden looks to make the case at the NATO summit that he is still up to the job of president

WASHINGTON (AP) — NATO leaders gathering in Washington starting Tuesday plan to shore up transatlantic support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia. But for host President Joe Biden, the summit has become just as much about demonstrating he is capable of meeting the grinding demands of the presidency for four more years.

Heads of state from Europe and North America are confronting the prospect of the return of NATO skeptic Donald Trump as Biden tries to save his reelection campaign, which has been in a tailspin following a stumbling June 27 debate performance against Trump.

The president said his work at the summit, where NATO is celebrating 75 years, would be a good way to judge his continued ability to do the job. He points to his work rallying NATO members in its stiff response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a prime example of his steady leadership and among the reasons he deserves another four years in the White House.

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“Our allies are looking for U.S. leadership,” Biden said in an MSNBC interview Monday. “Who else do you think can step in here and do this? I expanded NATO. I solidified NATO. I made sure that we’re in a position where we have a coalition of… nations around the world to deal with China, with Russia, with everything that’s going on in the world. We’re making real progress.”