Biden’s High-Stakes Moment: Tonight’s NATO News Conference

President Biden will face a moment of high stakes in his campaign for a second term on Thursday evening when he engages with reporters in an unscripted news conference at the end of a three-day NATO summit.

The president’s allies, doubters and enemies will be watching as he fields questions, looking for any evidence that he loses his train of thought, stumbles over his words or lapses into the blank stare that millions of people saw during a debate with former President Donald J. Trump on June 27. Mr. Biden’s performance could either quiet critics or invite a wave of new calls for him to step aside.

How long Mr. Biden remains at the lectern — and how many questions he is willing to field from the press — is another key benchmark of how his performance will be judged. A hasty exit, with journalists calling out after him, could fuel more concerns about Mr. Biden’s stamina and capacity to handle tough questioning.

Just the fact that Mr. Biden agreed to hold the event speaks to the pressure he is facing to prove his contention that the shaky debate was an anomaly. At this point in his term, Mr. Biden has held fewer news conferences than any president since Ronald Reagan. His last solo news conference was eight months ago.

In recent days, he has tried to assure shaken allies that he wants to do more unscripted appearances and interviews, but, beyond an interview with ABC on Friday, he has done little of those in the 14 crucial days since the debate.

The White House is not sharing much about how the president is preparing himself for Thursday’s news conference, which will follow a long day of meetings be carried live on all the major networks.