President Joe Biden huddled with foreign leaders on Wednesday for the second day of the NATO summit in Washington, as he attempts to turn the page on last month’s presidential debate and prove he is up for four years in the White House.
The president kicked off day two of the summit, which this year marks the 75th anniversary of the military alliance, by greeting NATO member leaders and taking part in a family photo. He then sat down for a working session where he praised the alliance as “stronger than we’ve ever been” while encouraging members to ask themselves “how can we keep making the shield stronger?”
“One answer must be to strengthen our industrial base,” Biden continued, warning allies that Russia has “significantly” ramped up production of weapons, munitions and vehicles with the help of China, North Korea and Iran.
“We cannot allow the alliance to fall behind,” the president said.
Biden went on to note that for the first time, every NATO member is pledging to develop plans for domestic defense production while a fact sheet from the White House notes that countries will agree to coordinate on national plans to improve industrial capacity.
“That means, as an alliance, we’ll become more innovative and competitive – and we’re able to produce more critical defense equipment more quickly,” Biden said. “We will not be surpassed — we cannot be surpassed by anyone when it comes to our readiness.”
In the U.S., Biden said his administration has invested $30 billion in defense manufacturing to boost production.
The president opened the summit on Tuesday with an address in which he hailed NATO as the “bulwark of global security,” pointing to the addition of two new members, Finland and Sweden, during his presidency and 23 of the 32 member countries now dedicating the targeted threshold of 2% of their GDP to defense, as opposed to nine when he took office.
The president also used the speech Tuesday to announce that the U.S. and other NATO allies will provide Ukraine with new air defense systems. It will include Patriot batteries from the U.S., Germany, and Romania; Patriot components from the Netherlands and others; and a SAMP-T system from Italy, according to a joint statement.
Earlier on Wednesday at the 2024 NATO Public Forum, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that American-made F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine with the help of Denmark and the Netherlands.
“Those jets will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer to make sure that Ukraine can continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian aggression,” Blinken said.
Ukraine is front and center at this year’s summit as the alliance looks to build a “well-lit bridge,” as Blinken put it Wednesday, to the country’s own eventual ascension into NATO. Biden has previously said now was not the time for Ukraine to join because an article of the alliance’s treaty would immediately drag NATO countries physically into the war.
The allies are also expected to announce that they are appointing a NATO Senior Representative in Kyiv that will serve as a “focal point for NATO’s engagement with senior Ukrainian officials,” according to the fact sheet. Biden is set to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday.
The president on Wednesday also met with the newly minted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on the sidelines of the summit, just days after voters in the United Kingdom elected him in a landslide victory.
“We're the best of allies, maybe in the whole world,” Biden told Starmer in the Oval Office in Wednesday. "And we really need to continue to cooperate."
Biden and first lady Jill Biden are set to host a dinner for NATO allies and partners at the White House Wednesday’s night. Earlier in the day, the first lady hosted a brunch at Washington’s Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for spouses and partners of leaders in town for the summit.
“I hope that we too can forge the kind of partnerships where we can always reach out to one another, take each other’s hands, and share in the challenges and joys of our roles as first spouses,” Dr. Biden told those in attendance on Wednesday.
She also noted that the spouses will also be together Thursday for an event at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
It all comes as Biden is seeking to shore up support and prove that he is the best person to be the Democratic nominee in November after a disappointing debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month that sparked calls from some in his own party for the commander in chief to drop out of the race.
The NATO summit this week is seen as a key opportunity for Biden to try to prove he is capable – both at home and on the world stage. And the biggest test is expected to come on Thursday, when the president is set to host a rare solo press conference at the summit.
The strength of NATO under his leadership is something Biden has sought to make a part of his 2024 pitch to voters. This week also gives him the chance to put that on full display.
Biden often seeks to draw a contrast on the issue with his 2024 rival, Trump, who has been critical of the alliance, particularly how much the U.S. spends on defense compared to other members, and earlier this year said he would encourage Russia to do what it wants to NATO member countries who do not meet defense spending targets.
As a result, some European allies have expressed concern about Trump’s possible return to power.