BARI, Italy — For all the ambitious plans President Joe Biden and his colleagues laid out at a summit meeting that ended Saturday, the cold reality is that many leaders may not be in office long enough to see them mature.
A populist, far-right movement sweeping across Europe and the United States is threatening to oust Biden and some of his closest allies, and jeopardizes the accords reached in the past few days on the defense of Ukraine.
The traditional “family portrait” taken at the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) of the wealthiest democracies depicts the plight of world leaders who have largely fallen into step with some of their constituents. Successors would be free to take much of what they had produced in southern Italy and rip it up as they saw fit.
according to April elections According to NBC News, Biden’s approval rating is in the 40s, and he’s even with former President Donald Trump. If he is defeated in November, Ukraine will lose its most valuable partner in keeping Russian President Vladimir Putin from taking over the country.
French centrist President Emmanuel Macron called recently early electionsleading to the prospect of the far-right seizing control of the French legislature and forcing it into a power-sharing deal.
Right-wing forces participated in this month’s European elections Earnings in Germanyquestioning the chancellorship of moderate leader Olaf Scholz.
“This group will meet with these leaders for the last time in this configuration,” Josh Lipsky, director general of the Atlantic Council’s Center for Geoeconomics, said before the summit. “All this conveys a sense of urgency and the stakes around this G7. And I have a feeling [the] last chance to do something big before things change significantly.
The fragility of the G7 leadership was not something members wanted to advertise. A senior Biden administration official told reporters that “our election” did not come up in the meetings. But despite this, the global elections have overtaken the process.
Very loud 10 year security pact The 2024 presidential election announced Thursday between the United States and Ukraine could shrink to a seven-month alliance, depending on how it goes.
Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the pact before a joint press conference Thursday evening. In front of the television cameras, each of them signed a document and then passed it to the other person on the table for signature.
Another president can refuse the partnership if he chooses. Either the US or Ukraine can withdraw from the deal simply by notifying the other, under the terms of the pact.
That’s unlikely to happen if Biden wins, but Trump is more of a wild card. He said that if he is elected, he will end the war between Ukraine and Russia within 24 hours.
Zelensky said doubts this is possible. Even Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, said it was the only way his old boss could do it. Appeal to Putin.
G7 leaders consider election calendar. Some of the deals were intended to provide a “Trump-proof” foreign policy should Biden lose.
In another agreement announced at the summit, the leaders announced a $50 billion loan to Ukraine to fight Russia and help rebuild the country. Biden administration officials have said that the money will go to Ukraine this year for nearly $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, and that the United States is ready to repay the full amount of the loan if necessary.
Time is important. If Trump wins, he won’t take office until January 20, 2025, meaning Ukraine will have pocketed the money before Trump takes office.
Still, given the wide powers of the presidency, if Trump turns around and decides to take foreign policy in the opposite direction, Biden can do little to shut down U.S. support for Ukraine.
“There is no such thing as a ‘Trump test,'” said Alexander Vindman, former director of European affairs in the Trump White House. “This is a mirage. If the worldview of the US president is completely opposite, you can’t do it.”
Trump, who has been gone for nearly four years, is the focus of the G7 and other world leaders as his rematch with Biden approaches. As president, he often clashed with America’s longtime allies, some of whom questioned his commitment to the post-World War II order of alliances among democracies.
“One of the questions I get from our friends and allies when we travel internationally is, ‘What will happen?’ Is America still committed to rules-based engagement around the world or not?’” said Trump’s onetime White House chief of staff, John Kelly, who had a falling out with the former president. “They also ask about our upcoming elections and what America can do to stay engaged around the world if the former president is re-elected.”
“I will debate the possibilities, but I always understand that the majority of Americans understand the wisdom of engaging around the world to work with friends, partners and allies to prevent war and preserve peace.”
Ben Hodges, the former commander of US forces in Europe, told NBC News: “The possibility of Trump’s return is certainly part of the foreign policy discussions with our allies. “None of them want Trump back because they don’t trust him.”
For his part, Trump tried to portray Biden as a diminished figure who embarrasses the United States during his speech at the summit.
At his 78th birthday party in West Palm Beach, Florida on Friday, Trump recalled an event the day before when Biden and other G7 leaders gathered to watch a skydiving exhibition.
A viral video appeared to show Biden breaking away from his colleagues, only to be pulled back by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“The new leader of Italy has done a great job,” Trump said. “He said, ‘Turn around, you fool.’ Now they don’t respect our country anymore.”
In fact, the video has been cut. Wider angle It revealed that Biden simply walked up to one of the landing paratroopers and gave a congratulatory thumbs up.
Biden opted to make the most of the summit, which could be his last depending on the election. Among her entourage were her grandchildren Maisie, Finnegan and Naomi, who testified the trial of his father, Hunter Biden in Wilmington, Delaware.
A potential high point of the president’s visit includes A one-on-one meeting with Pope Francis On Friday. White House aides did not respond to a question about whether Biden’s grandchildren will attend.
Biden is a practicing Catholic who has expressed his admiration for the pontiff, calling him “the most important fighter for peace I have ever met.”
Faith has long been a refuge for Biden. The pope’s visit comes as he and his family process the news of Hunter’s conviction. Biden did not disclose what was said during the meeting.
“It went well,” he told reporters.