Concerns about Joe Biden’s suitability for office have gone global, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The speaker revealed that world leaders he met with as part of the NATO conference have expressed concerns about the president’s cognitive abilities.
“All of those NATO leaders are here in Congress, as you know,” Johnson told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Wednesday night. “Those foreign leaders are coming, prime ministers, heads of state, and they’re telling us privately that they’re deeply concerned.”
Johnson’s comments came shortly after he met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The spokesman did not specify which leaders had raised concerns.
Meanwhile, NATO officials and diplomats around the world are holding their breath waiting to see how Biden performs at a post-NATO press conference on Thursday night.
Johnson, center, pictured shaking hands with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday
“It’s a very strange feeling to be in Europe listening to the president of the United States, and you’re more stressed about whether he’s going to go off script than you are excited about hearing from the leader of the free world,” one senior European diplomat told Politico.
“You worry about whether he knows which way he’s going or whether he’s going to fall or whether he’s going to forget or whether he’s going to say ‘North Korea’ when he really meant ‘South Korea.’ It’s a strange experience.”
“He didn’t look good,” another Washington-based foreign diplomat said of Biden at the NATO conference this week.
Johnson called Biden’s cognitive decline the “biggest political cover-up.”
“The Democrats are totally disorganized. They don’t know what to do. They don’t have a plan B, but they know they have a serious problem,” Johnson continued. “You’re right: this is the biggest political cover-up we’ve ever seen, perhaps in American history, and the most consequential.”
Johnson also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.
Thursday night’s news conference is expected to be the most crucial of his presidency as Biden’s campaign attempts to do damage control after last month’s debate.
Officially, 11 House Democrats and one Democratic senator have called on Biden to resign, and many more are waiting to see his debate performance before deciding whether to do so.
Biden avoided a near-disastrous slip-up during his welcome speech to NATO leaders on Tuesday.
The president, visibly reading from the teleprompter, read a three-word instruction to himself as he presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, but was saved from total embarrassment by the audience’s applause.
“Ask the military aide,” Biden said as he prepared to award Stoltenberg the country’s highest civilian honor.
Biden then quickly realized it, as the crowd drowned out his mistake with cheers.
“Military, come forward,” he said. He proceeded to present the medal, hanging it around Stoltenberg’s neck, without incident.
The president attempted to reassure the public during a recent interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. Biden sounded hoarse as he insisted that his poor debate performance was simply due to a cold.
At one point during the Stephanopoulos interview, Biden said he couldn’t remember whether he had watched the debate after it took place.
“I don’t think I have, no,” Biden said.
A strong showing at the NATO summit will bring a sigh of relief among allies, who fear that a Trump victory could lead to a return of American isolation. A slip-up will send their blood pressure soaring.
Trump has hinted that in a second term he would not defend NATO allies that have not paid their full contributions (2% of their respective GDP). The former president has also questioned the amount of aid to Ukraine.
Both prospects have unsettled NATO leaders.
The speaker revealed that world leaders he met with as part of the NATO conference have expressed concerns about the president’s cognitive abilities.
Biden said he has gotten more NATO members to increase their quotas.
“2020 was the year I was elected president. Only nine NATO allies spend 2% of their GDP on defense,” he said. “This year, 23 will spend at least 2%.”
“Some countries will spend more than that, and others that have not yet reached that milestone will do so. This is remarkable progress, proof that our commitment is broad and deep.”
Biden also announced that the United States and other NATO allies will send Ukraine In the coming months, kyiv will acquire dozens of air defense systems, including at least four of the powerful Patriot systems that kyiv has been seeking.
“Russia will not prevail,” the president said.
“Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” Biden said.