According to Chairman Mike Johnson, there are global concerns about Joe Biden’s fitness for office.
The speaker said world leaders he met at the NATO conference have expressed concerns about the president’s cognitive abilities.
“All of these NATO leaders are here on Capitol Hill, as you know,” Johnson told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Wednesday night. “These foreign leaders are coming here, prime ministers, heads of state, and they’re telling us privately that they’re very concerned.”
Johnson’s comments came on the heels of meetings with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The speaker did not specify which leaders had raised concerns.
Meanwhile, NATO officials and diplomats around the world are anxiously awaiting how Biden will perform during a post-NATO press conference Thursday night.
Johnson, center, pictured shaking hands with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday
“It’s a very strange feeling to be in Europe and listen to the president of the United States. You’re more stressed about whether he’s going to go off script than you are excited to listen to the leader of the free world,” a senior European diplomat told Politico.
“You worry about whether he knows which way he’s going, whether he’s going to fall, whether he’s going to forget something, whether he’s going to say ‘North Korea’ when he meant ‘South Korea.’ It’s just a strange experience.”
“He didn’t look good,” another foreign diplomat from Washington said of Biden at the NATO conference this week.
Johnson called Biden’s cognitive decline the “greatest political cover-up.”
“The Democrats are in total disarray. 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: It’s the biggest political cover-up we’ve ever seen, maybe in the history of the United States, and it’s the most consequential.”
Johnson also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday
Thursday night’s news conference is expected to be the most important of his presidency as Biden’s campaign tries to limit the damage after last month’s debate.
Officially, 11 House Democrats and one Democratic senator have called on Biden to resign. Many more are waiting for his performance in the debates before deciding whether to do so.
Biden avoided a near-disastrous misstep during his welcoming speech to NATO leaders on Tuesday.
The president, visibly reading from the autocue, read himself a three-word instruction as he presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He was saved from sheer embarrassment by the audience’s applause.
“Just ask the military adviser,” Biden said as he prepared to present Stoltenberg with the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Biden quickly recovered, as the crowd drowned out his nonsense with cheers.
“Soldier, come forward,” he said, handing the medal and placing it around Stoltenberg’s neck without incident.
The president tried to reassure the audience during a recent interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. Biden sounded hoarse as he insisted his poor debate performance was due to a simple cold.
Biden said at one point during the interview with Stephanopoulos that he couldn’t remember if he watched the debate afterwards.
“I don’t think so, no,” Biden said.
A strong showing at the NATO summit will bring a sigh of relief to allies worried that a Trump victory could lead to a return to American isolation. A mistake will send their blood pressure soaring.
Trump has suggested that in a second term he would not defend NATO allies who did not pay their full dues — 2% of their respective GDPs. The former president has also questioned the amount of aid to Ukraine.
Both prospects are causing concern among NATO leaders.
The speaker revealed that world leaders he met as part of the NATO conference have expressed concerns about the president’s cognitive abilities
Biden indicated that he has persuaded more NATO members to increase their contributions.
“The year 2020 was the year I was elected president. Only nine NATO allies spend 2% of their defense GDP,” he said. “This year, 23 will spend at least 2%.”
“And some will spend more than that. And the remaining countries that have not yet reached that milestone will. This is remarkable progress. It is evidence that our commitment is broad and deep.”
Biden also announced that the US and other NATO allies Ukraine dozens of air defense systems in the coming months, including at least four of the powerful Patriot systems that Kiev is seeking.
“Russia will not win,” the president said.
“Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” Biden noted.