An American commentary site dubbed this “Joe Biden’s hell week”, as Democrats balance their doubts and fears about sticking with a plainly ailing US President in the wake of a disastrous debate two weeks ago. It sent alarm signals ringing through the party about his ability to stay the course until the November election – never mind the small matter of sustaining a vigorous presidency thereafter in perilous international circumstances. Heading to Washington for the Nato summit, I find the tension – and division – among previously loyal allies palpable – and crucially, in a way that threatens to break the unity of the progressive firewall against the return of Donald Trump.
In the past fortnight, 81-year-old Biden has been effectively forced to fight to keep his job by acknowledging that he has on and off days, denouncing party “elites” for trying to oust him, On Tuesday he was preparing for a party caucus that will decide whether the “I’m with Joe” group of influential bigwigs in Congress can withstand growing pressure from the “Just go, Joe” wing – and break the uneasy silence from many fence-sitters. From this side of the ocean, seeing the drip-drip of stories about the increasingly limited physical and mental bandwidth of the President, and the embarrassingly under-par performance against Trump – who showed in the debate that he is as mendacious and often foolhardy as ever, but that he is also a ferocious opponent capable of landing blows wh.