SAUNDERS: NATO media to Biden: What are you still doing here?

WASHINGTON

Most of the questions asked by political animals during President Joe Biden’s press conference at NATO Thursday night were variations of the same thought: What are you still doing here after you fumbled and stumbled through the June 27 debate?

The best version of that query came from Marek Walkulski of Polish Public Radio, who told Biden, “Many people in Poland and across Europe are worried that the former president may win the election. And there’s a lot of concern that Donald Trump may weaken NATO, stop supporting Ukraine, or push Ukraine to give up territories to Russia.”

Then the Polish reporter asked the president, “Do you think that Europe will be left on its own if Donald Trump wins the election, and what’s your advice to European leaders to prepare for possible U.S. disengagement?”

Given Trump’s many disparaging comments about NATO, Biden was delighted with the question — asked at a NATO conference, no less. (Not an accident.)

Social media know-it-alls attacked Walkulski for asking a planted question — as if a man from a country that has been invaded by the Nazis and the Soviets needs prompting.

And really, while Biden seemed to take the question as an opportunity to frame himself as the indispensable man, he didn’t seem to give much thought to Eastern Europeans who rightly or wrongly fear that Putin would see a Trump victory as a green light for his evil ambitions.

Earth to Biden: That question wasn’t helpful.

While Biden’s remarks showcased his fluency on international hot spots — and showed, yes, the 81-year-old is capable of having a good moment — his bad night on June 27 cannot be unseen.

Also, Biden didn’t help himself leading with a malapropism — he referred to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” after he mis-introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin.”

By the end of the hour, Biden changed few if any minds about whether he should stay in the presidential race. D.C. Democrats still see him as a gift to the Trump campaign.

And, really, the left-leaning press corps was sending a message loud and clear: You shouldn’t still be here.

Biden’s decision to flex his foreign-policy chops at this time, when Americans are concerned about meat and potato issues — especially their inflation-ravaged pocketbooks — shows a willful blindness to public discontent. The CPI is 20 percent higher than it was in February 2020 — about double what it should be, according to CNN.

According to the numbers-crunching FiveThirtyEight, Biden’s approval rating is 37.3 percent.

Biden’s response Thursday night: “How accurate does anybody think the polls are these days?”

He doesn’t even know he is living in a bubble.

Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Follow @debrajsaunders on X.