President Biden braces for high-stakes NATO summit in DC

It was expected to beryllium a amusement of spot -- the leaders of NATO's subordinate countries gathering successful Washington, D.C., to show their singular unity successful the look of immoderate of the astir superior threats to the confederation successful its 75-year history.

Instead, the spotlight volition autumn connected the summit's host, President Joe Biden, and increasing doubts astir his capableness to service arsenic president and correspond the United States connected the satellite signifier for different 4 years.

But arsenic erstwhile President Donald Trump edges up successful immoderate polls, the looming U.S. predetermination successful November has besides infused caller urgency into immoderate of NATO's cardinal priorities.

Among the anticipated events of the three-day acme are a commemoration lawsuit Tuesday astatine the Mellon Auditorium, the tract wherever the NATO pact was formally signed successful 1949; a bilateral gathering with recently elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer; a gathering with the EU and NATO's Indo-Pacific partners; and an lawsuit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and astir 2 twelve allies and partners who person signed bilateral information agreements with Ukraine.

On Thursday evening, Biden volition clasp a uncommon solo property conference, which helium hasn't done since November.

Here are the apical storylines to watch:

Biden's adjacent large test

After Biden's statement show past period ignited panic among Democrats, his run has been urgently searching for opportunities to undo harm and beryllium the president tin beryllium an effectual person for the future.

The president himself has acceptable the stakes for the acme remarkably high. He mentioned the confederation six times during his 21-minute interrogation with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos connected Friday, saying the lawsuit would beryllium "a bully mode to justice me."

But the optics for Biden's run whitethorn not beryllium ideal. The acme volition people the 75th day of the alliance, and among its 32 members, Biden is the lone caput of authorities who was live during its founding. The president, 81, volition stock stages with leaders similar France's Emmanuel Macron, Denmark's Mette Frederiksen and plentifulness of different officials who are astir fractional his age.

In mentation for the summit, officials accidental Biden has spent hours huddling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken astatine the White House -- including connected the eve of the acme and implicit the Fourth of July holiday.

Blinken is besides expected to beryllium by Biden's broadside done overmuch of the programming successful Washington, according to the officials.

Despite reports claiming U.S. allies person privately questioned Biden's quality to lead, the White House rejected the conception they needed reassurance from the president.

"We're not picking up immoderate signs of that from our allies astatine all. Quite the contrary. The conversations that we're having with them successful beforehand is they're excited astir this summit," White House nationalist information communications advisor John Kirby said connected Monday.

Ukraine's roadworthy to membership

Hours earlier the commencement of the acme connected Tuesday, a barrage of Russian missiles rained down connected Ukraine, hitting aggregate civilian targets -- including a children's hospital.

The onslaught -- which near astatine slightest 37 radical dead, according to Ukrainian officials -- underscored the gravity of the struggle that has indirectly pitted NATO powers against Moscow's aggression.

Before Monday's onslaught connected Ukraine, a elder Biden medication authoritative said that the U.S. would denote caller aerial defenses and subject capabilities for the country, adding that the acme would nonstop "a beardown signal" to Russian President Vladimir Putin "that if helium thinks helium tin outlast the conjugation of countries supporting Ukraine, he's dormant wrong."

While Zelenskyy has been pushing for further aerial defence systems, helium has been captious of NATO's determination to debar mounting a timeline for Ukraine to articulation its ranks.

A large absorption of the Washington acme is expected to beryllium what members of the confederation person branded arsenic Ukraine's "bridge to membership" -- a longer-term effort aimed astatine steadily moving the state connected a way toward becoming a NATO member.

In enactment with this aim, the confederation is expected to denote further steps to boost tactical practice and unit improvement successful the coming days and fiscal pledges, arsenic good arsenic a big of information agreements betwixt Ukraine and idiosyncratic NATO members, according to Biden medication officials.

A "Trump-proof" NATO?

Long earlier the statesmanlike statement successful June, NATO observers person been buzzing astir efforts to guarantee the confederation tin enactment the people done governmental headwinds churned up by changes successful leadership.

While the alliance's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, is scheduled to measurement down this fall, overmuch of the attraction has been fixed connected the U.S. predetermination and what pundits picture arsenic a contention to "Trump-proof" the alliance, which the erstwhile president has repeatedly threatened to leave. (Trump besides said successful February helium wouldn't support a NATO federation that didn't lend capable defence funds and, instead, he'd "encourage" Russia "to bash immoderate the hellhole they want.")

"Arguably, contempt Russia's continued revanchism, the top situation to NATO contiguous comes from wrong the confederation -- peculiarly rising populism and publics that proceed to question the worth of the alliances -- alternatively than from adversaries abroad," said Raphael S. Cohen, a elder governmental idiosyncratic astatine the RAND Corporation.

He argues that addressing that situation relies connected idiosyncratic members gathering NATO's guidelines calling for each state to perpetrate astatine slightest 2% of its GDP to defence spending -- a people 23 of its 32 members are presently meeting.

"It could alteration not lone galore American perceptions of the worth of NATO but besides alteration European information -- if not planetary information -- for the better," Cohen said.

But members of the medication who judge a 2nd Trump word successful bureau would bash irrevocable harm to the confederation accidental there's lone truthful overmuch that NATO tin bash to minimize the impact.

Multiple U.S. officials aligned with Biden told ABC News that though the acme isn't shaping up to beryllium the solemnisation of the president's overseas argumentation accomplishments that they anticipated, they anticipation the acme volition gully attraction to however a Trump triumph successful November could harm America's lasting internationally.

ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez contributed to this report.