NATO, Biden's Age and the World We Want

Let's be clear about what's really at stake

President Joe Biden pointing the way in May 2022 to the leaders of Finland and Sweden, whose countries became NATO’s newest members after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)

In recent days, the issue of Joe Biden’s age has taken center stage, activated by the special counsel Robert Hur and exploited by a White House press corps itching for an easy line of attack. The press gave less attention to Hur’s real finding—that Biden did not illegally mishandle classified documents—than to the president’s memory and age. As if this is the central issue to decide the country’s fate, to be determined by a growing number of amateur neurologists.

There are many critics who argue we should prioritize the matter of Biden’s memory (he said Mexico, not Egypt!), the stiffness of his gait (ignore that he rides a bicycle), his verbal gaffes (forget decades of gaffes and chronic stuttering) or his ultimate capacity to perform his duties (pay no attention to his achievements or the quality of his advisors). From this view, we are expected to believe Hur’s assertion that our empathic president and committed father struggled to remember the day when his son Beau died.

Yes, he is 81. Yes, he will be 86 after a second term. It’s not unreasonable to raise the question.

Then again, a comment during a South Carolina campaign event on Saturday from the all-but-certain Republican nominee throws into stark relief how wrong the question of age is as the principal determinant for making a choice in our binary political system. (Yes, Donald Trump is currently 77 and would be 82 in January 2029.)

In what sounded like one of Trump’s fabricated stories, he described an unnamed foreign leader from “a big country” that didn’t spend enough on defense; this leader asked, if his NATO country were attacked by Russia, “will you protect us?” Trump’s response: “I said, 'You didn't pay, you're delinquent. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”

Really? That’s the world this man—this pro-Putin, anti-democratic, authoritarian-loving criminal defendant—wants to further. A world where America abandons its allies, dismantles the western alliance at a time when Putin’s Russia is on the march and will not stop if it succeeds at ending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Goodbye to the fundamental commitment of NATO that an attack against one member is “an attack against all.” Hello to an America in which its leader cheers on Russian aggression toward democratic nations.

"Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates responded in a statement, “and it endangers American national security, global stability and our economy at home.”

This is not a surprise. Trump sought to undermine the then 29-member NATO when he occupied the White House. One of the key successes of the Biden administration has been rebuilding and strengthening America’s commitment to international alliances, particularly NATO. Ask Ukraine about the need for a clear counterpoint to Russia. Ask Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia and understood the necessity of joining NATO as a bulwark against its dangerous neighbor—a move that historically the Finns resisted.

Spurred by Trump and Fox News, plenty of elected Republicans are now showing they’ll side with Putin and Russia over America and democracy in their determination to end support for Ukraine. In December, Pew Research found that about half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine, even as it struggles to fend off Russian advances. On Thursday, 31 Republican senators opposed a motion to begin working on a $95.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine and Israel. (It passed 67-32.)

You can be sure many of these same elected officials will tell you the problem with Joe Biden is he’s too old, too feeble, too stiff, too incompetent, to provide the necessary American leadership. But don’t doubt that much of this is cover for their backing of the further rise of authoritarian leadership, in America and globally.

When I hear them say Joe Biden is too old, I can hear them really saying they want a world where America has abandoned international leadership and the rule of law to accelerate strongman rule with Donald Trump as the all-powerful boss deciding our fate.

That sounds like a grim outcome to me, superseding any issue about Biden’s age. This election remains an existential contest about the kind of country America is and will be. And while it’s fair to question the health of a president—god knows, the mental health of the previous president needed to be more squarely addressed—let’s not lose sight of what’s at stake.

In recent days, I’ve been hearing from trolls that sticking with an elderly Biden is an act of fanaticism. I’ve also heard from progressives saying they’d stick with Biden over Trump even if he were dead. Well, count me among those who look forward to a new generation of leadership taking over in 2029—in a democratic country. That’s why the guy who’s conducted a successful presidency and has once beaten the likely GOP nominee remains the reliable choice to get us there.

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One other note: Finland chose a new president yesterday to follow the 12 years and two terms of the popular Sauli Niinistö. The winner was Alexander Stubb, a center- right politician who previously served as prime minister, in a runoff vote with Pekka Haavisto, a progressive in the Green party who previously served as a foreign minister.

After the first round two weeks ago, Stubb described the kind of campaign he planned on. “The contest really starts now,” he said. “In the next 13 days, we’ll work like crazy, we’ll work humbly, and we’ll respect and honor our rival.”

Imagine a democratic election like that.

And by the way, in an interview with Reuters last month, Stubb described his stance on Russia: "Politically, there will be no relations with the president of Russia or with the Russian political leadership until they stop the war in Ukraine."

Let’s ensure America—like Finland—votes in leaders in who understand the danger of Russia’s success and the further spread of authoritarianism around the world.

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