Back in Europe, Biden tries to show allies US is with them
ROME (AP) — Nearly five months after President Joe Biden declared “America is back” on his first presidential visit abroad, the president's challenge now that he's back in Europe is convincing the world that America is here to stay.
Attending twin summits in Rome and then Scotland, Biden is asking world leaders to cast their lot with a country that seems unable to agree on its own future.
His visit is set against the backdrop of the ongoing struggle to get his signature domestic agenda through Congress. The president's fellow Democrats have steadily pared back Biden's proposed spending on families, health care and renewable energy to build support for the plan and battled over the tax hikes needed to pay for it.
Because support for the $1.75 trillion package of expanded social programs is unclear, the president's separate $1 trillion infrastructure package is also on hold. This leaves the president to ask the world to judge him based more on his intentions rather than his results.
Biden administration officials contend that American allies understand the messiness of the legislative process and are unfazed, but world leaders also are keenly aware of Biden’s sagging poll numbers, the prospects of a Republican resurgence in Congress in the 2022 midterm election and the specter the presidency could shift to former President Donald Trump or someone with similar politics two years later.
The White House view, laid out by senior administration officials during briefings in Rome, is that American alliances suffered enormous trauma during the last administration and the healing work under Biden is ongoing.
A senior administration official said Saturday the White House believes allies want Biden to lock in as much progress as possible while there is a president who is a...
