Britain’s new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said President Biden was “doing really well” after the two leaders met at the NATO summit in Washington DC this week.
Starmer BBC interview After his visit.
He was asked about growing concerns about Biden’s health, whether he can beat former President Trump in the next election and whether he can serve another four-year term if re-elected.
“Yesterday’s bilateral meeting went really well. We were charged for 45 minutes but actually spoke for nearly an hour,” Starmer said. “We went through a huge number of issues quickly.”
“It was in very good shape, actually,” he continued, adding that Biden was “perfect in every detail.”
Starmer became British prime minister last week after a landslide victory for the Labour Party.
He said his meeting with Biden was “very important” for him as it was his first opportunity to hold a bilateral meeting.
“He’s demonstrated great leadership,” the prime minister said of Biden.
Starmer, who joined many other international leaders in Washington to celebrate NATO’s 75th anniversary, said world leaders agreed that NATO nations “face more threats than we have faced for many years”.
“President Biden has actually been a leader in solving some of the toughest problems facing the world,” he said.
Starmer said he and Biden discussed a number of strategic topics during their meeting, as well as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
The meeting and the NATO summit come as Democrats struggle internally over what to do ahead of the November elections. As of Thursday, 14 House Democrats and one Senate Democrat had called on Biden to step aside and let someone else run.
Biden’s debate performance caused chaos and panic within his party, and the summit was seen as an opportunity for Biden to reassure the public and world leaders that he was fit for the presidency.
For the second time in the interview, the prime minister said Biden was “doing well.”
“So I’m really pleased to have the opportunity at this really important time to be clear about our special relationship and our long-standing commitment to NATO,” Starmer said.
