President Biden tangled with a reporter Thursday after he appeared to say the U.S. could not guarantee its commitment to NATO, quickly correcting himself.
During a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö following the 2023 U.S.-Nordic Leaders’ Summit in Helsinki, Finland, Biden was asked about a failed Senate bill that would prevent future U.S. presidents from withdrawing from NATO without Senate approval. A reporter asked the president what actions he would take to assure Finland that the U.S. will remain a reliable partner for the coming decades.
“I absolutely guarantee it,” Biden initially replied. “There is no question there’s overwhelming support from the American people. There’s overwhelming support from the members of the Congress, both House and Senate, in both parties notwithstanding the fact that some extreme elements of one party,” he said, swiping at GOP lawmakers he’s dubbed “extreme MAGA Republicans” for their skepticism of U.S. aid to Ukraine.
He went on to say that “no one can guarantee the future,” but that U.S. commitments to NATO partners are “the best bet anyone can make.”
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Seizing Biden’s comment that “no one can guarantee a future,” the reporter turned to the Finnish president and asked whether he is worried that “political instability” in the U.S. will cause trouble for NATO down the road.
“Let me be clear,” Biden interjected before Niinistö could get a word in. “I didn’t say we didn’t guarantee – we couldn’t guarantee the future. You can’t tell me whether you’re going to be able to go home tonight. No one can be sure what they’re going to do. I’m saying, as sure as anything can possibly be said about American foreign policy, we will stay connected to NATO.”
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Biden emphasized that the U.S. will remain connected to its transatlantic partners “beginning, middle and end.”
Niinistö suggested that Biden had answered the reporter’s question satisfactorily and added he has “no reason to doubt about U.S. policies in the future.”
“Let me say one more thing,” Biden hastily added. “We learned the hard lesson. Peace and security in Europe is essential to U.S. security and peace. The idea that there could be conflict in Europe among our friends and us not engaged has never happened in modern history. That’s why we’re staying together.”
Democratic and Republican senators renewed an effort to block any U.S. president from leaving NATO on Wednesday as Biden attended a NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. The joint resolution would require the president to obtain affirmative consent from two-thirds of the Senate to suspend, terminate, denounce or withdraw the U.S. from NATO.
The resolution is led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee and a senior member of the foreign relations panel.
The bill has been introduced repeatedly in recent years, including during the term of Republican President Donald Trump, who voiced a desire for the United States to leave the military alliance. It has not yet passed the full Senate, but its sponsors expect more bipartisan support for the effort this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the expansion of NATO.
Reuters contributed to this report.