On the international stage, he wants to make a case for preserving global alliances in an era when many populist and nationalist leaders are looking inward, his advisers say.
But the tougher task will be on the domestic front, where he’ll need to plow through three days of meetings, speeches and dinners — capped by a news conference Thursday — with the vigor and focus that were noticeably absent during his debate with Donald Trump.
The summit should be a friendly forum for Biden, who is trying to stave off calls from fellow Democrats to drop out of the presidential race after his poor debate showing.
It’s happening on his home turf, so he won’t have to grapple with the overseas travel and late hours that he says left him depleted ahead of the debate.
“He’ll be on an international stage,” said William Daley, a White House chief of staff for President Barack Obama. “This is the first big stage for the president to have since the debate.”
It’s cute that NBC is still pretending that it’s Biden doing any of these things — or would be if the stakes weren’t so serious.