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President Biden's command of foreign policy issues was on display at the NATO summit, but perhaps overshadowed by his mixed performance in his remarks. To break it all down, we're going to bring in Evo Dolder, Chicago Council on Global Affairs CEO, and a former US ambassador to NATO. Evo, thanks so much for being here with us today. Obviously you understand NATO intimately. What was your single biggest takeaway from how President Biden was able to position himself this week, both throughout the summit and then of course in his remarks?

Well, this is clearly a president who knows what NATO is all about, uh, who understands the importance of alliances and who understands how vital uh, NATO is to American security. I think, uh, you saw him display his his knowledge and grasp of the issues, you know, sometimes not as fluently as as some people might wish or want, uh, but definitely uh, fully in command. And I think there's a contrast here. Uh, and if you compare the president's speech, the one he did at the to celebrate the 75th anniversary, which opened up the summit on uh, on uh, Tuesday, compared to remarks that former President Trump made a few hours later, uh, you see the difference. There is one candidate who like every president since Harry S. Truman understands the vital importance of this most successful military alliance. And there's another who admitted that until he became president, had really heard of NATO. Uh, and that's a contrast that matters. And it's the one when I was in Washington this whole entire week, it's the one that allies are most focused on. They don't really focus on the age and the issues that uh, that have so beset Washington. They focus on who's going to be the leader of NATO. Uh, is it going to be Donald Trump who doesn't seem to care much about it or is it going to be somebody like President Biden, who will do the same as every predecessor from Truman through Obama did, believe that NATO is important?

Are they confident in President Biden and his ability to serve another four years?

Uh, you know, they don't express that. This is not the kind of issue that, uh, uh, that foreign leaders, uh, make make clear. But what they have said, which is very clear, they want a leader like President Obama who believes in NATO. Uh, and clearly the fear, uh, that he would lose the election, uh, and that Donald Trump would win is a motivating force, uh, for them in in many, many ways. They're hedging their bets, uh, they're trying to figure out how to deal with Donald Trump. They did it for four years, but this they realize is going to be a different Donald Trump unleashed, uh, and unmarred.

It's interesting. I know you recently wrote about how President Trump's, former President Trump's supporters think about his positioning on NATO. Uh, you noted, for example, that only 35% of Trump Republicans do believe that NATO cooperation does make the US safer. What do you think is missing from the current administration's messaging about the importance of NATO that could potentially shift that 35% folks shift their thinking on that?

Yeah, I don't think that's going to be easy to shift their thinking. I think the more important message, and this is an opinion poll that we, uh, the Chicago Council just released last week. Uh, two-thirds of Americans think that NATO is essential to US security. Uh, and there is a growing political divide, particularly among those Republicans who have a very favorable view of Donald Trump, which is about half the Republican voters in in our poll. They seem to be following the president down the path of believing that NATO is not very important, or certainly on my Twitter feed, I can tell you that. Um, but it is the overwhelming majority of Democrats, independents, and non-Trump Republicans who fundamentally believe that NATO not only is essential, but also makes uh, the United States much safer. And I think the administration is concentrating on that voting block as it should because that's the majority of the Americans.