Biden tangles with reporter who questions US commitment to NATO: 'No one can guarantee the future'

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Biden tangles with reporter over US commitment to NATO

President Biden tangled with a reporter Thursday when he appeared to say the U.S. could not guarantee a long-term commitment to NATO and then corrected himself, at a press conference in Helsinki. 

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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President Biden speaks during a news conference at the U.S.-Nordic Leaders' Summit in Helsinki, Finland, on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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 and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto attend a joint press conference in Helsinki on July 13, 2023. During questions, Biden was asked whether he could guarantee the United States' long-term commitment to Finland. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

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." 

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Biden tangled with a reporter after he said "no one can guarantee the future" in response to a question about the United States' long-term commitments to its NATO partners. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

"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. 

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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.