Biden skips dinner with NATO leaders, sends Blinken instead

On Tuesday, President Biden skipped dinner with world leaders while attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, instead sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Biden, 80, who was reportedly preparing for a "big speech" on Wednesday, a US official said, according to Daily Mail. This after videos surfaced on the internet of Biden appearing lost at the summit.

Despite repeated concerns about the President's mental and physical health and age, Biden told Turkish President Recep Erdogan on Tuesday at the summit that he is looking forward to winning reelection in 2024.

The exchange between Biden and Erdogan comes after the United States has expressed strong criticism towards Turkey for remaining its ties to Russia during the Kremlin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Biden called the meeting a "step forward." Erdogan concluded the meeting by wishing President Biden the "best of luck" in the "forthcoming election."

The United States' relationship with Turkey was strong under the leadership of Republican President Donald Trump, who regularly attested his relationship with Erdogan.

"He's a friend of mine, and I'm glad we didn't have a problem because, frankly, he's a hell of a leader, and he's a tough man, he's a strong man," Donald Trump said in 2019.

Also in attendance at the summit were French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country is currently being impacted by riots, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who received unexpected news at the summit–his country had been rejected to join NATO.

Zelensky took to Twitter to voice his displeasure after NATO rejected his war-torn nation's bid to join.

Biden said in no uncertain terms earlier this week that he did not currently support admitting Ukraine into the alliance. It would necessitate the triggering of Article 5 of the treaty, which would drag all member states into war to defend Ukraine.

"We value our allies. We value our shared security. And we always appreciate an open conversation," Zelensky wrote, adding that "Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius ... because it is about respect."

"But Ukraine also deserves respect," he continued. "Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine. And I would like to emphasize that this wording is about the invitation to become NATO member, not about Ukraine's membership."

President Biden has been in Europe since Sunday night, where he met with King Charles in the UK on Monday before departing to Lithuania to attend the summit.