In Warzone And Warsaw Speech, Biden Touts US Strength -- And His Own

He may be 80 and facing questions over his fitness to serve a second term, but a rock star-style speech in Warsaw and daring visit to wartime Ukraine saw President Joe Biden rebuff those who think America -- or he -- have grown weak.

These have been probably the most extraordinary three days in the Democrat's presidency.

Starting Sunday with his secret departure for Kyiv and peaking in a powerful speech on democracy and Ukraine's fight for freedom at a Warsaw castle Tuesday, Biden showed he's still ready to shock doubters -- whether his country's or his own.

The Ukraine visit, long considered too risky for a US president, given the usually enormous staffing and security footprint, was an outlandishly dramatic gesture.

Travelling mostly while Washington slept, Biden slipped from the White House before dawn Sunday, and resurfaced some 24 hours later in the capital of a country marking the first full year in its existential fight against Russian invasion.

The howling air raid sirens that accompanied his short walk outdoors with President Volodymyr Zelensky provided the soundtrack.

Topping that was going to be hard.

But in Warsaw on Tuesday evening, Biden harnessed another type of drama -- this time not the raw, dangerous theatre of war, but the emotion-tugging skills of his speech writers and event producers.

Biden is rarely a smooth speaker, with a penchant for stumbling over words and occasional jarring switches in volume or tone.

But this speech was crafted to match the setting -- a blend of Hollywood production levels, rock concert staging and top-notch oratorical flourishes.

Floodlights fired beams through a fog-machine-created haze. Well-lit and well-placed Polish, Ukrainian and US flags snapped perfectly in the cold wind. And more than 3,000 cheering people crowded in a circle around a stage where Biden spoke from behind bulletproof glass.

Challenged to perform, Biden delivered.

In rhetorical shot after shot, he told this fervently pro-Ukrainian, pro-US, pro-NATO country exactly what it wanted to hear: that "Kyiv stands strong."

That "Kyiv stands proud, it stands tall and most importantly it stands free."

Mariia Krutko, a Ukrainian in her 20s living in Poland, said she was glad she had stood in the cold and occasional drizzle to catch the US president.

"It's a huge inspiration for all Ukrainians to keep fighting and not to give up, even in mental terms," she told AFP. "Because sometimes it can be harsh, especially when you lose a loved one or your home."

Biden had plenty to say about that Ukrainian determination. "Brutality will never grind down the will of the free," he said.

The theme continued as he poured praise on Poland for arming the Ukrainians and receiving their refugees; on NATO for staying united; and on the multitude of US allies that he said decided to "stand up for the right of people to live free from aggression."

"When Russia invaded, it wasn't just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test," he said.

That, said Biden, included the United States.

He framed the narrative of the contest between Washington and Moscow as a rude wake-up call for self-styled Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin.

"He thought autocrats like himself were tough and leaders of democracy were soft -- and then he met the iron will of America," Biden said.

Of course Biden was messaging Putin. But he also had an eye on critics back home and his expected entry into the 2024 presidential race.

These three days will likely form a big part of his response.

He made no mention of US politics in his Warsaw address. He didn't have to.

When it comes to campaigning, the reams of photos showing Biden on his Ukrainian-Polish adventure this week will do the talking for him.