As the U.S. president prepares to announce his bid for a second term as soon as Tuesday, his decision to keep the news media at arm’s length is part of a deliberate strategy.
The visit is Biden’s latest attempt to express his horror over the continued loss of life and to demonstrate his administration’s effort to reduce the chance of another mass shooting.
The approach marks a fundamental shift for an alliance that was born in the Cold War but came to view a post-Soviet Russia as a potential ally, and did not focus on China at all.
Emerging details of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, suggest that few of the proposals under discussion would have made much of a difference.
Biden’s aides quickly insisted that the remark — delivered in front of a castle that served for centuries as a home for Polish monarchs — was not intended as an appeal for regime change.
Ending a diplomatic trip with a speech in Warsaw, Biden described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the "test of all time” in the struggle between democracy and autocracy.
The administration has gotten much right, but its response has been hampered by confusing messaging, a lack of focus on testing, fear of political blowback and the virus’ unpredictability.
As Biden settles into the office he has chased for more than three decades, aides say he demands hours of debate from scores of policy experts.
Biden took a series of executive actions on issues including immigration and criminal justice. He also moved to rejoin the Paris climate accord.
The president vaguely warned of a “criminal offense” as he pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the call, according to an audio recording.
