This year's back-to-back G7 and NATO summits were more than just a parade of endless meetings.

For one, the NATO meeting ended with Finland and Sweden just steps away from becoming new members.

30 NATO allies have signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland.

NATO members also presented a united front against Russia's assault on Ukraine.

Transnotic unity has been and will continue to be the greatest strength in our response to Russia.

But in the five months since Russia's invasion, the American public's attention has turned back to problems at home.

And U.S. President Joe Biden hasn't gotten a good grade for his handling of them.

I'm Gustavo Riano. You're listening to the Times, daily news from the L.A. Times. It's Friday, July 8, 2022. Today, can President Biden's push to spread democracy abroad, help him deal with various crises back home? L.A. Times White House reporter Eli Stokel's recently accompanied Biden on his tour of Europe.

Eli, welcome to the Times.

Hey, thanks for having me.

So NATO, just to remind folks, was set up decades ago to counter the threat of the Soviet Union,

and leaders just wrapped up their summit last week in Madrid, while most folks in the U.S.

were thinking of other things.

What was the mood like over there at NATO?

You know, it was a busy week and a historic summit, and they are dealing with an ongoing war in Ukraine.

I mean, these are very consequential summits back to back.

The right honorable Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

But there was an awareness also that for all the good feeling among the leaders who were there,

Her Excellency, has met of Frederickssen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark.

That they were all dealing with really difficult situations domestically,

maybe no one more so than President Biden.

...Groble Joe Biden, President of the United States of America.

...