Every day is a test for Joe Biden with his presidential campaign in question

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters): Every word he utters, every step he takes, President Joe Biden now has the eyes of a worried world on him, watching for another faltering performance like his June debate that sparks fresh calls for him to leave the 2024 presidential race.

His next big test comes Thursday, when Biden holds a solo press conference at the NATO summit, his first time facing the press alone since November. He has held press conferences with leaders from Ukraine, Kenya and Japan in 2024.

Biden, 81, will take an unspecified number of questions from reporters, in an event expected to last about as long as November's, which ran 21 minutes.

Ahead of that event scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (2130 GMT), the White House was busily helping prepare the president for it by trying to game out the questions reporters would ask, a knowledgeable source said.

In the two weeks since the June 27 debate, Biden had another disappointing performance in an ABC News interview, reinforcing some Democrats' concerns over his ability to beat Republican rival Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election or serve another four years.

But Biden has also participated in a wide array of public events without a slip-up, including campaign stops in North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Virginia.

A well-orchestrated, forceful NATO summit speech on Tuesday closed with Biden carefully placing the Presidential Medal of Freedom around Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's neck, to the relief of fellow Democrats and White House staff.