“We shouldn’t make the mistake of declaring Trump a premature winner, or even subscribing to this idea,” German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said on Wednesday.

But for others it’s already too late. Ex-Tory Minister Tim Loughton told the BBC that Biden “frankly needs to read the room — it’s time to go home to the cocoa and slippers” and give way to a “strong, credible, moderate” candidate for president.

‘Everyone is missing the point’

U.K. opposition leader Keir Starmer, widely expected to become the country’s prime minister later this year, once called himself “anti-Trump” — but now plays down their differences. U.K. Labour politicians have been meeting with both Democrats and Republicans to maintain the so-called special relationship between their nations.

One Labour shadow minister said Biden should use his speech to “lay down a strong challenge to Congress.” They added: “There are Republicans who want to pass this and people who believe it would pass if it can just get to the floor.”

But a second shadow minister in Starmer’s team warned that European security faced long-term problems, whoever is in the White House. “Everyone who talks about support for Ukraine under Trump is missing the point that the big focus is China, for both Biden and Trump,” they said.

“People sometimes hear Democrats say ‘China, China, China, China, Russia’ — and they only hear the ‘Russia’ bit. Whoever wins the U.S. election, we’re going to need to learn to stand more on our own two feet.”