'Trepidation and peril': Expert says Trump has spurred fears of global collapse

A routine political summit has become "a moment of trepidation and peril" as world leaders cast their gaze on the U.S. and a former president they are terrified might reclaim the White House, according to a new political analysis.

The Washington Post's foreign affairs columnist David Ignatius wrote Thursday about an upcoming NATO summit where he says President Joe Biden will carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"A Donald Trump victory, many Europeans fear, could separate the United States from its European allies," writes Ignatius. "What NATO touts as the world’s most successful military alliance would be adrift in stormy seas."

Anxieties have only mounted after Biden's poor debate performance raised concerns about his ability to defeat Trump, a convicted felon, in November.

One official told the Post columnist, “The summit has gone from an orchestrated spectacle to one of the most anxious gatherings in modern times."

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Ignatius points to conflict in Ukraine and mounting hostilities between the U.S. and Russia as a key point of concern.

"It’s a fact that Russia and the United States have been moving up the escalatory ladder in Ukraine in recent months," he writes. "Biden crossed two previous 'red lines' when he approved shipment of ATACMS long-range missiles this spring and then authorized the use of such U.S. weapons inside Russian territory."

Another concern is "wild card" North Korea, where Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month a “breakthrough” pledge for both nations to defend the other.

Trump is notoriously against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and foreign policy experts have warned his presidency could trigger a "collapse" within it.

"What Donald Trump can do is just really hollow out what NATO does," Finley Grimble, a British foreign policy expert, told Business Insider. "He doesn't need to leave NATO to ruin it. He can ruin it from within."