Biden sounds alarm at virtual summit about global democracy

By AAMER MADHANI and LISA MASCARO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has opened the first White House Summit for Democracy by sounding an alarm about a global slide for democratic institutions. He’s calling for world leaders to “lock arms” and demonstrate that democracies can deliver. In making the case for action Thursday morning, he noted his own battle win passage of voting rights legislation at home and alluded to the United States’ own challenges to its democratic institutions and traditions. The two-day virtual gathering comes with Biden making his case that the U.S. and like-minded allies need to demonstrate to the world that democracies are a better vehicle for societies than autocracies.