US President Joe Biden's democracy summit is billed as US leadership in a struggle between democracies and powerful autocracies. WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Joe Biden, who took office amid the biggest United States political crisis in decades, hosts representatives of more than 100 countries for a democracy summit on Thursday (Dec 9) that is drawing fire from China and Russia. But the fact that Mr Biden continues to face a shocking challenge to US democratic norms from former president Donald Trump and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election provides a troubling backdrop for the summit.