President Joe Biden struck a defiant tone during what was perhaps the most consequential press conference of his political career, insisting that he is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump in November, even as he stumbled through several answers.
Biden read prepared remarks off a teleprompter and answered questions from a pre-selected list of reporters Thursday night at NATO’s 75th anniversary summit, addressing a range of subjects including the history of NATO, Russia’s war against Ukraine, inflation, and Israel’s war against Hamas. The embattled president showed signs of his age throughout the event, as he coughed, whispered, stumbled over his words, and at time lost his stream of thought, at one point even referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.”
“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president did I think she was not qualified to be vice president,” Biden said, defending his choice of Harris as his running mate. At the end of the press conference, Biden told reporters to “listen to him,” in response to a question about the gaffe.
The verbal flubs didn’t stop Biden from challenging his critics to find fault with his record and insisting that he was best positioned to defeat Trump.
“I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again,” Biden asserted.
Asked whether it would harm his legacy if he were to lose to Trump in November, he challenged the premise of the question, saying “I’m not in this for my legacy.” He subsequently explained why he abandoned his “bridge” candidate pledge instead of anointing a successor.
“What changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited,” Biden said, citing the economic turbulence and geopolitical crisis of his first term. “My long time in the Senate equipped me to have the wisdom on how to deal with the Congress to get things done.”
Biden did acknowledge his need to slow down and his staffers’s desire to add events to his schedule, a tendency he said angered First Lady Jill Biden.
“I love my staff, but they add things. They add things all the time. I’m catching hell from my wife,” Biden stated.
At times, Biden gave long-winded, rambling answers on foreign policy, going into detail about working with world leaders and cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. During these stream of conscious answers, Biden repeatedly lost his trains of thought and stumbled over his words, repeating “anyway” and “the idea” as verbal crutches.
Asked about how he would fare at the end of a second term, Biden maintained that he’d be ready to deal with the leaders of hostile countries.
“I’m ready to deal with them now and three years from now,” Biden said of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin, America’s two most powerful adversaries.
“To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said on X, broadcasting how the Biden camp feels about his showing.
“He’s just that f*cking good.”
A growing cohort of Democratic lawmakers and prominent allies in the media have openly discussed the possibility of replacing Biden atop the presidential ticket in the wake of his disastrous debate performance.
At the Democratic National Convention next month, Biden said his pledged delegates can “do whatever they want.” Biden downplayed polls showing him losing to Trump and widespread concerns about his candidacy.
Facing intense scrutiny of his neurological condition, Biden expressed openness to taking an independent neurological examination, and touted the results of his annual physicals.
The event — dubbed a “big boy” press conference by the White House in acknowledgement of its political importance — took place around 7:30 p.m. eastern, 90 minutes later than its originally scheduled start time, and lasted for an hour. It was Biden’s first solo press conference since November of last year, when he took questions after his summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping in California.
Before speaking to reporters, Biden confused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Russian president Vladimir Putin when he introduced Zelenskyy at a NATO event celebrating the alliance’s support for Ukraine, a shocking mistake given the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
President Biden: “And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentleman, President Putin.” He immediately corrects himself, “He’s going to beat President Putin. President Zelenskyy.” pic.twitter.com/VIqDxC8NCS
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 11, 2024
“And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin!” Biden said, before realizing what he had done and correcting himself. He downplayed the gaffe when asked about during the press conference.
Up to this point, Biden’s post-debate appearances have not dampened calls for him to step aside, even though Biden insists he will remain the Democratic party’s standard bearer as he shrinks his inner circle to family and a few trusted aides. The president’s son, Hunter Biden, a convicted felon and drug addict, is functionally operating as his father’s top adviser with Joe Biden’s political prospects on the brink.
More than a dozen House Democrats and Senator Peter Welch (D.,Vt.) have called for Biden’s ouster because of his declining mental faculties and the possibility he loses this November. Other lawmakers have suggested the choice is ultimately Biden’s as to whether he continues running for another term.
If Biden is replaced atop the Democratic ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris would become the immediate frontrunner to succeed him and take on former president Donald Trump. The Biden campaign is reportedly polling to see how Harris would perform as the Democratic nominee, amid the uncertainty surrounding Biden.
“I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be president. From the very beginning, I made no bones about that. She is qualified to be president — that’s why I picked her,” Biden said of Harris.
Biden, 81, is the oldest president in American history and appears to have mentally declined significantly over the past few years. Since the debate, a barrage of news reports have come out featuring anecdotes of Biden’s struggles throughout his presidency.
Monday night, NBC is set to air a sit-down interview with Biden and Lester Holt, Biden’s second primetime interview since the debate. ABC News anchor George Stephanapoulos interviewed Biden in primetime last week, and Biden chalked up his debate performance to one bad night.
Ahead of the press conference, the Biden campaign crafted a memo detailing its strategy moving forward, emphasizing the importance of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin for Biden’s reelection effort.
Polls show all three of those rust belt states are virtual toss-ups between Biden and Trump, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages. Sun belt states such as Arizona and Nevada appear increasingly out of reach for the president as Trump gains support among latinos and younger voters.
The Biden campaign’s memo concedes that post-debate polls have not been friendly to the president and represent a setback for the campaign.