Biden meets press, but questions still swirl
ELECTION 2024
President Joe Biden
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden showed flashes of anger, defensiveness, boastfulness, and defiance as he declared Thursday that he would remain in the presidential race against former President Donald Trump. “I’m the most qualified person to run for president,” Biden said. “I beat him once, and I will beat him again.”
The response came at a rare and heavily scrutinized Washington news conference Thursday evening amid concerns that the 81-year-old is not capable of winning reelection or governing for another four years. “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job I started,” he said.
“Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in 31/2 years?” he said. “I created 2,000 jobs this last week. So if I slow down, I can’t get the job done. That’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication that. None.”
But the attempt to demonstrate his mental acuity hit bumps. Less than an hour before the planned engagement with reporters, when Biden had a ceremony in Washington with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and accidentally introduced him as his rival, Vladimir Putin, before correcting himself. Then, asked in the news conference whether Vice President Kamala Harris was equipped to lead the country, Biden accidentally said “Vice President Trump.”
The slips of the tongue would normally go unnoticed. But the emphasis on questions about his fitness and the heightened attention to his verbal stumbles illustrated the political difficulty Biden now faces as voters are already concerned with signs of decline.
Biden has had fewer news conferences on an annual average than any predecessor since President Ronald Reagan. Thursday’s engagement with reporters came exactly two weeks since a fumbling debate with Trump created mass concern both inside and outside the Democratic Party.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released Thursday provided some good news to Biden—a 46%-46% tie with Trump, who has been building a lead in many other surveys at both the national level and in key battleground states. But the same poll found two-thirds of Americans — including 56% of Democrats — want him out of the race.
A new survey from Pew found that a quarter of voters view Biden as mentally sharp, compared with more than half who see Trump that way. More voters view Biden as honest compared with Trump (48% to 36%), however, and they were twice as likely to call Trump “mean-spirited” (64%) than Biden (31%). Large majorities of voters (63%) found both men “embarrassing.”
Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to publicly call for Biden to leave the race Wednesday night, joining a relatively small group of House colleagues and the actor George Clooney, who made his call Wednesday just weeks after co-hosting a high-dollar Hollywood fundraiser for him.
“The stakes could not be higher,” Welch wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece. “We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night.”
Biden’s top advisers met with Senate Democrats over lunch Thursday in an effort to stem additional losses. The campaign also laid out a path to victory in a new internal memo that argues Biden can win Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan — and the election — and would fare better than any alternative.
The memo, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, also argues that Sunbelt states “are not out of reach” for Biden. “Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter,” the memo says. “There is a long way to go between now and Election Day with considerable uncertainty and polls in July should not be overestimated, but the data shows we have a clear path to win.”
Though lawmakers largely held off from calling for a withdrawal Thursday, there were more defections — bringing the total to the midteens by midday — and continued skepticism from many politicians who have not asked Biden to pull out. “If things stay as they are, it’s likely that Donald Trump will win the election and that we’ll lose the Senate and we’ll lose the House,” Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, told reporters.
He said he would be watching the news conference. “Everything matters.” Just after the news conference ended, U.S. Rep. James Himes, D-Conn., posted on X that Biden is “a remarkable leader of unparalleled public service,” but that Democrats must put forth the strongest candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump.”
After the Putin slip, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, went on CNN to reiterate his call for Biden to step aside for another candidate. He called Biden’s chances of victory “more improbable” every time he makes a misstatement.
Doggett said the focus on the president’s “stumbles and fumbles” had become the preeminent topic of the presidential race rather than on “Donald Trump’s lies.” If that continues, the Texas lawmaker said, “then we will lose.”
Harris, meanwhile, traveled to Greensboro, N.C., hoping to refocus attention on Trump’s prior comments that he would be a dictator in his first day in office and that Russia could “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that do not pay enough in defense spending.
“Someone who suggests we should ‘terminate our Constitution’ should never again have the chance to stand behind a microphone and never again have the chance to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States of America,” she said. She said “the last few days have been a reminder that running for president is never easy — nor should it be” while calling Biden “a fighter.”
Biden has been trying to buy time since the debate performance, holding off more widespread calls from high-profile Democrats, including many lawmakers who have said privately that they hoped he would withdraw on his own. He has not satisfied many supporters who have called for a blitz of unscripted events and has largely stuck to public speeches with teleprompters, including events with foreign leaders in Washington this week as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.
His unscripted interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos last week garnered mixed reviews, but the anchor was later caught on camera stating that he did not believe Biden could serve another four years.
Biden’s defiant phone call to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday — his favorite cable news show — appeared to hold off a wave of congressional defections but did not assuage concerns. He has another network interview planned for Monday with NBC’s Lester Holt.
For his part, Trump weighed in live on Biden’s news conference with a post on his social media network of a video clip of the president saying “Vice President Trump.” Trump added sarcastically, “Great job, Joe!”
The response came at a rare and heavily scrutinized Washington news conference Thursday evening amid concerns that the 81-year-old is not capable of winning reelection or governing for another four years. “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job I started,” he said.
“Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in 31/2 years?” he said. “I created 2,000 jobs this last week. So if I slow down, I can’t get the job done. That’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication that. None.”
But the attempt to demonstrate his mental acuity hit bumps. Less than an hour before the planned engagement with reporters, when Biden had a ceremony in Washington with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and accidentally introduced him as his rival, Vladimir Putin, before correcting himself. Then, asked in the news conference whether Vice President Kamala Harris was equipped to lead the country, Biden accidentally said “Vice President Trump.”
The slips of the tongue would normally go unnoticed. But the emphasis on questions about his fitness and the heightened attention to his verbal stumbles illustrated the political difficulty Biden now faces as voters are already concerned with signs of decline.
Biden has had fewer news conferences on an annual average than any predecessor since President Ronald Reagan. Thursday’s engagement with reporters came exactly two weeks since a fumbling debate with Trump created mass concern both inside and outside the Democratic Party.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released Thursday provided some good news to Biden—a 46%-46% tie with Trump, who has been building a lead in many other surveys at both the national level and in key battleground states. But the same poll found two-thirds of Americans — including 56% of Democrats — want him out of the race.
A new survey from Pew found that a quarter of voters view Biden as mentally sharp, compared with more than half who see Trump that way. More voters view Biden as honest compared with Trump (48% to 36%), however, and they were twice as likely to call Trump “mean-spirited” (64%) than Biden (31%). Large majorities of voters (63%) found both men “embarrassing.”
Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to publicly call for Biden to leave the race Wednesday night, joining a relatively small group of House colleagues and the actor George Clooney, who made his call Wednesday just weeks after co-hosting a high-dollar Hollywood fundraiser for him.
“The stakes could not be higher,” Welch wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece. “We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night.”
Biden’s top advisers met with Senate Democrats over lunch Thursday in an effort to stem additional losses. The campaign also laid out a path to victory in a new internal memo that argues Biden can win Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan — and the election — and would fare better than any alternative.
The memo, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, also argues that Sunbelt states “are not out of reach” for Biden. “Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter,” the memo says. “There is a long way to go between now and Election Day with considerable uncertainty and polls in July should not be overestimated, but the data shows we have a clear path to win.”
Though lawmakers largely held off from calling for a withdrawal Thursday, there were more defections — bringing the total to the midteens by midday — and continued skepticism from many politicians who have not asked Biden to pull out. “If things stay as they are, it’s likely that Donald Trump will win the election and that we’ll lose the Senate and we’ll lose the House,” Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, told reporters.
He said he would be watching the news conference. “Everything matters.” Just after the news conference ended, U.S. Rep. James Himes, D-Conn., posted on X that Biden is “a remarkable leader of unparalleled public service,” but that Democrats must put forth the strongest candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump.”
After the Putin slip, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, went on CNN to reiterate his call for Biden to step aside for another candidate. He called Biden’s chances of victory “more improbable” every time he makes a misstatement.
Doggett said the focus on the president’s “stumbles and fumbles” had become the preeminent topic of the presidential race rather than on “Donald Trump’s lies.” If that continues, the Texas lawmaker said, “then we will lose.”
Harris, meanwhile, traveled to Greensboro, N.C., hoping to refocus attention on Trump’s prior comments that he would be a dictator in his first day in office and that Russia could “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that do not pay enough in defense spending.
“Someone who suggests we should ‘terminate our Constitution’ should never again have the chance to stand behind a microphone and never again have the chance to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States of America,” she said. She said “the last few days have been a reminder that running for president is never easy — nor should it be” while calling Biden “a fighter.”
Biden has been trying to buy time since the debate performance, holding off more widespread calls from high-profile Democrats, including many lawmakers who have said privately that they hoped he would withdraw on his own. He has not satisfied many supporters who have called for a blitz of unscripted events and has largely stuck to public speeches with teleprompters, including events with foreign leaders in Washington this week as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.
His unscripted interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos last week garnered mixed reviews, but the anchor was later caught on camera stating that he did not believe Biden could serve another four years.
Biden’s defiant phone call to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday — his favorite cable news show — appeared to hold off a wave of congressional defections but did not assuage concerns. He has another network interview planned for Monday with NBC’s Lester Holt.
For his part, Trump weighed in live on Biden’s news conference with a post on his social media network of a video clip of the president saying “Vice President Trump.” Trump added sarcastically, “Great job, Joe!”