WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden faced a test Thursday that he had avoided so far this year: a solo news conference with questions from the White House press corps.
The news conference was intended to reassure a disheartened group of Democratic lawmakers, allies and impressionable voters in this year’s election that Biden still has the strength and stamina to be president. Biden has sought to defend his faint and tongue-tied performance in the June 27 debate against Republican Donald Trump as an outlier rather than proof that, at 81, he lacks the power and commanding presence the public expects from a commander in chief.
He made at least two notable blunders: At a pre-election event, he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” and called Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” when a reporter asked about her. But he also answered at length about his work to preserve NATO and his plans for a second term. And he insisted he would not drop out of the race, even as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers are calling for him to resign.
Here are some highlights from the press conference:
He messed up significant names – and remained defiant
Biden’s biggest slip-up during the press conference perhaps came right at the beginning, when he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” and said he chose her because he believed she could beat Trump.
Even before the press conference, Biden had messed up an significant name at the NATO summit, immediately dampening expectations for his appearance.
“Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said as he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is most definitely not Russian President Vladimir Putin. The faux pas immediately drew a gasp as Biden took hold and said to Zelensky, “President Putin? You will defeat President Putin.”
But when a reporter mentioned his reference to “Vice President Trump” and noted that the presumptive Republican nominee’s campaign team was already promoting the gaffe, he reacted defiantly. “Listen to him,” he said before leaving the stage.
A Democrat in the House of Representatives, Jim Himes of Connecticut, issued a statement minutes later calling on the president to resign.
He insisted: “I have to finish this work”
It’s a exquisite dance between the president and vice president, and many Democrats openly yearn for Harris to replace Biden on the ballot. Biden has not acknowledged that tension, only mentioning Harris when pointedly asked if he believes she has the ability to replace him.
“I would not have chosen her if I did not believe she was qualified to be president,” Biden said, pointing to Harris’ resume from prosecutor to the U.S. Senate.
But when asked later, he acknowledged that he had deviated from his 2020 campaign promise to be a “bridge” to a recent generation of Democrats. “What has changed is the gravity of the situation I inherited,” he said, without saying a word about his vice president.
He kept saying, “I have to finish this job.”
The press conference ended with Biden being asked point blank whether he would step aside for Harris if he saw that polls showed she had a better chance of beating Trump. “No, unless they come back and say there’s no way you can win,” Biden replied. Then he added in a stage whisper, “No poll says that.”
He argued that he had achieved results through rhetoric
Biden tried to make it clear that what he does matters more than how he talks about it.
He praised the just-concluded NATO summit as an escalate in America’s reputation. “Have you ever seen a more successful conference?” Biden said to a group of reporters who often only saw the conference during prepared speeches.
He detailed how inflation has fallen from its peak in 2022, citing statistics such as the creation of 800,000 manufacturing jobs under his watch. He said world leaders would trade their own economies for what the United States has. He also said he would cap the amount of rent increases for tenants of landlords participating in a public housing tax credit program.
It’s the same line that Biden used in campaign speeches, without necessarily boosting his own popularity. His team believes that the line will resonate if repeated over and over again.
He talked about his work on NATO
Biden opened the press conference with a lengthy speech about NATO and its value to the United States – one of his strongest political themes against Trump, who is openly skeptical of the alliance and once suggested he would encourage Russia to attack NATO members he considers to be negligent.
Biden continued an American tradition of defending NATO that stretches “from Truman to Reagan to me.” “Every American has to ask themselves whether the world is safer with NATO,” he asked.
Later, to reassure a European journalist who asked how governments on that continent were worried that Trump might win, Biden began by detailing how he helped Finland join the alliance. He then went into detail about how to pressure China to assist because it supported Russia during its war against Ukraine, and claimed he would still be able to negotiate with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Overall, Biden spoke forcefully and eloquently about foreign policy, one of his favorite topics. But the focus of the press conference was not really on foreign policy, but on reassuring Democrats and the world that Biden can still be president and beat Trump.
This shows how even Biden’s strengths are overshadowed by questions about his abilities.
Whenever possible, he returned to the campaign speech
Every politician has a set of arguments. And whenever Biden had the opportunity, he resorted to his favorite arguments. This way he could answer the question without necessarily having to say something unrehearsed or recent.
He attacked trickle-down economics, quoting a line about how his father never benefited much from tax cuts for the opulent (“I don’t remember much of that trickling down to his kitchen table”). He praised Delaware as the nation’s leading state for business. He said he was the “most union-friendly president in history.” He justified his decision to run for a second term with a variation on his catchphrase “finishing the job.” He gave his standard speech about computer chips.
With no time limit on his answers like in the debate, Biden spent minutes telling stories about his interactions with foreign leaders and arguing for his re-election.
He answered questions in detail – unlike in the debate
Biden’s answers weren’t exactly spectacular – the highly anticipated event at times seemed more like a think tank lecture than an attempt to grab voters’ attention. He went into detail about geopolitics and rattled off numbers – but at one point asked not to be tied to the exact number.
While it didn’t eliminate the stumbles and blank stares from the debate, it did show that he could answer reporters’ questions on a range of topics without losing focus.
He still had to cough and clear his throat regularly, and sometimes he lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper, reminiscent of the croak in his voice on debate night.
Overall, his performance was a reminder that people are now focused on him, watching with an almost clinical eye for any slip-ups and mistakes. That pressure is unlikely to go away as long as Biden insists on staying in the race.
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Riccardi reported from Denver.
