President Joe Biden is fighting for his political life as a growing list of fellow Democrats assert that he can’t get the job done against Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential contest.
The embattled 81-year-old incumbent president held a solo press conference on Thursday – the first since the June 27 debate – where for roughly an hour he continued to reject the idea of giving up the nomination.
“The fact is that the consideration is that I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president,” Biden said. “I beat (Trump) once, and I will beat him again.”
Biden’s reelection campaign has fallen into quicksand since he faltered last month on stage against Trump, the former president and presumptive GOP nominee who battered his successor with various attacks and multiple falsehoods during their 90-minute joust.
Trump has taken an edge in battleground state polling since then.
Biden and the Democrats, meanwhile, have been engulfed by an intra-party inferno over his age, capacity and chances at winning with less than 120 days until the election.
Here are the key takeaways from Thursday’s press conference.
Faith in Vice President Harris
The first question from a reporter hit a touchy subject that has lately consumed Democrats, which is if Biden’s reluctance to leave the race has anything to do with a lack of faith in Vice President Kamala Harris to beat Trump in 2024.
Biden dismissed that premise saying his vice president, who he called a “hell of a prosecutor” in California, is ready to serve on day one. She has distinguished herself on reproductive rights and other issues, he said.
“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,” Biden said.
Recent polls have shown Harris outpacing Biden, and in some cases ahead of Trump. Asked if his team provided data showing the vice president doing better, would he reconsider, Biden replied, “No, unless they came back and said there’s no way you can win,” he said, adding: “No one’s saying that. No poll says that.”
VP Trump? President Putin? Biden’s flubs magnified
What caught people’s attention during the press conference was when Biden mistakenly referred to Harris as “Vice President Trump”, without correcting himself.
Earlier in the day, the president did the same thing to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he called “President Putin,” the leader of Russia who has invaded Ukraine, before Biden quickly corrected himself.
Those type of flubs will likely make progressive allies more nervous about his condition, and will be swarmed by political foes on the right who for years have depicted Biden as feeble.
That strategy seems to work as a recent survey showed among likely Black voters in swing states, 70% of those who watched the presidential debate said they were more likely to support Biden as a result.
Among Black voters who didn’t watch the debate: 57% less likely to support vs. 43% who said more likely.
Clooney, 8 p.m. bedtime: Biden dismisses reports
Biden has lashed out at the “elites” in his own party for questioning his fitness, which briefly sealed some cracks in the dam for the campaign.
But more fractures emerged that are now casting doubts on his candidacy: celebrity friends, congressional allies and a majority of Democratic voters, according to a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll released Thursday .
Asked about actor George Clooney and a handful of lawmakers calling on him to step aside, Biden downplayed those demands. He also dismissed reports that he goes to bed earlier and that his day ends at 8 p.m. “That’s not true.”
“The idea that senators and congressmen running for office worry about the ticket is not unusual,” Biden added.
For much of the hourlong press conference, Biden called attention to shrinking inflation; the country’s historic jobless rate; efforts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border; and concerns about Project 2025, a wide-reaching conservative plan created by a Washington-based think tank.
International anxiety over Trump’s return
One of the international reporters put the focus back on the world stage and the summit, which brought world leaders from the alliance to Washington, D.C. at a critical moment in global affairs.
A striking contrast in the 2024 election is the two men’s differing views on NATO and America’s role in the world
Trump has periodically threatened to essentially break up the U.S.-European military alliance as Republicans have embraced a more MAGA-fueled isolationist worldview.
Biden opened his news conference slamming his GOP rival, saying Trump refuses to commit to a NATO provision that asserts attacking one member nation is an attack on all.
Asked if Europe will be left on its own if Trump returns to power, the president said U.S. allies are fearful about his predecessor winning.
“(Trump) seems to have an affinity to people who are authoritarian,” Biden said.
Passing the torch? Biden refutes age concerns
Near the end of the press conference Biden was reminded how his 2020 campaign promised to be a bridge to a younger generation of Democrats.
What changed?
The oldest president in nearly 250 years of U.S. history replied by talking about “the gravity of the situation” he inherited. Biden then leaned into his administration’s legislative accomplishments, which he credited to his years in the Senate.
“I’ve gotta finished this job. I’ve gotta finish this job,” he said. “Because there’s so much at stake.”
Whether Biden’s performance Thursday will keep nervous Democrats quiet remains to be seen.
Reps. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Scott Peters, D-Calif., issued statements immediately after the press conference ended calling for Biden to leave the 2024 race.
Biden is a “remarkable leader of unparalleled public service,” Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said. But the 8-term lawmaker said he hopes the president nonetheless “will step away” from the campaign.
