Updated July 11, 2024 at 20:45 PM ET
President Biden, in a roughly hour-long press conference Thursday evening, doubled down on his decision to stay in the race, despite growing calls and doubts from leaders and supporters that he should step down from the ticket and won’t be able to beat former President Donald Trump in November.
“I think I'm the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again,” Biden said of Trump.
“I’ve got to finish this job, because there’s so much at stake,” he said later.
Asked if he was determined to stay in the race despite the fears of some Democratic lawmakers, Biden said, “I'm determined on running, but I think it's important that I realize allay fears by seeing — let them see me out there. Let them see me out.” He said his campaign was strong and working hard in “toss-up states.”
Biden spoke without a teleprompter as he formally answered questions from 10 reporters following the conclusion of the NATO conference held in Washington. He spoke evenly and was animated at times when speaking about the economy and gun control. Biden answered many of the questions succinctly, but spoke at length on some topics of foreign policy and the country’s economic recovery since COVID.
But the president misspoke early on, referring to Vice President Harris as "Vice President Trump."
Biden was asked what concerns he had about Harris’ ability to beat Trump if she were at the top of the ticket. “Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president [if] I didn’t think she was not qualified to be president,” he said.
The misstep comes just hours after Biden misspoke on stage with leaders from NATO, calling Ukrainian President Zelesnkyy President Putin, before quickly correcting himself.
At the end of the press conference, a reporter shouted an additional 11th question, asking Biden how he would respond to criticism from Trump himself on misnaming Harris.
Biden said “Listen to him,” before walking off the stage.
The press event came as Biden wraps up a summit of NATO leaders in Washington, D.C., an event his campaign had hoped would showcase his leadership on the world stage. Instead, it has been overshadowed by doubts about whether he is up for a bruising campaign and another four years in office — doubts expressed by elected Democrats, donors and voters.
The questions have been swirling since Biden badly fumbled his June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump. Biden struggled to answer questions in that debate and has since blamed it on a cold, latent jet lag, overpreparation and interruptions from Trump. He said it was just one bad night, but many in his party aren’t convinced.
Since then, Biden and his team have worked to prove he does have the stamina and mental acuity to run this race, adding campaign stops in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and later this week in Michigan. He did a television interview that aired in full on ABC News and has another one scheduled on Monday with NBC, and he called in to MSNBC’s Morning Joe this week, too.
Biden told his party to stop talking about whether he should quit because he's staying in
Biden has turned defiant, telling his party that he’s staying in the race and it was time to stop talking about whether he should quit. He has received wholehearted support from some important figures in the party — but others have since come out and said they think he will lose to Trump.
Most recently, actor George Clooney, who just hosted a blockbuster fundraiser for Biden in Los Angeles, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times saying Democrats need to pick a different candidate.
Biden's last formal solo press conference was in November 2023
Biden rarely does formal solo press conferences. His last one was in November 2023, in California, after he met there with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Martha Joynt Kumar, political science professor emeritus from Towson University, has studied the interactions between the press corps and presidents for many years. She calls solo press conferences — especially ones that occur in the White House — the “crown jewel of presidential interchanges” because they typically involve aggressive questions and test a president’s command of policy and politics.
By her detailed accounting, which goes back to the Reagan White House, Biden has done fewer press conferences at this point in the presidency than other presidents.
Copyright 2024 NPR
