Takeaways from Biden’s critical NATO news conference
Originally Published: 11 JUL 24 20:44 ET
By Michael Williams, CNN
Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Thursday participated in the most high-stakes news conference of his political career on the sidelines of the NATO summit, aiming to convince his detractors and supporters that he is able to serve another four years in office.
Biden spoke for just under an hour, calling on 11 reporters and answering 19 questions.
Here are some takeaways from the news conference.
Performance serves as a Rorschach test for nervous Democrats
Biden’s performance likely won’t change many minds – Democrats who want Biden to step down are able to jump on a notable verbal gaffe he made at the beginning of the news conference, while Biden’s supporters will point toward the time he spent deftly answering a variety of questions on foreign policy.
Toward the beginning of the question-and-answer, Biden mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as former President Donald Trump. It was exactly the type of slip-up the White House and Biden’s campaign presumably would have feared amid mounting questions surrounding his mental acuity.
“I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president did I think she was not qualified to be president,” he said.
The president did not correct himself. He made a similar mistake earlier in the day, accidentally calling Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin” while introducing him during a NATO event.
But Biden quickly moved on, and he spent the rest of the news conference lobbing in-depth answers about questions including Russia, Israel and his economy, offering deep answers on dealing with China and US policy around Ukraine’s fight.
Biden brushes off concerns about his campaign: ‘I’m just gonna keep moving’
Biden frequently brushed aside concerns about his candidacy by telling reporters he’s the most qualified person to run for president.
“I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again,” Biden said, referring to Trump.
He continued, “There’s a long way to go this campaign and so I – I’m just gonna keep moving.”
The length of Biden’s resume has never been in doubt. The president has had more political experience than any one who has ever held or ran for the office. But what’s of concern to those calling for him to step aside is not his qualifications, but his ability to govern for another term.
Fifteen House Democrats have called on Biden to step aside - four of them on Thursday alone. But that still only represents less than 10% of the House Democratic caucus.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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