Pressure for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 election has been mounting for weeks, ever since his poor performance in the June 27 debate with Trump and his campaign's subsequent failure to assuage voters' concerns about his health. Thursday's news conference was seen as Biden's best chance to prove to Democrats that he can handle tough issues and think fast in an unscripted environment.
Biden vowed to stay in the presidential race during the briefing. "I'm determined to run," Biden said. He denied that polls show him losing to Trump and insisted, "I think I'm the best person for the job." But he also acknowledged that the presidency's schedule has become challenging. It's just a matter of slowing down the pace a bit. On top of that, Biden blamed the schedule for the debate's failure, saying he traveled too much and stayed up too late before the debate. Biden also blamed his team for making the debate schedule so hectic, stating that they always added stuff at the end.
Then, when asked if Vice President Kamala Harris could beat Trump, Biden said that if he didn't think Vice President Trump was qualified to be president, he wouldn't have picked her to be vice president. Once again, Biden mouthed off.
During the conference, Biden also cited a series of statistics about the reach of his reelection campaign and said that if he dropped out of the race, all of his efforts would be for naught. He said polls show him as the strongest candidate to beat Trump, but he also acknowledged for the first time that other Democrats could beat Trump. "I believe I'm the most qualified to govern, I think I'm the most qualified to win, but there are others who can beat Trump," he said. "But it's awful to start from scratch."
In addition to "Vice President Trump," Biden made more gaffes.
"Some of our European friends are going to be curtailing their investment in Russia, I mean, excuse me, in China," the president said.
When he cited numbers, he repeatedly prefaced with a disclaimer that he might get the number wrong: "Don't hold me to the exact number." Earlier Thursday evening, Biden accidentally introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin" at a scripted NATO event.
Biden's hour-long press conference on Thursday did not assuage Democrats' concerns. Four minutes after he stepped off the stage, Rep. Jim Sims of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement calling on Biden to drop out of the race.
Shortly afterward, Rep. Scott Peters, a California Democrat, took the same action. In a statement, Peters said, "The stakes are high and we are doomed."
The conference has also increased public concern over President Biden's physical condition instead of allaying it. Interestingly, during the White House spokesman's press conference last week, an Associated Press reporter said Canard's repeated appearances in White House visitor logs also raised concerns because he is an expert in movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease. But White House spokesman Jean-Pierre made it clear this week that Biden has not been treated for Parkinson's disease and is not currently receiving therapy or taking medication.
Though, as has been the case throughout the week, Biden has steadfastly rejected any suggestion that he should or should not drop out, and has consistently insisted that no one is more capable of defeating Trump in November than he is. However, Biden finally admitted that he would consider dropping out of the race if his team told him it was "impossible" to win.
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