President Biden President Trump held a long-awaited solo press conference with reporters at the White House on Thursday night amid widespread concerns about his mental health.
For reporters, it was a crucial test to determine whether Biden’s confused and unclear performance in the first presidential debate with former President Trump was a coincidence or a sign of deepening problems in the administration.
Biden even had trouble naming his vice president.
Biden began stumbling even before the press conference began, introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” at a NATO meeting in Washington, DC.
“And now I want to hand this agenda over to the president of Ukraine, who is as courageous as he is determined,” Biden said before stepping down from the podium. “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.”
Democrats defend Biden during key press conference, calling it ‘a very strong performance’
President Biden spoke to reporters at a press conference during the NATO summit in Washington DC. (Graham Sloane/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Biden appeared to realize he had made an embarrassing verbal stumble while referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and quickly tried to correct himself.
“He’s going to beat Putin, he’s going to beat Zelensky. I’m all about beating Putin,” he said. “We have to worry about that. Anyway, the president.”
A similar gaffe occurred as Biden began speaking, with the president confusing Vice President Kamala Harris with President Trump.
“I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump if I didn’t believe she was qualified to be president,” Biden told reporters.
Biden had a list of reporters to call.
After completing his opening remarks, President Biden opened the door to questions, but announced that he had been “given a list of people to ask questions.”
The statement surprised many journalists, as the Biden administration’s reliance on screening questions and pre-approving reporters has been a consistent target of criticism.
The Biden campaign is promoting him as a policy expert.
During and after the news conference, Biden’s immediate team and broader allies were quick to tout the event as an overwhelming success.
Many argued that the president’s answers on foreign policy issues demonstrate his expertise on international affairs.
Biden’s important solo press conference condemned by right-wingers as “another disaster”
President Biden (right) and former President Trump debate on stage during the first presidential debate of the 2024 election. Biden’s performance in the debate was so concerning that Democrats are questioning whether he should run for reelection. (Getty Images)
“To answer any questions you may have, Joe Biden does not have a PhD in foreign affairs. He’s just very, very smart,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said. I wrote in the post To X.
Joel Rubin, a former senior State Department official during the Obama administration, called Biden’s performance “very strong.”
“Frankly, this was a very powerful performance. @POTUS delivered a master class on how foreign and domestic policy intersect, and explained why America’s global leadership matters to people at home. Well done, Mr. President.” Rubin wrote: In post X.
One Democratic activist Needless to say He believes there are “people who owe President Biden an apology” following the president’s press conference.
Republicans are calling it another disaster.
The press conference was panned by conservatives on social media, who called it a “disaster” and criticized it as a performance in which Biden stammered out answers to reporters’ questions about foreign policy and the 2024 presidential election.
Many people, including Trump himself, joked about the president’s repeated mistakes in getting his name wrong.
Jen Psaki says White House response to Biden health concerns has failed: ‘The strategy isn’t working’
Some in Biden’s camp have praised Biden’s performance at the press conference as evidence of his foreign policy expertise and fortitude, while others have criticized his repeated gaffes and weak speaking style, which they say have further damaged his image. (Graham Sloane/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Crooked Joe began his ‘Big Boy’ press conference by saying, ‘I President Trump “Well done Joe!” Trump joked on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Democrats are still divided on whether Biden should step down
Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, Democrats in Congress The president’s supporters are hoping to show leadership in the effort to defeat Trump in November but have been undecided about how to proceed.
“Nobody knows the path forward,” Psaki said. “Members of Congress and his supporters want to know how to win this election, how to beat Donald Trump. They just want some kind of clue, and they don’t have it.”
At least 10 House Democrats and one Senate Democrat have publicly called on Biden not to seek reelection, and a growing number of House and Senate Democrats are warning publicly and privately that Biden will lose to Trump in November’s presidential election.
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Former White House press secretary and MSNBC host Jen Psaki said President Biden’s team hasn’t done enough to show “empathy” as concerns about Biden’s cognitive abilities threaten the campaign. (NBC)
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi Earlier this week, Democrats said they were keeping their thoughts on Biden private “until we see how this week unfolds.”
“I think we’re just going to wait and see,” she said on MSNBC. “Whatever you’re thinking, you don’t need to tell anybody privately or bring it up until you see how this week plays out.”
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Jeffrey Clark, Sarah Rumpf Whitten, Emma Colton and Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
