Biden: “I am the most qualified person”, US President defends his candidacy amid growing criticism, but two new gaffes weaken his counterattack
image Source, Reuters
- Author, contract
- Role, BBC News World
It was a significant moment after two weeks of doubt and speculation.
United States President Joe Biden reiterated this Thursday his intention to remain the Democratic Party’s candidate for the November elections.
He did so during a press conference marking the closing of the NATO summit in Washington, his first solo appearance before reporters in 8 months.
“I am the most qualified person”The president spoke before a handful of reporters, who highlighted the skepticism of his Democratic allies and the relevance of his abandoning the candidacy.
In response, Biden assured that he is not running for president for his legacy, but to finish the work he started.
During his speech, The President insisted he was neurologically healthy and who faces trials every day at work.
He even said that he has undergone three intensive neurological exams as president and passed them.
He said, “If the doctor tells me I should take another one I wouldn’t oppose it.”
However, Biden mistakenly referred to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” just an hour after introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.”
Although Putin quickly corrected his mistake and attributed it to the fact that he is focused on defeating the Russian president, the mistake in the vice president’s name was not corrected and later generated a mocking response from Donald Trump on his social network Social Truth.
“Good job, Joe!” the former president said.
Kamla is trained
image Source, Reuters
During the press conference, a reporter told Biden about polls that suggest Vice President Kamala Harris could defeat Trump if the president steps aside.
The president responded by dismissing the question, asking, “How accurate does anybody think the polls are today?”
However, he defended the vice president’s abilities. He assured that she is qualified to lead and that is why he chose her as his running mate.
“(Harris) has the ability to handle almost any issue across the board,” he said.
He recalled that she was a prosecutor and senator before joining his campaign. “She is a high-quality person.”
“If I didn’t think he was qualified to be president, I wouldn’t have chosen him,” he said.
“My agenda is still complete.”
image Source, Reuters
Reporters pressed President Biden about the negative perceptions that exist about his mental health and asked him if it was true that he was reducing his work hours.
His response was emphatic: “My agenda is still complete.”
However, he acknowledged that slowing down wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“Instead of starting every day at 7 a.m. and finishing at midnight, it would make sense for me to go a little slower,” Biden said.
The president didn’t ignore talking about his questionable performance in the debate with Donald Trump, which he described as a “stupid mistake.”
Without forgetting the context in which he found himself, Biden strongly defended NATO, reiterated his support for Ukraine and generally demonstrated his ease in dealing with international political issues.
Two painful stumbles that will be missed in an otherwise solid presentation
Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America correspondent,
Joe Biden took the stage at his Thursday night press conference with everything at stake: his presidency, his re-election hopes, his political career.
If that was what was at stake, he barely acknowledged it.
He dismissed concerns about his campaign that were raised repeatedly for a full hour in a room full of reporters, and promised he was not fighting for his legacy, but to finish the work he started when he took office in 2021.
“If I slow down and can’t get the job done, that’s a sign I shouldn’t be doing it,” he said. “But there’s no sign of that yet.”
Depending on your perspective, this was a sign of determination or a person refusing to accept how serious his situation had become.
image Source, Getty Images
Minutes after the news conference ended, several more Democratic members of Congress publicly called on Biden to resign, joining at least a dozen other lawmakers from the president’s own party who have done so.
The question for Joe Biden’s campaign is whether the floodgates will now open or the tide will stay.
The situation will not be improved by two errors (referring to Zelensky and then Harris), which will be missed by anyone paying attention.
Those moments — the only major blemishes in an otherwise solid, if not forceful, presentation — are sure to prompt nervous Democrats to wonder whether more missteps will follow as the president presses ahead with his campaign.
But at least for now, Biden looks like a happy warrior and insisted he will press on.
He laughed and smiled when peppered with questions, and said he could keep up with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, even though the hoarseness and cough that emerged during his debate two weeks ago still persists.
He again insisted he did not need cognitive testing, telling reporters that whether he saw “two doctors or seven,” his critics would not be satisfied.
He said the election campaign has barely begun and reiterated that he is confident of being able to defeat Donald Trump in the November elections.
The Democratic delegates charged with officially nominating him as the party’s nominee at next month’s convention are free to change their minds all they want, he said, jokingly whispering, “That’s not going to happen.”
He said he would consider stepping down if his staff gave him data showing he couldn’t win, but he said polls still show the race is evenly matched.
In that sense, it is on solid ground.
For example, an Ipsos survey released on Thursday put Biden just one point behind his rival, which was within the margin of error.
If there’s one thing that’s been clear since the beginning of the year, it’s that support for both candidates has remained remarkably stable, despite the unprecedented drama surrounding both candidates.
However, the polls alone will not calm the panic that has gripped many Democratic officials, and the storm clouds hovering around Biden’s campaign will not dissipate so easily.
Biden made it clear that snatching the nomination from him would be a difficult task.
The 81-year-old who at times grabbed the lectern with both hands and insisted he was the “best qualified person” to rule the country is not going to exit the scene quietly.
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