Biden defends his candidacy after confusing Zelensky with Putin and calling Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump”

Just three weeks ago, July 11 was going to be a day when all eyes would be on Donald Trump: the judge in the Stormy Daniels case was to pronounce his sentence. The immunity recognized by the Supreme Court disrupted these plans and fate would have it that on July 11, the person who was under public scrutiny (and awaiting sentencing) was Joe Biden. Under the watch of those who have called on him to resign, the US president has confused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Vladimir Putin; and then he referred to his Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump”.

Despite the mistakes, the Democrat has continued to cling on to the candidacy and has once again insisted that he is the best candidate to defeat Trump in the election. “I think I am the most qualified person to be president. I beat him (Trump) once and I will beat him again,” the president told reporters gathered in the room.

In the first row, at the bottom of the lectern, were the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken; the White House Communications Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre; and the Secretary of Defense, Austin Lloyd.

Biden has been trying for two weeks to convince everyone that the disastrous CNN debate was just “a bad night.” This Thursday’s solitary press conference within the framework of the NATO summit was seen as a new test that the president had to overcome to convince his party’s critics (and Americans in general) that, at 81 years old, he is qualified to face the electoral campaign and assume a second term if he is re-elected.

No one expected Biden to make a mistake before the summit even began. “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” he said in a summit speech before the press conference. The president immediately corrected himself and tried to excuse himself by saying that the mistake happened because he is “very focused on defeating Putin.” At the press conference, which was delayed by an hour, the situation has not improved.

cough and stuttering

Biden’s nervousness (it is not known whether it was caused by the pressure of the moment or by the gaffe with Zelensky) has already been noted in the speech before Question Time. The president suffered a slight stutter when speaking about the strength of NATO and the leadership role the United States plays within the alliance.

Likewise, he has also defended the policies he adopted during his mandate: the fight against inflation, the executive order to try to “solve” the border situation and the mediation in negotiations to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza (which has not yet come). The same cough that had disarmed him during the “bad night” of the debate has also reappeared. Although Biden has finally managed to control it.

When question time came, instead of reporters speaking, Biden read out the names of those who had been given the opportunity to ask questions first. However, this measure has not saved the president from himself. In his answer to the first question, he called Harris “Vice President Trump”, a fact he has not corrected in the case of Zelensky.

Blame it on the presidential agenda

The president has argued that the foreign leaders he has met with these days, including at the NATO summit, have not expressed any concern about his state of health. A few hours earlier, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had seen Biden in “very good condition” after a bilateral meeting.

The Democrat also defended that “it is not true” that he said he needed to rest after 8 p.m. “What I said was that instead of starting every day at 7 a.m. and going to bed at midnight, it would be better to slow down a little more,” he said.

In fact, he has even hinted that his team is adding to his agenda: “I love my team, but they add things. They add things to me all the time. “I’m stuck in my wife’s hell.” In the ABC News interview, Biden refrained from blaming his team for a poor performance in the CNN election debate. A week later, it appears things have changed.

A notable fact is that Biden, amid the ongoing discussion on who could be his future successor, did not hesitate to praise Kamala Harris, saying that she is “qualified to be president.” Biden defended, saying, “I would not have chosen her if that were not the case because I believed she was qualified to be president.” However, this position was not accompanied by any hint about a possible return.

While Biden was still answering reporters’ questions, Donald Trump mocked the Democrat’s delusions on his Truth social network. “Biden began his “Big Kid” press conference with: ‘I would not have chosen Vice President Trump to be vice president if I did not believe he was unfit to be president.’ Great job, Joe!”

Conversation between Pelosi and Obama

Former President Barack Obama comes out in defense of Biden after CNN debate, has had secret talks with former president Speaker CNN on Thursday revealed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s opinion on the future of the presidential campaign.

According to the network, both politicians have expressed concern about Biden’s ability to defeat Trump. Many Democrats critical of the president are hopeful that Obama or Pelosi will be able to redirect the president’s decision.

In the last days before the press conference, the siege of Democrats critical of Biden has grown. On Wednesday, the elderly Speaker In the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi urged Biden to make a decision, saying that “time is short.” Pelosi’s words were not casual, but were intended to once again question the decision that Biden had already made by letter: to continue in the electoral campaign.

The same day, George Clooney also published an article in the New York Times calling on Biden to step down. “I am a lifelong Democrat. I make no apologies for being one and I am proud to stand by what the party stands for and what it stands for. I love Joe Biden. I consider him a friend. And I believe in him. I believe in his character, his morality. Over the past four years, he has won many battles. But one battle that cannot be won is the battle against time,” the actor wrote.

If the party and media pressure wasn’t enough, donors have not stopped coming in, calling on Biden to step down. Netflix co-founder, Reed Hastings, was one of the first to break his silence and others have followed, such as the heiress to the Disney family fortune, Abigail Disney.