Biden forcefully declares he's staying in reelection race in major news conference
Amid calls from his own party to drop his reelection bid, President Biden is set to make a final impression at the NATO summit in Washington
Amid calls from his own party to drop his reelection bid, President Biden is set to make a final impression at the NATO summit in Washington
Amid calls from his own party to drop his reelection bid, President Biden is set to make a final impression at the NATO summit in Washington
President Joe Biden used his highly anticipated news conference Thursday to deliver a forceful defense of his foreign and domestic policies, and batted away questions about his ability to serve another four years even as he flubbed a reference to Donald Trump in one of his first answers.
鈥淚鈥檓 not in this for my legacy. I鈥檓 in this to complete the job I started,鈥� Biden said as he insisted his support among the electorate was strong and he would stay in the race and would win.
Fumbles notwithstanding, the president pushed back at every suggestion that was slowing down or showing noticeable signs of decline, or that he was not in command of the job. But he was facing a growing chorus of calls from lawmakers, celebrities and other prominent Democrats to step aside from the 2024 race.
鈥淢y schedule has been full bore,鈥� he declared. 鈥淪o if I slow down and I cant get the job done, that鈥檚 a sign that I shouldn鈥檛 be doing it. But there鈥檚 no indication of that yet 鈥� none.鈥�
Democrats are facing an intractable problem. Top donors, supporters and key lawmakers are doubtful of Biden鈥檚 abilities to carry on his reelection bid after his disastrous June 27 debate performance, but the hard-fighting 81-year-old president refuses to give up as he prepares to take on Trump in a rematch.
The first questioner of Biden鈥檚 press conference asked about him losing support among many of his fellow Democrats and unionists, and asked about Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden was at first defiant, saying the 鈥淯AW endorsed me, but go ahead,鈥� meaning the United Auto Workers. But then he mixed up Harris and Trump, saying, 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have picked Vice President Trump to be Vice President if she wasn鈥檛 qualified."
As of Thursday evening, a dozen House Democrats had called for him to exit the race. The press conference was an effort to show he's up for another four years; voters are watching and elected officials are deciding whether to press for another choice.
Trump weighed in live on Biden鈥檚 news conference with a post on his social media network of a video clip of the president saying 鈥淰ice President Trump.鈥�
Trump added sarcastically, 鈥淕reat job, Joe!鈥�
Earlier, Biden's campaign laid out what it sees as its path to keeping the White House in a new memo, saying that winning the 鈥渂lue wall鈥� states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan is the 鈥渃learest pathway鈥� to victory. And it declared no other Democrat would do better against Trump.
鈥淭here is also no indication that anyone else would outperform the president vs. Trump,鈥� said the memo from campaign chair Jen O鈥橫alley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez that was obtained by The Associated Press.
The memo sought to brush back 鈥渉ypothetical polling of alternative nominees 鈥� as unreliable and it said such surveys 鈥渄o not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter.鈥�
Meanwhile, the campaign has been quietly surveying voters on Vice President Kamala Harris to determine how she鈥檚 viewed among the electorate, according to two people with knowledge of the campaign who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to talk about internal matters.
The people said the polling was not necessarily to show that she could be the nominee in Biden鈥檚 place, but rather to better understand how she鈥檚 viewed. The research came after Trump stepped up his attacks against Harris following the debate, according to another person familiar with the effort. The survey was first reported by The New York Times.
鈥淚 think I鈥檓 the best qualified person to do the job,鈥� he said Thursday.
While Biden has expressed confidence in his chances, his campaign on Thursday acknowledged he is behind, and a growing number of the president鈥檚 aides in the White House and the campaign privately harbor doubts that he can turn things around.
But they鈥檙e taking their cues from Biden, expressing that he is in 100% unless and until he isn鈥檛, and there appears to be no organized internal effort to persuade the president to step aside. His allies were well aware heading into the week there would be more calls for him to step down, and they were prepared for it.
But in announcing a compact that would bring together NATO countries to support Ukraine, Biden referred to the nation鈥檚 leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as 鈥淧resident Putin鈥� to audible gasps in the room. He quickly returned to the microphone: 鈥淧resident Putin - he鈥檚 going to beat President Putin ... President Zelenskyy,鈥� Biden said.
Then he said: 鈥淚鈥檓 so focused on beating Putin,鈥� in an effort to explain the gaffe.
鈥淚鈥檓 better鈥� Zelenskyy replied. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a hell of a lot better,鈥� Biden said back.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer invited Biden鈥檚 team to meet with senators privately at the lunch hour to discuss concerns and the path forward, but some senators groused they would prefer to hear from the president himself. In the Senate, only Peter Welch of Vermont has so far called for Biden to step out of the race.
The 90-minute conversation with the president's team, which one person said included no new data, polling or game plan on how Biden would beat Trump, did not appear to change senators' minds. The person was granted anonymity to discuss the closed door session.
The meeting was frank, angry at times and also somewhat painful, since many in the room know and love Biden, said one senator who requested anonymity to discuss the private briefing. Senators confronted the advisers over Biden鈥檚 performance at the debate and the effect on Senate races this year
One Democrat, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, said afterward, 鈥淢y belief is that the president can win, but he鈥檚 got to be able to go out and answer voters' concerns. He鈥檚 got to be able to talk to voters directly over the next few day."
At the same time, influential senators are standing strongly with Biden, leaving the party at an impasse.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, told AP he thinks Biden "is going to win this election. I think he has a chance to win it big.鈥�
Sanders said he has been publicly critical of the campaign, and said Biden needs to talk more about the future and his plans for the country. 鈥淎s we come closer to Election Day, the choices are very clear," he said.
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Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo, Colleen Long, Mary Clare Jalonick, Kevin Freking, Farnoush Amiri and Linley Sanders contributed to this report.