After the June 27th CNN Presidential Debate with his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden recently held his first press conference. He gave an unimpressive performance.
The purpose of the press conference was to reassure Democratic lawmakers, supporters, and swayable voters that Biden was still capable of serving as president. The 81-year-old Biden attempted to justify his weak and unintelligible speech, but it was clear that he lacked the energy and commanding presence the United States looks for in its commander-in-chief.
However, it was uncertain if this would be sufficient to halt the Democratic Party’s potentially worsening decline in support. Shortly after he departed the platform, Democratic members of Congress persisted in their relentless calls for his resignation.
“I’m Best Qualified to Win”
At his highly followed news conference, days after declaring that only the “Lord Almighty” could force him out of the race, Biden outlined a far more realistic scenario: his advisors would have to convince him that he was going to lose.
However, Biden made it apparent that he did not anticipate this happening by leaning into the microphone and muttering to emphasize his resistance. He remarked, “No one’s saying that. No poll indicates that.”
He seemed to open the door to an alternative, then swiftly shut it. Sure, “other people can beat Trump,” he said, but it would be too hard to “start from scratch.”
“I believe I’m the best qualified to govern,” said Biden, who has for decades pointed to naysayers to fuel his own comeback narratives. “And I think I’m the best qualified to win.”
Democrats Call for Biden to Quit…
Nancy Pelosi, Connect Rep. Jim Hines and Colorado Rep. Brittany Petterson (Photos Courtesy of Instagram)
By the time Biden finished his news conference, Republicans seemed more pleased with his steady showing—hoping a wounded Biden would soldier on—than Democrats. Many in the party now worry that every unscripted Biden appearance through November will be a hold-your-breath moment.
Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez was the first Democrat in Congress to publicly call for Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race and from the presidency. “Americans deserve to feel their president is fit enough to do the job.” Perez wrote in an email to NBC affiliate KGW8. “The crisis of confidence in the President’s leadership needs to come to an end. The President should do what he knows is right for the country and put the national interest first.”
“We don’t have a Democratic Party problem; we have a Joe Biden problem,” said Pete Giangreco, a former campaign adviser to President Barack Obama, who worries about Biden’s ability to drive a message against former President Donald Trump. “He can’t deliver the medicine to cure the disease because it’s always going to be about what’s wrong with him.”
Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a first-term representative, called on the president to “pass the torch,” citing him as one of the reasons that she went into politics in the first place. “Joe Biden saved our country once, and I’m joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again,” she wrote. “You have done so much for our country, and I know you will continue to do what’s right for our future.”
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called for Biden to step aside. “We must put forth the strongest candidate,” he said.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., avoided giving a direct answer about whether Biden should stay on the ticket, telling MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “it’s up to the president to decide” if he will stay on the ticket or not. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision,” she said, “because time is running short.”
Illinois Rep. Eric Sorensen was among the House Democrats pushing Biden to drop out after the post-summit press conference. “Joe Biden ran for President with the purpose of putting country over part. Today, I am asking him to do that again,” he said in a statement, adding: “I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President.”
Obama Weighs In….
Former President Barack Obama drew a contrast between Biden and Trump, saying the debate doesn’t change the fundamental choice presented in the election.
“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” Obama said in a post on X, referencing his first debate with 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, which was widely viewed as a victory for the Republican.
Barack pointed to bigger contrasts between Biden and Trump, echoing a strategy other Democrats have indicated since the debate: “This election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. between someone who tells the truth, who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight, and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. The debate didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”
I’m In Good Shape”
On June 27, Biden struggled to answer questions during his first presidential debate with Trump, leading many to question his fitness for four more years in office. After the debate, Biden acknowledged that he does not debate as well as he used to, but he knows “how to do this job.”
During a recent NATO event and press conference, Biden introduced Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” and called Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice-Presidernt Trump.”
Biden continues to evade a fatal number of defections from elected officials and voters who are concerned about his stamina, mental acuity, and whether he could continue to work aggressively through another term.
Biden said he had taken three significantly and intense neurological exams, most recently in February, and said he would take another if his doctors recommend it. “They say I’m in good shape.” He said.
Still, he lamented that no one would be satisfied with whatever medical information he released, suggesting his opponents would find reason to doubt it.
Biden vigorously defends his fitness for office. “I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat Trump once, and I will beat him again. I’ve just got to pace myself a little bit more.”
President Joe Biden reaffirmed that he won’t drop out of the 2024 election. “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job I started.”
Good Luck Joe…
