NEW YORK — Near the end of his closely watched Press conference Thursday night, on the sidelines of the NATO summit, President Joe Biden talked about being examined by doctors for his mental acuity. Suddenly, a bit of frustration passed.
“No matter what I do,” he said, “no one will be satisfied.”
That was the challenge Biden faced during his meeting with American and international reporters, two weeks after a poor debate performance triggered calls for him to step aside and let another candidate take over the Democratic campaign against former President Donald Trump.
Biden appeared animated at times, especially during an opening statement, when he spoke about the importance of the NATO alliance and defended his presidency on issues of the economy and the border with Mexico. He took the opportunity to talk about the country’s relations with China and where that could lead.
But in the very first question he was asked, he also rewarded viewers, opponents and journalists looking for gaffes: he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as Donald Trump. He rambled at times, citing inexplicably scattered facts, and seemed tired, especially since the time was past 8 p.m. Eastern Time. His voice was hoarse and, at times, hesitant.
Ultimately, the press conference was an inkblot test for the people watching, NBC News’ Hallie Jackson said at the end. Supporters were likely encouraged by his understanding of the issues, she said, “but if you think he should drop the ticket, that probably hasn’t changed his mind.”
Biden appeared determined and gave no indication that he doubted his ability to be the best candidate to face Trump in the November general election.
Still, the press conference indicated how difficult it will be for him to change the subject. The first five questions, together, formed a volley on the same topic: his ability to work in the office. Even reporters covering other topics – Ukraine, China, NATO – often mixed questions about his fitness to serve in the future.
Even after Biden ended the press conference, NBC’s Peter Alexander asked a question about his failure with Harris’ name and how Trump was already using it as ammunition against him.
The press conference was widely anticipated throughout the week, leaving experts to repeatedly emphasize what is at stake. Tension between journalists and Biden’s team has increased, a consequence of the fact that the president has given relatively few press conferences and interviews compared to his predecessors. Little of this hostility was evident at the news conference, but the questions he faced were still pointed.
Have you ever spent time thinking about what an election defeat would mean for your legacy? Is Vice President Harris ready to serve as president? How can you say he could handle the rigors of the job in two or three years? How can you assure Americans that there will be no more bad nights like the debate? Are you open to doing more cognitive testing?
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos addressed the same questions during his primetime interview last week, and NBC’s Lester Holt will likely do the same with his interview scheduled for Monday.
Some of the immediate reactions from pundits on the live news were as expected: MSNBC’s Joy Reid suggested that gaffes like getting a name mixed up are unlikely to harm Biden because they are what people who know him expect. On Fox, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said, “It was hard to watch. It was a car accident.”
“How much will it cost?” said Jesse Watters of Fox News. “Is this guy so pain tolerant that he can take this kind of beating from now until the convention?”
Still, Fox’s Martha MacCallum said, “I think he was able to get there and do pretty well, given how low the bar has become.”
David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama who angered some members of Biden’s team with candid assessments of the campaign as a CNN commentator, said he didn’t believe the news conference was likely to change many minds.
“The question really isn’t about his background or track record,” Axelrod said. “It’s about your ability to move forward. And when he was asked those questions, he didn’t really have a good answer about what people should expect in the future.”
The debate ended just a few minutes ago – on some networks, just a few seconds – before pundits and reporters began talking about how this discussion will continue.
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him on http://twitter.com/dbauder.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
