On Thursday, after the closing of the NATO summit, Joe Biden held a crucial press conference in an attempt to reassure voters and supporters that he is capable of leading the United States for another four years.
It had been 8 months since Biden last held a solo press conference. During the approximately one-hour timeframe, Biden delivered a speech without a teleprompter and responded to 19 sharp questions from journalists.
Prior to this press conference, many prominent Democratic allies had urged Biden to forgo seeking re-election, including Senator Peter Welch of Vermont, over a dozen House Democrats, and Democratic mega-donor George Clooney. They were concerned that Biden may not have the energy and stamina to defeat Trump in the November presidential election.
During the press conference, Biden began by delivering an approximately 8-minute statement, primarily focusing on the NATO summit he chaired in Washington. He discussed security issues regarding NATO and Ukraine, then shifted to topics such as inflation in the US, border security, and ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Biden stated in his opening remarks, “Every American must ask themselves: Is the world safer? Are you safer with NATO? Are your families safer?”
He continued, “I believe the American people know, the answer to all of these questions is yes, and I also believe the American people understand that America is stronger because of our alliances.”
Biden criticized his Republican opponent Trump, stating that he “failed to make commitments to NATO.”
Following his statement, Biden fielded questions from journalists, some of which were quite pointed.
At Thursday’s press conference, Biden reiterated his belief that he is the most qualified candidate to win the November US election, but he also acknowledged that other Democrats could defeat former President Trump.
“I believe I’m the most qualified to govern. I believe I’m the most qualified to win,” Biden said. “There are others who can defeat Trump, but starting from scratch is very challenging.”
When addressing Trump, Biden stated, “I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once, I will beat him again.”
During the press conference, Biden denied previous statements suggesting he needed to reduce his schedule to go to bed before 8 pm.
He told reporters that in previous discussions, he meant it would be wiser to “adjust your pace slightly.”
He expressed that working from early morning until nearly midnight might not be a good idea, and suggested starting fundraising events for his re-election campaign earlier by an hour or two.
Biden stated that he will not cross 15 time zones before the second debate with Trump in September. Referring to his last trip ending on June 15 due to fatigue and a subsequent cold affecting his debate performance.
“I will adjust my rhythm, adjust my pace,” he said.
Reporters did not shy away from questioning Biden’s health. The top five journalists raised concerns about Biden’s health, some in standalone questions and some included alongside other issues.
Biden expressed openness to undergoing a neurological exam if his doctor recommends it, amid suggestions from some Democrats for him to undertake such checks to address concerns about his mental fitness.
“I’m open to it. If my doctor says I should have another neurological exam, I’ll do it,” Biden said, “Every day, I have a lot of good doctors around me. If they think there’s a problem, suggest I do another neuro exam, I guarantee you, I will do it. No one is suggesting that now.”
However, Biden lamented the increasing concerns about his age, stating, “No matter what I do, no one will be satisfied.”
Biden reiterated that he has undergone three neurological exams during his presidency, with the last one in February this year.
“I make decisions every day; they’re not just always based on neurological ability,” he said.
He emphasized that age is a source of wisdom.
Biden also defended his negotiating skills and stated that he is still capable of engaging in one-on-one talks with Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“I’m ready right now and three years from now to handle them,” Biden told reporters. “Just like I’m dealing with Xi Jinping right now and making direct contact with him. I have no reason to be talking to Putin now. He’s not ready to change his behavior. But there isn’t a world leader that I’m not willing to engage with.”
Biden further discussed the partnership between China and Russia during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“The key is, Xi Jinping believes China is a big enough market that they can induce any country, including European countries, to invest there in exchange for European commitments A, B, C, or D, or not to do certain things,” he said. “We have to make China (the CCP) clear that if they provide information or capabilities to Russia and collaborate with North Korea and other countries to help Russia expand its military, they will not benefit economically from this.”
He pointed out that some European countries may take action to reduce investments in China in response to China’s assistance to Russia.
The timing of the press conference coincided with the NATO summit, where Biden engaged with leaders from around the world and chaired discussions on how to assist Ukraine. Biden sought to showcase his capabilities to allies during these engagements.
While there was a brief slip-up when Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Zelensky as “President Putin” while announcing an agreement for NATO countries to support Ukraine, leaders from the UK and France expressed confidence in Biden before the press conference.
French President Emmanuel Macron, responding to questions from reporters, mentioned that slip-ups happen and stressed the substantive achievements made during the NATO summit. Macron described Biden as someone who is “very knowledgeable” about international issues.
New UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in his first foray onto the international stage, praised Biden’s leadership in successfully organizing the NATO meeting and securing tangible outcomes for Ukraine.
Starmer emphasized, “I’m focused on the substantive achievements we’ve made these two days.”
Starmer noted that he spent several hours with Biden in private meetings and dinners but refrained from commenting directly on Biden’s slip-up.
“We have achieved a declaration and it has been signed,” Starmer said. “This is also an aspect of President Biden that deserves commendation.”
When asked whether his missteps might damage America’s standing in the world, Biden retorted, “Do you think holding this meeting damaged our standing? Have you seen more successful meetings?”
Biden continued, “In that meeting, how many times have you heard… other leaders, heads of state thank me and say it’s because of Biden that we were able to come together? In any case, I believe this is the most successful meeting I have attended; show me a world leader who thinks otherwise.”
Despite his attempt to dispel doubts about his performance, Biden made a glaring slip-up at the beginning of the press conference.
Responding to a question about concerns over Vice President Kamala Harris’s ability to defeat Trump, Biden accidentally referred to her as “Trump.”
“If I didn’t believe that Vice President Trump is not qualified to be president, I wouldn’t have picked her to be vice president,” Biden said.
Trump seized on this mistake and posted on the social media platform Truth Social, emphasizing Biden’s error.
“Nice going, Joe!” Trump wrote alongside the video clip.
Some Republican members of Congress also highlighted this mistake. Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna cited this error as a reason to continue urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to release audio interviews between Biden and former special prosecutor Robert Hur.
Similarly, Kansas Senator Roger Marshall wrote on the X social media platform, “Donald Trump is not our current vice president, but he will be our next president.”