During a closely watched news conference on Thursday night, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed his intent to seek a second Oval Office term “to complete the job I started,” defying mounting calls for him to drop his re-election bid from some Democrats, party supporters and donors.
“I’m not in this for my legacy,” Biden said, answering a question about the possibility that he could lose to Donald Trump in November.
Biden, 81, the presumptive Democratic nominee, maintained he’s the “best-qualified person” to be in the White House, but also said it was important to “allay fears” voters may have about his abilities.
The news conference came on the tail end of a NATO summit in Washington. But the focus on the president’s appearance before the media took on added importance amid the pressure he is facing surrounding his re-election bid.
During the news conference, Biden, who took the stage about an hour later than expected, reiterated the need for a strong NATO military alliance to deter aggression and prevent war.
He also played up his background in foreign policy, providing long answers to journalists’ questions, speaking about issues involving China, Russia and Ukraine.
Confronted by his statements in 2020 about being a ‘bridge candidate’ to prepare the way for a new generation of Democratic leaders, U.S. President Joe Biden said the ‘gravity of the situation’ was what convinced him to seek re-election.
Yet he also made an attention-grabbing gaffe when he referred to Trump while speaking about U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris.
“I wouldn’t have picked Vice-President Trump to be vice-president if she was not qualified to be president,” Biden said, answering a question from Reuters about his confidence in Harris.
That mix-up came a few hours after Biden, while at the NATO summit, mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin before correcting himself.
Such slip-ups are not new for Biden, who has previously admitted to being “a gaffe machine.”
More Democrats call for ballot exit
Biden has been fighting to keep his re-election bid alive in the wake of a much-panned June 27 debate performance against Trump, his 78-year-old presidential predecessor and Republican rival.
They are the oldest contenders to ever seek the Oval Office. Biden, who served 36 years in the U.S. Senate before two terms as Barack Obama’s vice-president, is already the oldest American to serve as president.
The pressure on Biden to drop from the ballot continued to build into Thursday evening, with Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, saying the president should end his candidacy.
“We must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism,” Himes said. “I no longer believe that is Joe Biden.”
That call followed others from Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan, Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona and Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii — all made earlier during the day.
In a statement released after Biden’s news conference, Rep. Scott Peters of California said the Democrats were on “a losing course” with Biden at the helm. He, too, wants the president to abandon his re-election bid.
There are now more than a dozen congressional Democrats — including one senator — calling for Biden to move aside.
Also Thursday, Bruce Heyman, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, said on X that the Democrats “must consider alternative candidates for the 2024 presidential race” given the stakes if Biden loses to Trump this fall.
But Heyman also said would support the “eventual Democratic nominee,” whether that person is Biden or not.
Donors contributing to pressure
Biden has also seen key Democrat donors and supporters demanding the same, including Hollywood actor George Clooney who earlier this week wrote an op-ed calling for the president to step aside.
So far, Biden has resisted the calls to go, arguing he is best-placed to defeat Trump in the November election.
During Thursday’s news conference, Biden admitted there are probably other people “who can beat Trump,” but he noted those individuals would have “to start from scratch” compared to where his campaign is today.
Some of the president’s closest advisers — including Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon — met with Democrat senators earlier on Thursday to shore up support for his re-election bid. That did not seem to assuage all who attended.
“Some of my concerns are allayed, some others have been deepened,” Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said.
Yet Biden still retains support among some prominent senators.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, told The Associated Press he thinks Biden “is going to win this election. I think he has a chance to win it big.”
The Democratic National Convention begins Aug. 19, but the party said in May that it will hold a virtual roll call ahead of that time to nominate Biden.
The Nov. 5 election is less than four months away.
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