US President Joe Biden held a solo news conference on the final day of the NATO summit in Washington, DC, facing questions from the White House press corps on a range of issues.
The news conference was meant to reassure a disheartened group of Democratic lawmakers, allies and persuadable voters in this year’s election that Biden still has the strength and stamina to be president.
Biden has tried to defend his feeble and tongue-tied performance in the June 27 debate against Republican Donald Trump as an outlier rather than evidence that at 81 he lacks the vigour and commanding presence that the public expects from the commander in chief.
US President, known for embarrassing gaffes and misstatements, made at least two notable flubs, referring at an event beforehand to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” and then calling Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” when asked about her by a reporter.
'Vice President Trump'
Perhaps Biden’s biggest slip-up in the press conference came early on when he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” in saying he picked her because he believed she could beat Trump.
But he was defiant when a reporter brought up his reference to “Vice President Trump” and noted the presumptive Republican nominee’s campaign was already promoting the slip-up. “Listen to him,” he said, before walking off the stage.
'Ladies And Gentlemen, President Putin'
Even before the news conference, Biden had bungled an important name at the NATO summit and instantly lowered expectations for his performance.
“Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said as he was introducing Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is most definitely not Russian President Vladimir Putin. The gaffe immediately prompted gasps, as Biden caught himself and said to Zelenskyy: “President Putin? You’re going to beat President Putin.”
'Harris To Replace Biden'
While many Democrats are openly pining for Harris to replace Biden on the US presidential ticket, Biden didn’t acknowledge that tension. He only brought Harris up in response to pointed questions about whether he believed she had the capability to replace him.
“I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be president,” Biden said, citing Harris’ resume from prosecutor to the U.S. Senate.
But in response to a later question he acknowledged he’d moved on from his 2020 campaign promise to be a “bridge” to a new generation of Democrats. “What changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited,” he said, without a word about his vice president.
Repeatedly, he said, “I’ve got to finish this job.”
(With AP Inputs)
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