Biden flubbed names, insists he is staying in the race, mixes Harris with Trump
President Biden holds a press conference during NATO's 75th anniversary summit, in Washington, D.C., July 11. REUTERS

Biden flubbed names, insists he is staying in the race, mixes Harris with Trump

Posted: Saturday 07.13.2024 4:23 pm Elections, National Election, U.S.A

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Biden failed another test on Thursday that he was trying to avoid so far this year — a solo news conference with questions from the White House press corps.

The news conference was meant to reassure an increasing 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 for the next four years. 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 vigor and commanding presence that the public expects from the commander-in-chief.

He 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. But he also gave detailed responses about his work to preserve NATO and his plans for a second term. And he insisted he’s not leaving the race even as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers ask him to step aside.

He bungled key names — and remained defiant

Perhaps Biden’s biggest slip-up in the press conference came early on when he referred to Vice President Harris as “Vice President Trump”, in saying he picked her because he believed she could beat Trump.

Biden, 81, touted his decades of experience on the world stage as he argued that he was uniquely qualified to defeat former President Trump, 78, and lead the U.S. for another four-year term.
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.
“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.”
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.
“The only thing age does is creates a little bit of wisdom if you pay attention,” said Biden, who is already the oldest person to ever serve as president.
Since his poor performance against Trump in a presidential debate two weeks ago, Biden has faced growing doubts from donors, supporters and fellow Democrats about his ability to win the Nov. 5 election and keep up with the demands of the job.
Biden’s campaign has been on the ropes for two weeks, since his poor debate performance against Trump.
At least 16 of the 213 Democrats in the House and one of the Senate’s 51 Democrats have appealed publicly to the president to withdraw from the race.
One House Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, issued a statement minutes later calling on the president to withdraw.
“We must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism,” he said. “I no longer believe that is Joe Biden.”
President Biden holds a press conference during NATO's 75th anniversary summit, in Washington, D.C., July 11. Videograb

President Biden holds a press conference during NATO’s 75th anniversary summit, in Washington, D.C., July 11. Videograb

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters they did not know whether the news conference would shore up support on Capitol Hill.
No Democratic leaders in Congress have called for Biden to end his candidacy, though former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined on Wednesday to say he should stay in the race.
Biden donor John Morgan called his performance “fantastic”, but another donor, likewise speaking on condition of anonymity, said they did not think it would help, given the heightened scrutiny of Biden’s verbal slip-ups.
Biden said he needed to “pace myself” a little more and complained that his aides sometimes overscheduled him.
“I’m catching hell from my wife,” he said.
Biden said the Israel-Gaza war must end now and that Israel must not occupy the enclave after the war, adding that both Israel and Hamas had agreed on his ceasefire framework, but that there were still gaps to close.
The news conference gave Biden an opportunity to tout his successes on the world stage at the close of the NATO summit in Washington, where members extended support to Ukraine to combat the invasion that Putin launched in February 2022.
Biden argued Trump would weaken NATO and drive up prices for U.S. consumers by imposing steep tariffs on imported goods.
He took credit for bringing Sweden and Finland into the alliance, and said he brought together 50 nations to support Ukraine.
He also said the Israel-Gaza war must end now and that Israel must not occupy the enclave after the war, adding that both Israel and Hamas had agreed on his ceasefire framework, but that there were still gaps to close.
The campaign has commissioned a survey to test how Harris would fare if she were to replace Biden as candidate, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found Harris would fare no better than Biden in a matchup with Trump.
Prominent donors, including actor George Clooney, have called on Biden to drop out and there were signs that concerns are growing within Biden’s campaign operation as well.
The New York Times reported that some longtime advisers were considering ways to convince him to drop his reelection bid, while NBC News reported that some campaign staffers thought he stood no chance of winning the election.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll found Biden and Trump tied at 40 percent each. Other opinion polls have found Trump leading Biden, and some strategists have warned that Trump stood a chance of winning reliably Democratic states like New Hampshire and Minnesota.

Biden: “I’ve got to finish this job”

It’s a delicate dance between the president and vice president, with many Democrats openly pining for Harris to replace Biden on the ticket. Biden didn’t acknowledge that tension, but only brought Harris up in response to pointed questions about whether he believed she had the capability to replace him.

The press conference ended with Biden being asked directly whether he’d step down for Harris if he saw polling showing she had a better chance of beating Trump. “No, unless they come back and said there’s no way you can win,” Biden responded. Then he added, in a stage whisper, “No poll’s saying that.”

“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.”

The press conference ended with Biden being asked directly whether he’d step down for Harris if he saw polling showing she had a better chance of beating Trump.

“No, unless they come back and said there’s no way you can win,” Biden responded. Then he added, in a stage whisper, “No poll’s saying that.”

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