‘I Saw Mastery!’ CNN Analyst Begala Gushes Biden Presser Was ‘Tour De Force And A Tour Of The World!’
CNN analyst and longtime Democratic strategist Paul Begala gushed about President Joe Biden’s performance at a press conference, praising Biden’s “mastery” and calling it a “tour de force and a tour of the world!”
Biden held an hour-long press conference Thursday evening amid pressure to drop out after his debate performance, in what was seen by many as a make-or-break moment.
Despite an ostentatious gaffe to kick things off — Biden referred to VP Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” while answering the very first question — the president performed well enough to earn praise from many who had grave doubts after the debate.
That includes Begala, who called the debate “the worst night, the worst performance in presidential campaign history,” and added “Seriously. And I’ve been in this a long time. It was a catastrophe.”
On Thursday night’s CNN post-presser coverage, host Anderson Cooper asked Begala for his take seconds after the presser ended, and Begala was singing a different tune:
COOPER: Paul Begala, what did you see?
PAUL BEGALA: I saw substantive mastery! I mean, my goodness, it was a tour de force and a tour of the world! He talked a lot, of course, about NATO and Ukraine, but about China, about Israel-Gaza. He seemed to have the substance really at his command.
Stylistically, though, he still had the soft voice. He didn’t have the kind of catastrophic failure he had at the debate, but he also didn’t have the same sort of command that he had at his inaugural. So he — the substance was great, the style not. He is already getting static for slipping and saying “Vice President Trump,” which, you know, anybody could do that, Tucker. You know, you just get a name wrong.
COOPER: Thanks. Thanks, James Carville.
So Ashley, what did you make of the news conference?
ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VP HARRIS: You know, I think David’s a bit of a Debbie Downer. So far, what I’ve heard is like a little Debbie Downer. I thought the president was incredibly strong. He was very forceful, deep on the substance in terms of foreign policy and domestic policy. I think he definitely bought himself some more time tonight, but I’m not sure that the bleeding will stop.
What I’m hearing from members on the Hill is that there’s deep frustration with how the president and his team have handled this situation. You know, I maintain that it was a mistake for the president not to go up to the caucus meeting this week or not at the very least to call in to the caucus. This is a family matter. He should have addressed it in that way.
But today’s performance was incredibly strong. It bolsters his point that he had a bad debate night. We’ve now seen him in a press conference and interview and at rallies, and he seems a bit incredibly strong. But here’s the outstanding thing. Anderson, the president now has to prove that he can unite this party and not just unite the party, but to inspire the party to get behind him and refocus our efforts on Donald Trump. And that’s the challenge before the president now.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
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