President Biden’s attempt to reset his rapidly deteriorating re-election campaign stumbled as he mixed up world leaders and described his own deputy as “vice-president Trump”.
In what was billed as the most important press conference of his 52-year career in American national politics, the president, 81, spoke lucidly at times, stressing that “I’ve got to finish this job”.
But the hour-long session with journalists to mark the end of a Nato conference is likely to be remembered instead for the moment he confused his Republican opponent with Kamala Harris, having earlier introduced President Zelensky of Ukraine as “President Putin”.
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Biden has been fighting for his political survival since his disastrous presidential debate with Donald Trump on June 27. The first question on Thursday night referenced ebbing support among many of his fellow Democrats and trade unions, and asked whether Harris had enough experience for the White House.
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Biden stressed that the “UAW endorsed me, but go ahead”, referring to the United Auto Workers. He then mixed up Harris and Trump, saying, “I wouldn’t have picked vice-president Trump to be vice-president if she wasn’t qualified”.
Biden did not immediately correct himself. Trump, 78, swiftly used his social media platform, Truth Social, to post a clip of Biden’s mistake, adding sarcastically: “Great job, Joe!” Responding later on Twitter/X, Biden’s campaign said: “By the way: Yes, I know the difference. One’s a prosecutor, and the other’s a felon.”
The mix-up came shortly after Biden had confused Zelensky with President Putin, the Russian leader who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “Now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” he said, before quickly correcting himself, saying: “I’m so focused on beating President Putin, we’ve got to worry about it.”
The president’s press conference performance, in which he took 11 questions from the media, was considered an improvement on the debate and also on an ABC News interview aired a week ago. He has been adamant that he will not stand aside for Harris, 59, or any other younger Democrat, even though a growing number of celebrity backers and elected officials in his party have called publicly on him to go.
On Friday morning CNN reported that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi had privately spoken to Biden about the future of his campaign.
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The former president and ex-speaker questioned whether his series of gaffes have made it more difficult for Biden to beat Trump in November. CNN reported that “neither of them is quite sure what to do”.
Obama and Pelosi are seen as the only two senior Democrats to whom the president will listen, and are being begged by party officials to convince him to step aside.
It has been reported that at least two close allies have become convinced that Biden cannot overcome the debate performance.
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Last night Biden praised Harris as a capable leader, saying that she had been ready to serve as president “since day one”, but added that the US still needed someone of his experience at the helm. “I’m not in this for my legacy,” he said. “I’m in this to complete the job I started.”
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Reminded that in 2020 he had described himself as a bridge between his generation of Democrats and the likes of Harris, he was asked what had changed and why he could not hand over to her now.
“What changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited,” he said. “In terms of the economy, our foreign policy, our domestic division, and I think most presidential historians give me credit for having accomplished more than almost any president since [Lyndon] Johnson and maybe before that.”
Whether it will be enough to win over the doubters remains to be seen. As well as the gaffes about Trump and Zelensky, he at one point confused Europe and Asia, and drew attention to his age by noting that the first Israeli prime minister he had known was Golda Meir. She resigned from office in 1974, and died in 1978.
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By Thursday night 16 members of Congress had called on Biden to step down. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said immediately after the press conference that it had been “the honour of my career” to work with Biden, but “the 2024 campaign will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised Maga authoritarianism”.
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In a sign that cracks are beginning to show in his inner circle too, at least two close allies are understood to have become convinced that Biden cannot overcome the debate performance, The New York Times reported, as other senior figures in the Democratic Party refused to endorse him continuing as the party’s nominee.
At the press conference Biden described reports that he had accepted changes to his schedule meaning he now finishes work at 8pm as “not true”.
“What I said was, instead of my every day starting at 7am and going to bed at midnight, it would be smarter for me to pace myself a little bit more,” he said. “I said that instead of starting a fundraiser at 9 o’clock, let’s start it at 8 o’clock so that people get to go home at 10 o’clock. That’s what I’m talking about.”
He also said that he had done at least 20 campaign events since the debate a fortnight ago. “My schedule has been full board. Where’s Trump been? Riding around on his golf cart, filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball.”
In an attempt to overcome those who doubt he can win in November, he indicated that private polling had him ahead of his rival, even if most public data shows him lagging behind.
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Some of his answers lacked focus. Asked how he would deal with Putin, or President Xi of China, Biden’s answer stretched out for more than ten minutes. He again refused to take fresh neurological tests, insisting that he was tested every day in the course of his work and that examinations taken during his annual medical check-up had declared him fit for office.
“I’ve taken three significant and intense neurological exams by a neurologist,” Biden said, the most recent of them in February. “And they say I’m in good shape.”
He outlined what a second Biden term would look like, and grew animated as he spoke about gun violence in America. During a long answer about whether he would remain in the presidential race, Biden said that the Democrats “can’t afford to lose”.
“More children are killed by a bullet than any other cause of death,” he said, almost shouting the words. “We got a candidate promising ‘I’m not going to do anything’ [on guns]. We’ve got a Supreme Court that you might call the most conservative court in history. This is ridiculous, there’s so much we can do still, and I’m determined to get it done.”
Before the press conference it emerged that George Clooney, who wrote a damning article about Biden in The New York Times, had told Barack Obama he was going to do so and the former president did not intervene. Obama’s office declined to comment.
Hakeem Jeffries, the leading Democrat in the House of Representatives, said he was speaking with all the party’s representatives and would “convene as a leadership team and figure out the next step”.
Gerry Connolly, a veteran congressman from Virginia regarded as a stalwart Biden ally and friend, said he did not know whether Biden would be the party’s candidate this time next week, and that the option of switching to Harris “needs to be on the table”.
Connolly told CNN: “I have reason to be concerned. I would hope the White House and the presidential campaign are also concerned. They’re looking at the same numbers we’re looking at.
“You see the drip, drip, drip of people calling for the president to step out. You’re seeing polling data that is very discouraging. You’re seeing donor drop-off and people withholding [campaign funds] because they have concerns about this. I have a personal concern for Joe Biden himself as the person.”
