Joe Biden started his make-or-break press conference Thursday with an embarrassing gaffe, calling Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump.”
The flub was in answer to the very first question at what the White House had called the “big boy press conference” which was supposed to see off doubts about his cognitive ability in the wake of his disastrous debate performance two weeks ago. It was just two hours after he called Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin.”
Biden was asked in the first question, by Reuters correspondent Jeff Mason, “What concerns do you have about Vice President Harris’ ability to beat Donald Trump if she were at the top of the ticket?”
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He replied: “Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn’t think she was not qualified to be vice president.”
Biden used the end of the NATO summit for the press conference and opened with a short speech about the importance of the European alliance. But the key question hanging over him was his fitness to run for a second term, after 24 hours of mounting calls for him to go and a report–denied by the White House and his campaign–that his own aides are preparing to tell him he must step aside.
The 81-year-old was determined, however, to say he will not step aside. “If I slow down and can’t get the job done, that’s a sign I shouldn’t be doing it, but there’s no indication of that yet, none,” he said.
He also channeled Tracy Chapman as he denied a report that he had said he should go to bed at 8 p.m. and said: “I should pace myself, pace myself.”
And he landed a blow on Trump–and therefore Democrats who want him to go–by mocking his relative retreat from public appearances since the debate. “I mean, my schedule has been full. Where has Trump been? Riding around in his golf cart, filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball. Look, he’s done virtually nothing,” he said.
Trump himself took little time to mock his rival, posting on his Truth social platform, “Crooked Joe begins his “Big Boy” Press Conference with, "I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president." Great job, Joe!”
Biden’s overall performance was far stronger than in his debate, but appeared unlikely to end Democratic doubts, with his Harris-Trump mix-up not the only example.
A foreign journalist asked Biden if he thought Europe will be left on its own if Trump wins the election and then asked, “What’s your advice to European leaders to prepare for possible U.S. disengagement?” Biden repeated a now common refrain he has said since his disastrous debate performance, asking rhetorically, “How can I say this without sounding too self-serving?”
Biden's press conference was seen by his critics and doubters as make-or-break but opened with a gaffe.
Yves Herman/ReutersHe said European leaders tell him: “You gotta win,” and that a Trump victory “would be disaster.”
“I think I’m the best qualified person to do the job to make sure that Ukraine does not fall, that Ukraine succeeds, that the European alliance stays strong.”
Then he said, “I got a call from the Swedes” before looking blankly into the audience and asking, “I beg your pardon?” It was unclear who he was talking to.
“I think you’ll see that some of our European friends are going to be curtailing their investment in Russia, excuse me, in China,” Biden said before saying something incomprehensible.
Then he quickly pivoted to talking about Russia, presumably, though he didn’t name the country, and its “ability to fight in Ukraine.”
Biden also hinted at his age as he promoted his long-standing support for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians, and he mentioned that he knew and met with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the 1970s.“And by the way, look at the numbers in Israel,” the president said. Then he joked, “My numbers is Israel are better than they are here.”
Asked how he’ll convince Democratic voters that he can defeat Trump in November, Biden, weakened by questions over his cognitive acumen following his dismal debate performance against Trump, said he would be willing to take a neurological exam if his doctors say he needs one.Biden said he took a neurological exam “as recently as February”
“I’ve got to finish this job,” he said. “I’ve got to finish this job. Because there’s so much at stake.”He got boisterous and sounded angry when he said, “More children are killed by a bullet than any other cause of death.”
And he applauded Harris, who could wind up being at the top of the ticket in November if Biden bows out of the race as polls show most Democrats would like, saying she has been “so good” on the issue of gun violence.
Responding to questions about his age and acuity, he said, “The only thing age does is create a little wisdom if you pay attention.”To the naysayers who say he cannot win, he whispered, “No poll says that.”
