“I am best suited to govern” • Oklahoma Voice

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden insisted on his candidacy for re-election in 2024 in a one-on-one news conference Thursday following the NATO summit in Washington, even as a growing number of rank-and-file Democrats and prominent supporters urged him to abandon his campaign over suspected health concerns.

The highly anticipated press conference followed weeks of speculation about Biden’s ability to retain office and whether he should run against former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. While his performance was significantly better than his disastrous debate performance, it still included a notable faux pas and may leave questions unanswered.

In response to the first question about whether Vice President Kamala Harris would be a suitable candidate against Trump, Biden mixed up their names.

“I would not have nominated Vice President Trump for vice president if I did not believe she was unqualified to be president,” he said.

For nearly an hour, Biden answered a variety of questions from reporters in the United States and abroad. The meeting with the press took place exactly two weeks after the June 27 debate, during which Biden repeatedly stumbled, spoke in a hoarse voice and was unable to finish some sentences.

Biden and the White House repeatedly described the debate as an “unfortunate night” and pointed to the clean results of his last three annual health exams.

Asked about congressional Democrats’ unease about his candidacy, Biden said he has made a final decision to stay in the race, but he is trying to show doubters he is up to the task and is responding to criticism that he cannot handle spontaneous questioning.

“I’m committed to running,” he said. “But I think it’s important that I allay fears by letting them see me out there.”

Not a step to the side

He added that the delegates who voted for him in the Democratic nomination process should be free to vote according to their conscience, but that there was no one who had a better alternative to his candidacy against Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

“I believe I’m the person best suited to govern, and I believe I’m the person best suited to win,” Biden said. “But there are other people who could beat Trump, but it’s awfully hard to start from scratch.”

When asked if he would resign if his poll data showed that Harris could beat Trump, Biden said he would not do so unless it also showed that he could not win.

“Nobody says that,” he added in a whisper. “No poll says that either.”

Harris is considered the most likely successor to Biden should he drop out of the race.

The few calls from congressional Democrats calling on him to drop out of the race since July 2 have become a torrent this week, with some reports suggesting a weak showing Thursday night could lead to a flood.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a friend of Biden’s for decades, urged her colleagues in an MSNBC interview on Wednesday to “let Biden handle this NATO conference, that’s a very big deal.”

When Biden began his press conference on Thursday, 14 Democrats in Congress had explicitly called on him to drop out of the race, and others had already suggested doing so.

Shortly after the press conference concluded, two more – Jim Himes of Connecticut and Scott Peters of California – called on Biden to resign.

Biden should “make way for a new generation of leadership,” Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, wrote in a statement sent to X.

Peters’ statement was provided to Politico.

Focus on foreign policy

Biden, who rarely holds press conferences, consulted a list of reporters and answered questions ranging from his suitability to serve as president to his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.

He praised his achievements in office and said his work performance showed he was still fit for the job.

“If I slow down, I can’t do my job. That’s a sign that I shouldn’t do it,” he said. “But there’s no sign of that so far. None.”

Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, seemed more comfortable discussing foreign policy issues than his political future, giving lengthy answers on the war between Israel and Hamas, China’s growing influence on the world stage and Ukraine’s war with Russia.

Trump mocks Biden

Although Biden’s voice and expertise seemed stronger than during the debate, he still made several speaking errors, including confusing his vice president with Trump.

Trump poked fun at the mix-up in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, writing: “Great job, Joe!”

Biden later said Harris was qualified to be president and that was why he chose her as his vice presidential candidate. His remarks were worthy of note, as Harris would likely become the nominee if Biden were to step down.

Biden attacks Trump over NATO

Biden called the summit a “great success” and underlined the US commitment to the alliance and to Ukraine’s war against Russia.

“Those who thought NATO’s time was over got a rude awakening with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of Europe’s oldest and deepest fears were reawakened, for once again a murderous maniac was on the rise. This time, no one ducked into appeasement tactics, especially not the United States,” Biden said.

Before taking questions, he attacked Trump’s actions in belittling NATO and its fundamental obligation to defend its fellow member states. The former president has threatened to withdraw from NATO and accused allies of undermining the organization’s defense budget.

“A strong NATO is essential to American security, and I believe the Article 5 commitment is sacred. And I remind all Americans that Article 5 has been used only once in NATO’s long history, and that was to defend America after 9/11,” Biden said.

The three-day summit focused on Russia’s ongoing bombing and occupation of parts of Ukraine. World leaders promised a path for Ukraine to join the alliance. The event culminated in the signing of the Ukraine Pact by the United States and two dozen allies to “affirm that Ukraine’s security is integral to the security of the Euro-Atlantic region and beyond.”

Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday to emphasize military support, which includes “working with our NATO allies to ensure Ukraine is flying F-16 aircraft this summer.”

Zelensky thanked Biden for his “support and personal statement” following the Russian attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv on Monday. Biden shook his head and replied that the attack was “sick.”

Another blunder

Between his meeting with Zelensky and the press conference, Biden introduced the Ukrainian president at a separate event to sign the agreement, but mistakenly called him President Putin – the Russian leader who is at war with Zelensky’s country – before correcting himself.

When asked about the error, Biden acknowledged that he made the mistake but said he immediately corrected it.

“I thought it was the most successful conference I have attended in a long time, and now I meet a world leader who doesn’t see it that way,” he replied.

Biden did not stumble as he addressed NATO’s 75th anniversary event earlier this week; rather, his voice remained steady and steady as he opened the ceremony for the leaders of the 32 member states.