President Biden, in a solo press conference Thursday night, said he’s staying in the presidential race in order to “finish the job” he started four years ago — continuing to defy the pleas from a growing number of Democrats to step aside in the wake of his unsteady debate performance last month.
During the June 27 debate, Mr. Biden, 81, stumbled early, flubbing lines as his voice appeared ready to give out. During the 90-minute debate, he failed to effectively respond to a number of false statements made by former President Donald Trump, and at times lost his train of thought. The debate prompted Democrats on Capitol Hill to begin discussing whether Mr. Biden had the fitness to be the party’s 2024 presidential nominee.
Mr. Biden suffered a couple of verbal stumbles during his Thursday night news conference — the first solo press conference he’d held since November — but exhibited command of the complex foreign policy issues facing the U.S. He has acknowledged he had a “bad night” at the debate and he has been trying to prove the debate was an anomaly.
The majority of the questions in the news conference, which was held at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Washington, were about the president’s fitness to run, his ability to defeat Trump in November and his health. He was also asked about his stamina, and whether he believes he’ll have the ability to be effective in meetings with world leaders like China’s Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the course of the next few years.
Whether he’s doing enough to convince Democrats of his fitness remains to be seen. CBS News reported Thursday evening that dozens of Democrats are expected to issue statements in the next 48 hours calling on Mr. Biden to end his campaign, according to four sources. Over a dozen members of Congress have so far publicly urged him to exit the race.
Watch his full news conference in the video above.