It could have been worse, but it wasn’t enough.
That was the veredict of several Capitol hill Democrats after Presdient Joe Biden’s Thursday night news conference following the NATO summit. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had dubbed the event a “big-boy press conference,” according to the New York Post.
Thursday saw several gaffes from Biden. During the press conference, he muffed the name of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I think she’s not qualified to be president,” Biden said, according to the New York Post.
Earlier, when introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden said, “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.”
Three House Democrats said the sad show has gone on long enough, according to Axios.
“We must put forth the strongest candidate possible. … I no longer believe that is Joe Biden,” Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said.
Democratic Rep. Scott Peters of California said that with Biden in the race, “We are on a losing course. My conscience requires me to speak up.”
“In 2020, Joe Biden ran for president with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again.” Democratic Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois said.
Will Democrats replace Biden?
Axios reported that one House Democrat said the Harris mistake led to members “groaning,” while others said “this is over” and “this is so sad.”
“Tonight he looked better than the debate, but still not enough to recover and beat Donald Trump,” Axios quoted a Democrat it did name.
Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said prior to the event it was “silly to wait for one press conference … to be determinative,” adding that voters have “made up their minds.”
“The cake is baked,” he said.
During the news conference, Biden sought to make the case for his campaign.
“I’m determined on running,” he said, according to The New York Times.
“But I think it’s important that I real — I allay fears. I’ve seen — let them see me out there, let me see them out, you know — for the longest time, it was, you know, ‘Biden’s not prepared to sit with us unscripted; Biden is not prepared to’ — and anyway,” he said.
“It’s awful hard to replace in the near term,” he said, adding later on, “Anyway, I’m going to be going around making the case of the things that I think we have to finish and how we can’t afford to lose what we’ve done.”
