Biden used the press conference to deliver a forceful defence of his foreign and domestic policies, however his night was marred by simple yet embarrassing mistakes.
US President Joe Biden was defiant he would run for office despite making a couple of embarrassing mistakes, including confusing the names of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Russian President Vladimir Putin to audible gasps in the audience.
Later, to a question in front of a television audience he called his Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump”.
He repeatedly dismissed a torrent of questions from reporters about his mental fitness, insisting that he was running to finish the job he started in 2021 and that he was capable based on his record in office so far.
Biden appeared most comfortable when offering extensive comments on foreign policy, during which he commented he had “no good reason” to talk to Vladimir Putin right now.
“Putin’s got a problem. First of all, in this war that he has supposedly won. I mean, in terms of percentage of territory, they’ve not been very successful,” he said.
He added he was in contact with China’s president Xi Jinping to warn him not to offer further support for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Biden also cautioned China that if it worked with North Korea to help arm Russia, there would be economic consequences.
Shortly after Biden finished Connecticut’s congressman Jim Himes and over a dozen Democrats publicly called on Biden to step down from the race.
Concerns over Biden’s ability to run within his own party have grown louder and louder after a debate performance earlier this year in which the 81-year-old President appeared confused and disorientated.
Biden pointed to his European allies present at the NATO Summit held in Washington, saying he has the full support of his European counterparts.
“I’m not hearing my European allies come up to me and say, Joe, don’t run. What I hear them say is, you’ve gotta win. You can’t with this guy (Donald Trump) come forward. He’d be a disaster,” he said.
His allies remained diplomatic, dodging questions about his slip ups and generally praising the President.
French president Emmanuel Macron came to Biden’s defence, praising his “depth of field on international issues”.
“We all slip up sometimes. It’s happened to me. It’ll probably happen to me tomorrow. I would ask you for the same indulgence. It’s the kind of indulgence that’s needed between kind people,” he said.
Regardless of defections within his own party and scrutiny from reporters present Biden maintained that he is the “best qualified person to do the job”.
Bringing up his commitment to NATO, he insisted he had delivered results over rhetoric to the American people.
Although Biden answered questions in detail and appeared relatively fluent, it is unclear whether his performance would be enough to assuage concerns over his mental acuity or reduce the intense pressure on his possible slip-ups and mistakes.
When asked whether he would step down and allow his Vice President to run if she performed better in polls Biden said, “No, unless they come back and said there’s no way you can win,” Biden responded before adding, in a stage whisper, “No poll’s saying that.”
