Amidst rising defections and mounting questions concerning his fitness as a candidate and president, Joe Biden attempted to assuage these fears during a late-night press conference on Thursday. This conference was held outside of his usual working hours, which are reportedly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to an Axios report.
Fox News reports, “With defections growing and questions about his viability as a candidate and president at a fever pitch, Joe Biden sought to quell those fears Thursday with a “big boy” news conference after his usual hours of cogency — after 7 p.m. on the East Coast, over three hours after he’s supposedly “dependably engaged” for the day.”
While this conference was supposed to focus primarily on NATO issues, given that the organization’s meeting in Washington D.C. was taking place this week, Biden quickly veered off-topic into campaign talking points such as inflation, tariffs, border security etc. — issues that NATO evidently has little interest in.
Beyond this apparent lack of focus, Biden also had his fair share of gaffes during the conference. In one memorable instance, he referred to Donald Trump as his vice-president — an error he failed to correct immediately.
“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president did I not think she was not qualified to be president,” Biden said. “So let’s start there.”
Such moments highlight Biden’s ongoing struggle with maintaining coherence and staying on message, issues that continue to raise doubts about his fitness for the presidency. Despite this, he remains in the race — a fact that is causing increasing concern within Democratic circles.
The conference was far from reassuring but apparently it wasn’t disastrous enough for him to be dismissed outright, nor was it impressive enough to quash concerns about his competency. It seems that Democrats are stuck with a candidate who is in electoral limbo, and one whose decline is becoming increasingly evident.