On Thursday evening, Joe Biden held what was widely dubbed his "big boy" press conference. Originally scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET; it was delayed an hour before again being pushed to 7:00 and then 7:15.
It was a rough start, for sure. Biden sounded hoarse at times, coughed quite a bit, and sounded like he had cotton in his mouth and nostrils. But it was a campaign speech through and through—not the promised NATO press conference. He repeated the same old stump speech lines that we've heard repeatedly and that haven't resonated with the public.
Of course, the speech was irrelevant. The questions and answers are what matter and it didn't go very well.
For starters, his "big boy" press conference was made up of pre-approved reporters.
In response to the first question, which was about Kamala Harris's ability to serve if he doesn't, he said, "I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be Vice President if she wasn't qualified to be president."
Ouch.
Joe Biden even seemed to think somebody else is the president.
And there were all kinds of brain malfunctions, like this one:
And this one:
The "press conference," which closed out the NATO summit in Washington, was the latest make-or-break moment for his presidential campaign. Frankly, the entire thing was a losing proposition for Biden, as even White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby were calling it the "big boy" conference.
And you knew things weren't going to go well when, earlier in the day, Biden managed to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "President Putin"—in his presence.
"And now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination," Biden said. "Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin."
Make no mistake about it: this was not a great press conference, but it was better than his performance at the debate and his interview with George Stephanopoulos. And that's a problem for the Democrats. From the perspective of Biden's campaign, that's good enough for him to stay in the race.
Joe Biden's campaign is cratering, and this press conference won't convince the naysayers that everything is fine -- and it won't convince the holdouts that Biden should go. The situation remains at a stalemate, which means the Democratic Party will continue to be divided over what to do about Joe Biden.
At the moment, it looks like Joe Biden will survive to fight another day. But the forces hoping to get Biden to step aside are still growing. What's going to happen next? Who knows? We'll be here to cover it when it does. You can help us by becoming a PJ Media VIP member today. Use promo code STOPJOE24 to receive 50% off your membership. Together, we can make a difference.
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