Much of the conversation following Joe Biden’s “big boy” press conference has focused on his gaffes and the fact that he managed to make it through the entire thing. However, when you look beyond the missteps and try to focus on the substance of what he was trying to say, Biden may have hinted at the next pivot in his campaign strategy.
Biden made clear that he has no intention of leaving the presidential race, and his performance, while not great, was enough for both sides to hold firm. He is going to press on, but how is he going to try to repair the damage to his campaign?
So far, nothing has worked. Fear-mongering about the "end of democracy" didn't work. Fear-mongering about Project 2025 isn't doing the trick either. Reminding people that Donald Trump was the target of a biased justice system hasn't had the effect he wanted either. Even before the debate, Trump was still beating Biden in the polls, as well as in the fundraising race.
It's no mistake that Biden's speech that preceded the press conference closing out the NATO summit sounded like a campaign speech, in which he openly attacked Trump with lies.
"My predecessor has made it clear he has no commitment to NATO," Biden falsely claimed. "He's made it clear that he would feel no obligation to honor Article Five. He's already told Putin — and I quote — 'Do whatever the hell you want.'"
This lie has been debunked many times already.
Biden also used the opportunity to toot his own horn on his foreign policy credentials.
"We collected intelligence that Russia was planning to invade Ukraine months before the invasion," he said. "I — I directed the intelligence community to be de — a significant amount of intelligence to be declassified, so I could start building an international coalition to oppose the invasion."
I'm not sure how he thought this was a good line since it shows that Biden knew Putin was going to invade and yet failed to stop him. "I’m the guy that shut Putin down," he told George Stephanopoulos last week. "No one thought it could happen.”
But I digress. Biden proceeded to tell the story of Putin's invasion of Ukraine like it was Biden's shining moment.
"Then, in February, some of you remember, I warned the world that the invasion was imminent. I rallied the coalition of 50 nations from Europe to Asia to help Ukraine defend itself. My foreign policy — many foreign policy experts thought, as Putin amassed Russian forces just 100 miles north of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, but he thought — he — Putin thought it was a mother — home of Russia, the capital would fall in less than a week."
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To quote Trump, I don't know what he said at the end of that sentence, and I don't think he knows what he said either, but it sounds like Biden considering the war in Ukraine to be some foreign policy accomplishment for him — even though he knew it was going to happen and Putin wasn't deterred the way he was when Trump was president.
Biden continued with this charade, attempting to paint his foreign policy record as something to brag about while simultaneously trying to draw a contrast between his record and Trump's. It sounds like he thinks this will save him from Democrats forcing him out.
In another indication that the Biden campaign is thinking a pivot to foreign policy might help his campaign, White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates chimed in after the press conference by saying, "To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs. He’s just that f***ing good."
No one came away from that press conference thinking Biden was some sort of foreign affairs expert. Joe Biden, the architect of the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, who failed to contain Putin's aggression, who let China's spy balloon surveil U.S. military installations, who gave Iran billions of dollars, and who undermines Israel, is not someone people would think has "a doctorate in foreign affairs."
Biden has proven that he's no master strategist, and doesn't command respect on the world stage. Nor does he seem to have America's interests at heart. And let's not forget, this is the same man who opposed the raid that took out Osama bin Laden — hardly a track record of sound decision-making.
If Biden is indeed thinking a pivot to foreign policy will boost his numbers against Trump and save his campaign, he's in for a rude awakening.
