Joe Biden's first solo press conference with the White House press corps since last November, originally scheduled at 5:30 p.m. EDT, has been delayed one hour because the NATO meeting started late.
But the signs are unmistakable. Unless Biden can shed 20 years and appear to be hale and hearty enough to stay up past 8:00 p.m., he's a goner no matter how badly he wants to stay in the race.
Editor's Note: Stay tuned for a PJ Media team liveblog during the press conference featuring all your favorite PJM writers. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. ET.
The noise has been deafening all day. Donors, Democratic politicians, and ordinary people are all calling for Biden's exit from the race. To make matters worse, his inner circle of advisors has shrunk to just two of his closest aides: hatchet man Anthony Bernal and keeper of the body Mike Donilon. They are not the kind of aides who would recommend that their boss pull out of his re-election race.
“I have heard folks around him are more dug in,” a source told the New York Post. “It’s just hard to know because the circle is getting smaller.”
“I feel like the narrative needs to change. So either Dems need to get behind Biden or he needs to step aside. But we are losing time,” a Democratic source close to the White House told The Post.
There is no door number three. Or is there?
Might Biden take the opportunity of the press conference to announce that he's stepping aside? Longshot, for sure. But the chances are not zero, and seeing the writing on the wall with all these people calling for him to step down will not suddenly change their minds to start backing him again.
Besides, think of the attack ads Republicans can run with all these Democrats calling on Biden to exit the race publicly. Not good "optics," as the admen say.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has repeatedly referred to the event as a “big boy” press conference where many reporters will be called upon — with the phrase irking some fellow West Wing staffers, who view it as infantilizing the commander-in-chief.
Biden advocates hope he will provide a lucid and forceful defense of his performance and plans for another four-year term — as he did during his annual State of the Union speech to Congress in March — but fear that anything less will further sink his viability.
The president told Democratic governors at the White House last week that after the debate, he had decided to prevent recurrences of his on-stage issues by avoiding public events after 8 p.m.
Some Democrats don't care how Biden performs during the press conference. They think he's got to go.
The narrative that the President simply had one bad debate performance reflects a continuing pattern of denial and self-delusion.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) July 11, 2024
The President did not just have one “bad debate.” The reality we saw with our own lying eyes is evidence of a deeper challenge.
The notion that…
How many Democrats like Torres have permanently abandoned Biden? How can he possibly think he can win?
The presidency is not a 9-5 job. Patting Biden on the back if he comes through the press conference with few gaffes is not evidence that he's capable. In fact, anyone who isn't scared of Joe Biden in the situation room at 2 a.m. with American lives at stake should have their own head examined.
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