Watch live: Biden holds press conference at NATO Summit tonight
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President Biden holds his high-stakes solo news conference Thursday night, which is expected to be his biggest political moment since the first presidential debate two weeks ago.
Why it matters: Biden's every word and move will be dissected and every mangled sentence scrutinized, Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in their latest Behind the Curtain column.
State of play: Biden has repeatedly said that he's not dropping out of the 2024 race and dismissed calls to step aside following a poor debate performance that set off a panic among some members of his own party.
- He sent a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday saying it's time to "end" the pressure on him to withdraw.
- The drop-Biden movement gained momentum Wednesday when George Clooney wrote in a New York Times op-ed that Biden should step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee.
- Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shook Congress by saying she's waiting for Biden to make a final decision on running.
Plus: House Democrats are poised to issue a flood of new calls urging him to exit the race regardless of his NATO press conference, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.
Watch Biden's press conference live
Zoom in: Thursday's press conference will be streamed live on YouTube like other White House events.
- Axios is posting live updates during the press conference here.
Time of Biden press conference today
Biden's press conference was scheduled to start at 6:30pm ET Thursday, July 11 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
- The Associated Press reports Biden is scheduled to take questions from the White House press corps "no earlier than 7 p.m. ET Thursday" and said it could "begin even later than 7 p.m., depending on how events at NATO move along."
- His last solo press conference was in November 2023 after he met Chinese President Xi Jinping in California.
Where to watch Biden press conference
The big picture: Major television networks — CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC — are expected to break away from scheduled programming to carry the press conference live.
- Cable news channels also are expected to air the event live.
- C-SPAN says it will carry the press conference live online, on C-SPAN 1 and its radio station.
Biden's Lester Holt interview on NBC set for Monday
What's next: Biden will sit for an interview with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt on Monday, July 15, the network announced Wednesday.
- It'll air as a prime-time special at 9pm ET on NBC and will stream on NBC News NOW.
More from Axios:
- Biden accidentally calls Zelensky "President Putin" at NATO summit
- George Clooney shares "devastating" feedback on Biden
- Biden's post-debate outreach falls flat with Nikki Haley supporters
- Biden's high-stakes press conference: Mad media vs. unscripted president
Editor's note: This story was updated with an update on the press conference's timing.
