Biden's "mixed" NATO presser wasn't enough for Capitol Hill
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President Biden yesterday at a press conference at the NATO summit in D.C. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.
Democrats who were bracing for the worst out of President Biden's press conference at the NATO summit instead saw a passable performance – but it doesn't appear to have calmed Capitol Hill's panic around his candidacy.
Why it matters: The number of lawmakers calling for Biden to end his campaign practically doubled on Thursday, with multiple statements coming shortly after the press conference wrapped.
- "We must put forth the strongest candidate possible ... I no longer believe that is Joe Biden," said Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
- Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) said in a statement: "The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course. My conscience requires me to speak up."
- Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), a swing-district freshman, said: "In 2020, Joe Biden ran for President with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again."
What happened: Biden suffered several attention-grabbing gaffes that hobbled him from the start on Thursday.
- He referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "President Putin," before the press conference, and to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump" while answering the first questions.
- One House Democrat told Axios the second slip-up had members "groaning," with others exclaiming in the moment "this is over" and "this is so sad."
Between the lines: By most accounts, the rest of the press conference was tolerable and demonstrated that the 81-year-old president retains a grasp of complex foreign policy issues despite his age.
- The thinking out of Biden world is that the president delivered what congressional Democrats were looking for and then some.
- Substance – not style – should be the word of the day, they believe, while also viewing Biden's upcoming interviews and events in Michigan and Nevada as far more pivotal to his reelection than the press conference.
What they're saying: One House Democrat who has been skeptical of Biden's chances of winning the election told Axios that their overall impression was "mixed," describing it as "cringes to start, much better second half."
- "If this had been the debate, none of the last two weeks would've happened," said another, while complaining that Biden "talked too long."
- "Overall he sounded coherent," a third House Democrat told Axios, but his misspeaking about Zelensky and Harris "overshadows the rest of his time."
Zoom in: Some lawmakers offered more unequivocal praise. "I think he did a great job," said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who previously told Axios the press conference "could trip him up."
- Cohen said Biden showed "a knowledge of foreign policy" that is "unsurpassed," and that "he knows the issues ... he knows the players."
- "I've been fired up for the President's re-election and his masterful display this evening only invigorates me more," said Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.).
Yes, but: Some lawmakers had a far less rosy answer to the question of whether Biden's performance will be enough to stem the tide of statements calling for his withdrawal.
- One senior House Democrat, asked it the press conference would quiet the uproar on Capitol Hill, told Axios "probably not," while another said "not quite, but almost."
- Said another House Democrat: "Tonight he looked better than the debate, but still not enough to recover and beat Donald Trump."
The bottom line: To many lawmakers staring down drastic polling data, uproarious constituents and panicking donors, their concerns with Biden are about more than one event.
- It is "silly to wait for one press conference ... to be determinative," Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) said before the press conference, because many voters have "made up their minds" about Biden's mental fitness.
- "The cake is baked," he said.
