President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference following the NATO Summit in Washington, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Yesterday, President Joe Biden opened his highly anticipated press conference with a forceful defense of his foreign and domestic policies, and batted away questions about his ability to serve another four years even as he flubbed a reference to Donald Trump in one of his first answers.
Now Biden and his team are continuing on their relentless sprint to persuade lawmakers, donors and voters that he is still up for the job with a trip to Michigan, part of the trio of “blue wall” states that his campaign now says is the clearest path to victory in November.
What to know:
- Press conference takeaways: At yesterday’s news conference, Biden made at least two notable flubs, but he also gave detailed responses about his work to preserve NATO and second term plans. Watch the full stream here.
- Trump’s New York conviction: The former president’s lawyers are pressing a judge to overturn his hush money conviction after the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
- More calls to step aside: Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois became the 16th House Democrat to call on Biden to end his candidacy. Vermont Sen. Peter Welch is the only Democratic senator to say he should step aside.
Biden to visit Detroit, looking to rally supporters in swing state Michigan
President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference July 11, 2024, on the final day of the NATO summit in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In the two weeks since his debate debacle, Biden and his team have been on a relentless sprint to persuade fretting lawmakers, nervous donors and a skeptical electorate that at the age of 81, he is still capable of being president.
Rallying enthusiasm in Detroit and among its sizable Black population could prove decisive for Biden’s chances of winning Michigan, which Biden reclaimed in 2020 after Donald Trump won it in four years prior by just over 10,000 votes.
Bungled names, detailed answers and other key moments from Biden’s press conference
President Joe Biden opened his highly anticipated press conference Thursday with a recitation of his NATO accomplishments during the summit this week as he faced growing calls to withdraw from the presidential race. Biden blasted Trump as he opened the press conference, saying the presumptive GOP opponent has ‘no commitment to NATO’
President Joe Biden faced a test that he had avoided so far this year: a solo news conference with questions from the White House press corps.
He made at least two notable flubs, referring at an event beforehand to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” and then calling Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” when asked about her by a reporter. But he also gave detailed responses about his work to preserve NATO and his plans for a second term.
▶Catch up with the key takeaways and highlights from yesterday’s press conference here.