Biden Vows to Stay in the Race Despite Party Pressure

In a nearly hourlong news conference last night, President Joe Biden made it clear he has no plans to end his re-election bid, despite increasing calls from within his party to step back and a significant drop in high-dollar fundraising. Addressing why he wasn't passing the baton to a younger generation, the 81-year-old president argued that the "gravity of the situation" necessitated experience.

Initially reading from a teleprompter, Biden attempted to defuse questions about his age and fitness for office. While he provided some cogent responses, he also made a few notable gaffes, such as referring to Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump" and mistakenly calling Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, "President Putin" at a NATO meeting earlier in the day.

Despite these errors, Biden engaged deeply on complex foreign policy issues, speaking for longer than he had in his last two solo news conferences. He highlighted his accomplishments on the world stage, the decline in U.S. inflation, and expressed optimism about an agreement to end the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.

By the Numbers: Biden has held only 14 solo news conferences, the fewest of any president since Ronald Reagan, and this was his first since November.

Political Outreach: The Biden campaign has sent staff members to meet with Democratic lawmakers to calm their concerns. Meanwhile, five more members of the House have called on Biden to step aside. Some Biden aides believe that abandoning his re-election campaign may become inevitable.

Concerns: Democratic voters have long expressed doubts about Biden’s verbal stumbles, dated references, and uneven speaking style. These concerns have only intensified during his presidency.