Biden slips but reasserts his fitness to serve in high-stakes NATO remarks

Joe Biden boasted that he is “the most qualified person to run for president” in a rare news conference Thursday evening, as he fought for his political life amid mounting concerns about his age and mental fitness that have led to calls from fellow Democrats for him to end his re-election campaign.

But, even as he tried to quell doubts about his ability to defeat former president Donald Trump in the election and serve another term, the U.S. President stumbled over his words more than once. He mixed up Vice-President Kamala Harris with Mr. Trump, confused Europe and Asia and, earlier in the day, introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Biden’s news conference took place at the end of a NATO summit in Washington. It was his first major unscripted public appearance since a disastrous debate performance against Mr. Trump two weeks ago ignited efforts by some Democrats to remove him from the presidential ticket.

During the nearly hour-long event, whose length appeared designed to answer concerns about Mr. Biden’s stamina, the President repeatedly fired back at suggestions from reporters that he was too diminished to continue in office or the race.

“I believe I’m the best qualified to govern. And I think I’m the best qualified to win,” he said at one point. At another, he said he was “just going to keep moving because, look, we’ve got more work to do.”

He also insisted that he should be judged by his effectiveness in office, both in passing laws domestically and rallying the world to help Ukraine fight off Russia’s invasion. “I am getting the job done. Can you name me somebody who’s gotten more legislation in three and a half years?” he said. “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job I started.”

The President blamed his poor debate performance on jet lag from seven days earlier, and on an overly busy schedule. “I’ve got to pace myself more,” he said, before jabbing at Mr. Trump.

“My schedule has been full bore. Where has Trump been? Riding around in his golf cart, filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball,” he said.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Biden’s confidence – and his insistence he would not quit the race – would be enough to allay fears. In response to the first question of the evening, for instance, when asked about Ms. Harris’s qualifications for the presidency, he replied: “I wouldn’t have picked Vice-President Trump to be Vice-President did I think she was not qualified to be President.”

In an appearance two hours earlier, while introducing Mr. Zelensky at the NATO summit, Mr. Biden said: “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.” After correcting himself, he said, “I’m so focused on beating Putin, we gotta worry about it. Anyway.”

During many of his news conference answers, Mr. Biden rambled. He appeared to search for words, and at times seemed to be struggling to remember some of his standard stump speech one-liners.

Fears that Mr. Biden lacks the mental acuity to lead the country have dominated the presidential race since the debate. During that encounter with Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden had trouble forming sentences, trailed off at times and stumbled over his words. He also appeared physically diminished, standing with his mouth agape and speaking in a quiet, raspy voice.

At 81 and 78, respectively, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are the two oldest candidates ever to run for president. The worry that Mr. Trump returning to the White House could result in an authoritarian agenda being imposed on the U.S. has heightened Democratic fears about Mr. Biden’s viability as a candidate.

Mr. Biden’s White House has long isolated him from unscripted public interactions. He has hosted the fewest news conferences of any president since Ronald Reagan. And unlike Mr. Trump, who as president often engaged in lengthy, spontaneous question-and-answer sessions at photo-ops, Mr. Biden usually sticks to a short script.

At other NATO events this week, Mr. Biden read off a teleprompter or cue cards – including to give a toast at a Wednesday evening White House dinner – even as other leaders spoke extemporaneously.

So far, more than a dozen members of Congress, one state lieutenant-governor, a former member of cabinet and scores of other party officials have called on Mr. Biden to drop out of the race. Under such a scenario, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month would choose a replacement.

Mr. Biden has refused to drop out of the race, telling members of his party that the matter is closed. He has rallied his party’s congressional Hispanic and Black caucuses and even had progressive firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez back him.

But this week, some of the most respected figures in his party turned up the pressure on him.

Former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested on Morning Joe, a cable news program Mr. Biden is known to watch regularly, that whether Mr. Biden stays in the race is still an open question. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short,” she said, despite Mr. Biden having repeatedly insisted he has made the decision.

The actor George Clooney, who just hosted a major fundraiser for Mr. Biden last month, this week called for him to stand down in a New York Times op-ed. At that fundraiser, Mr. Clooney wrote, Mr. Biden was diminished compared to how he had been in 2010 and 2020.

“He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” Mr. Clooney wrote. “We are not going to win in November with this president.”

On Thursday, Mr. Biden worked to try to turn the focus back to Mr. Trump.

“I’m not having any of my European allies come up here and say, ‘Don’t run.’ They’re saying, ‘You can’t let this guy win. It would be a disaster,’” Mr. Biden said. “He seems to have an affinity for people who are authoritarian.”

In his final answer of the night, when asked about his response to Mr. Trump’s attacks, Mr. Biden seemed to suggest that, whatever his own failings, Mr. Trump’s are far worse. “Listen to him,” he said with a smirk, and walked off the stage.