Washington, A defiant US President Joe Biden has insisted he is “determined” and capable of seeking re-election and defeating his Republican rival Donald Trump in November, even as two egregious errors marred his efforts to dismiss concerns about his age and physical condition.
During a high-stakes solo news conference Thursday at the conclusion of the NATO Summit here, Biden said no poll or person tells him he can't currently win re-election. That's the only way he would consider ending his presidential bid.
“I am determined to run,” said Biden, 81, the oldest sitting U.S. president. “The fact is, the consideration is that I believe I am the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him (Trump) once and I will beat him again. Secondly...the idea of senators and congressmen running for office worrying about the ballot is not unusual and I might add, there have been at least five running presidents or sitting presidents who had lower numbers than I have now. later in a campaign,” Biden said. saying.
“So there's a long way to go in this campaign, so I'm going to keep moving forward, I'm going to keep moving forward,” he said.
Toward the beginning of the question-and-answer session, Biden mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as former President Trump amid growing questions about her mental acuity. He said Harris was also qualified to be president, although he mistakenly named her in the back.
"I would not have chosen Vice President Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president," Biden said.
He made a similar mistake earlier in the day, accidentally calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin” while introducing him during a NATO event. He continued to defy pleas from a growing number of Democrats to resign. the Democratic list.
Asked if he was determined to stay in the race despite the fears of some Democratic lawmakers, Biden said: “I am determined to run, but I think it's important for me to realize that allaying fears by seeing: being seen out there. Let them accompany me.”
He said his campaign was strong and he worked hard in "battleground states"...look, I have more work to do. We have more work to finish. We've made a lot of progress. Think about where we are economically in relation to the rest of the world. "Name me a world leader who wouldn't. We want to trade places with our economy. We created more than 800,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector... so things are moving forward," the president said.
“Working class people still need help. Corporate greed is still at large. Corporate profits have doubled since the pandemic. They are going down and that is why I am optimistic about where things are going,” he stated.
Biden added that he is seeking his re-election not because of his legacy. “I am in this to complete the work I started. As you remember, it is understandable that many of you and many economists thought that my initial initiatives that I presented couldn't do that because they were going to cause inflation. Things are going to explode. The debt is going to increase. What are you hearing now from traditional economists?
“Sixteen Nobel laureates in economics said that I have done a great job, that according to my plan so far and what will happen in the future if I am re-elected, things are going to get a lot better. Our economy is growing. "When I was elected I was determined to stop the economic theory that if the rich did very well, everyone else would do well," the president said.
Biden refuted reports that he told aides he needed to go to bed earlier and end meetings around 8 p.m. “That's not true... what I said was, instead of starting every day at 7 p.m. and go to bed at midnight, it would be smarter for me to pace myself a little more. And I said, for example, the 8:00, 7:00, 6:00 things, instead of starting the fundraiser at 9:00, start at 8:00. People can go home at 10:00. That’s what I’m talking about,” he said.
Asked what changed his mind when he said in 2020 that he would be the bridge candidate for a younger, fresher generation of Democratic leaders, Biden said: “What changed was the severity of the situation that I inherited in terms of the economy, our foreign policy and internal division.”
Biden also offered extensive comments on thorny foreign policy issues, including competition with China and the war between Israel and Hamas. He said he had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to occupy the Gaza Strip.
He said he was in direct contact with Chinese President Xi Jinping to warn him against offering further support for Russia's war in Ukraine, but not with Vladimir Putin, to whom he told: "I have no reason to talk to him at this time."
Biden said he was totally opposed to the occupation and the attempt to unite Afghanistan. He said the United States should have left the country after killing Osama bin Laden. “There is no need to occupy any place. Go after the people who did the work. You may remember that I still get criticized for it, but I was totally opposed to the occupation and the attempt to unite Afghanistan,” he told reporters at a news conference.
"Once we had bin Laden, we should have moved on because he wasn't in our ... and no one is ever going to unite that country," he said.
“I've gone over every inch of it, not every inch, but everything from the poppy fields to the north. I said don't make the same mistake we made. Don't think that what you should do is double down,” he said. Meanwhile, three House Democrats — Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, Scott Peters of California and Eric Sorensen of Illinois — joined others Thursday in call on President Biden to step aside from the 2024 race after the press conference.
Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, argued that Biden should make the decision to suspend his campaign so as not to risk his legacy.
Trump, seeking his second term, also mocked Biden. “Crooked Joe begins his 'Big Boy' press conference by saying, 'I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, even though I don't think she was qualified to be vice president.' be president,' Trump, 78, posted on her social media platform. Social Truth.
During a high-stakes solo news conference Thursday at the conclusion of the NATO Summit here, Biden said no poll or person tells him he can't currently win re-election. That's the only way he would consider ending his presidential bid.
“I am determined to run,” said Biden, 81, the oldest sitting U.S. president. “The fact is, the consideration is that I believe I am the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him (Trump) once and I will beat him again. Secondly...the idea of senators and congressmen running for office worrying about the ballot is not unusual and I might add, there have been at least five running presidents or sitting presidents who had lower numbers than I have now. later in a campaign,” Biden said. saying.
“So there's a long way to go in this campaign, so I'm going to keep moving forward, I'm going to keep moving forward,” he said.
Toward the beginning of the question-and-answer session, Biden mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as former President Trump amid growing questions about her mental acuity. He said Harris was also qualified to be president, although he mistakenly named her in the back.
"I would not have chosen Vice President Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president," Biden said.
He made a similar mistake earlier in the day, accidentally calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin” while introducing him during a NATO event. He continued to defy pleas from a growing number of Democrats to resign. the Democratic list.
Asked if he was determined to stay in the race despite the fears of some Democratic lawmakers, Biden said: “I am determined to run, but I think it's important for me to realize that allaying fears by seeing: being seen out there. Let them accompany me.”
He said his campaign was strong and he worked hard in "battleground states"...look, I have more work to do. We have more work to finish. We've made a lot of progress. Think about where we are economically in relation to the rest of the world. "Name me a world leader who wouldn't. We want to trade places with our economy. We created more than 800,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector... so things are moving forward," the president said.
“Working class people still need help. Corporate greed is still at large. Corporate profits have doubled since the pandemic. They are going down and that is why I am optimistic about where things are going,” he stated.
Biden added that he is seeking his re-election not because of his legacy. “I am in this to complete the work I started. As you remember, it is understandable that many of you and many economists thought that my initial initiatives that I presented couldn't do that because they were going to cause inflation. Things are going to explode. The debt is going to increase. What are you hearing now from traditional economists?
“Sixteen Nobel laureates in economics said that I have done a great job, that according to my plan so far and what will happen in the future if I am re-elected, things are going to get a lot better. Our economy is growing. "When I was elected I was determined to stop the economic theory that if the rich did very well, everyone else would do well," the president said.
Biden refuted reports that he told aides he needed to go to bed earlier and end meetings around 8 p.m. “That's not true... what I said was, instead of starting every day at 7 p.m. and go to bed at midnight, it would be smarter for me to pace myself a little more. And I said, for example, the 8:00, 7:00, 6:00 things, instead of starting the fundraiser at 9:00, start at 8:00. People can go home at 10:00. That’s what I’m talking about,” he said.
Asked what changed his mind when he said in 2020 that he would be the bridge candidate for a younger, fresher generation of Democratic leaders, Biden said: “What changed was the severity of the situation that I inherited in terms of the economy, our foreign policy and internal division.”
Biden also offered extensive comments on thorny foreign policy issues, including competition with China and the war between Israel and Hamas. He said he had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to occupy the Gaza Strip.
He said he was in direct contact with Chinese President Xi Jinping to warn him against offering further support for Russia's war in Ukraine, but not with Vladimir Putin, to whom he told: "I have no reason to talk to him at this time."
Biden said he was totally opposed to the occupation and the attempt to unite Afghanistan. He said the United States should have left the country after killing Osama bin Laden. “There is no need to occupy any place. Go after the people who did the work. You may remember that I still get criticized for it, but I was totally opposed to the occupation and the attempt to unite Afghanistan,” he told reporters at a news conference.
"Once we had bin Laden, we should have moved on because he wasn't in our ... and no one is ever going to unite that country," he said.
“I've gone over every inch of it, not every inch, but everything from the poppy fields to the north. I said don't make the same mistake we made. Don't think that what you should do is double down,” he said. Meanwhile, three House Democrats — Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, Scott Peters of California and Eric Sorensen of Illinois — joined others Thursday in call on President Biden to step aside from the 2024 race after the press conference.
Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, argued that Biden should make the decision to suspend his campaign so as not to risk his legacy.
Trump, seeking his second term, also mocked Biden. “Crooked Joe begins his 'Big Boy' press conference by saying, 'I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, even though I don't think she was qualified to be vice president.' be president,' Trump, 78, posted on her social media platform. Social Truth.
