President Joe Biden spent almost an hour responding to reporters' questions and sharing policy ideas shaped by a half-century in office at a news conference to cap a three-day NATO summit in Washington, D.C.
By no means was it a disastrous showing on par with his debate performance two weeks ago, but it wasn't the outstanding performance bound to quell doubts about his fitness for office once and for all, either. Within minutes of the conference ending, several Democrats joined the calls for Biden to drop his re-election bid.
Without a teleprompter, Biden vigorously defended his fitness for officeas he responded to questions about his age and calls for him to step aside. "I think I'm the most qualified person to run for president," he said. Referring to former President Donald Trump, Biden said, "I beat him once, and I will beat him again."
Biden's comments about gun violence, taxes, the war in Ukraine and China's economic leverage over Europe, however, came second to the style and clarity of his delivery.
A notable gaffe came minutes into his first answer to a reporter, when he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump." After the speech, NBC News' Peter Alexander said there was an "audible gasp"from Biden aides and reporters in the room, while one of the president's top aides "just bowed his head."
That came after a similar slip up just hours earlier, when Biden introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin."
Biden aides said that they believed the president showed a command of policy that former President Donald Trump could never hope to match. But the feedback wasn't all optimistic.
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