Joe Biden’s so-called “big boy” press conference on Thursday, July 11, 2024, was an extremely painful watch. The President attended a NATO event in the same venue where the press conference was held just a short time later. He was late to the NATO event, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was not pleased with his tardiness. She made obvious faces and checked her imaginary watch in the meantime. Then, during the NATO event, Biden mistakenly introduced Ukraine President Zelenskyy as “President Putin.” It was a mess.
Since Biden was late to the NATO event, he was also late to the press conference. The original start time was 5:30pm Eastern. That was changed to 6:30 and then 7. Biden finally walked to the teleprompter-flanked podium at about 7:30. He made several verbal mistakes during his talk, including referring to Vice President Harris as Vice President Trump. Still, he sounded much better than the debate. This is most likely because he was aided by teleprompters initially, and the reporters he called on for questioning came from a preapproved list that he acknowledged and read from openly.
Biden has been plagued with “mishaps” over the past few days and weeks leading up to and beyond his abysmal debate performance against President Trump. Democratic elected officials are going on record to say that Biden should step aside and let someone else run. This has sparked rumors of Vice President Kamala Harris stepping in for him at the zero hour. Some say that California Governor Gavin Newsom will run in Biden’s place, but that will create a racial conflict because he would have to leapfrog Kamala Harris to replace Biden.
SOURCES:
Biden says ‘anyway’ at least 9 times while trailing off in press conference | Fox News
Here’s what happened in Biden’s solo news conference | AP News
Biden Fades – The Atlantic
Dems frozen in place after Biden survives press conference – POLITICO
Key moments from Biden’s critical press conference – ABC News
Biden Seeks to Shore Up Election Campaign, Halt Democrat Defections After Press Conference: Live Updates
More Democrats call for Biden to drop out of presidential race | Live Updates from Fox News Digital
Italian PM Meloni rolls eyes as Biden is late to NATO Summit
