In what was hyped as a make-or-break press conference Thursday evening, President Joe Biden made a reference to “Vice President Trump” right off the bat and appeared to call a top U.S. military officer the “commander in chief,” a title usually reserved for the president.
Biden talked about his success on the global stage at the top of the press conference, held at the conclusion of the 75th anniversary NATO summit in Washington. He also slammed former President Donald Trump, claiming his opponent “has no commitment to NATO.”
Biden appeared to lose his train of thought at least 10 times over almost an hour, interrupting himself or trailing off by saying, “Anyway … ”
After opening remarks focused on NATO and foreign policy, Biden said: “With that, I’ll take your questions. I’ve been given a list of people to call on here.” The president held up a small sheet of paper.
He was asked first whether he thought Vice President Kamala Harris was ready to be president.
“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn’t think she was not qualified to be president,” Biden replied.
Biden later said: “She’s qualified to be president.” He took a reporter’s question about what makes Harris qualified.
“The way she’s handled the issue of freedom of women’s bodies,” Biden replied in an apparent reference to Harris’ support for abortion. “Secondly, her ability to handle almost any issue on the board.”
Amid Democrats’ growing concerns about Biden’s capacity to stay in the race against Trump, who is expected to accept the Republican nomination next week, the president told reporters that nobody is telling him he can’t possibly beat Trump in November.
“I’m determined on running,” the president said. When asked about a cognitive test, Biden said, “I’ve taken three significant and intense neurological exams.”
Later in the press conference, Biden attacked Project 2025, a plan for the next conservative presidential administration led by The Heritage Foundation with help from over 100 other conservative groups.
The president also attacked the Supreme Court, where Trump created a strong conservative majority by appointing three justices to fill vacancies.
“Do you think our democracy is under siege based on this court? Do you think it is under siege based on Project 2025?” Biden said, before adding: “We have never been here before. That is why I didn’t hand off to another generation, I have to finish this job because there’s so much at stake.”
In another misidentification, Biden mentioned consulting with his military advisers about supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend itself against Russia, which invaded in early 2022.
“Our military is working. I’m following the advice of my commander in chief—the chief of staff of the military—as well as the secretary of defense, and our intelligence people,” Biden said. “And we are making a day-to-day basis on how far they should go in.”
Biden apparently was talking about Ukraine’s possible entry into Russian territory as it fights back. It wasn’t clear whether he was referring to his defense secretary’s chief of staff or the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom he appointed.
Earlier in the evening, at NATO closing ceremonies, Biden introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the audience as “President Putin” before quickly correcting himself.
During the press conference, Biden fielded questions about his mental fitness for office, which suddenly became an issue after his June 27 debate with Trump, judged by many as disastrous for the incumbent.
Biden noted he was in “15 time zones” the week before the debate on CNN.
“It would be smarter for me to pace myself more,” he said, implying at one point that he worked from 7 a.m. to midnight.
“I love my staff, but they add things,” Biden said, speaking of his schedule. “They add things all the time at the very end. I’m catching hell from my wife for that.”
Ken McIntyre contributed to this report, which may be updated.
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