Eli Stokols
·4 min read
President Joe Biden is set to take the stage within two hours for a “big boy press conference” to close out the three-day NATO summit, a traditional capstone for leaders after high-level diplomatic talks.
But exactly two weeks after his disastrous debate with Donald Trump in Atlanta, the president’s performance is freighted with immense pressure — which only grew in the hours leading up to it with published reports that some of his strongest political allies harbor doubts about his continued candidacy.
And yet, for all the hype surrounding the moment — in addition to the typical cable coverage, the three major broadcast networks are planning special reports to carry it live — it may not matter much at all.
Even if he speaks crisply and delivers his unscripted responses with vigor, it may not be enough to dispel the doubts about his political viability — doubts that have grown over the last two weeks due to Biden world’s crisis response, not to mention his sinking poll numbers and faltering fundraising. And if he does stumble, that could offer dozens of Democrats who’ve publicly reserved judgment all the rationale they need to publicly call for him to pass the torch.
At least six House Democrats are prepared to call on Biden to decline the nomination if the press conference goes poorly.
“It feels like a lose-lose situation for him,” said one former senior administration official granted anonymity to speak about the situation candidly. “There’s just no performance he can deliver that will allay the concerns.”
Still, as Democrats continue to weigh how forcefully and publicly to urge Biden to abandon his bid for a second term, few are likely to dispute the story he can tell about his global leadership or disagree with his strong assertion of democratic values. Biden has delivered on his 2020 pledge to revitalize America’s alliances and helped orchestrate a coordinated NATO response to the war in Ukraine that has held the line against Russian forces for nearly two and a half years.
In the hours leading up to the press conference, senior aides continued to work feverishly to head off a broader rebellion and concerns from within their own ranks. Meanwhile, more lawmakers went public with qualms about Biden’s candidacy, including Reps. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) who urged him to drop out, and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who rejected the Biden team’s contention that last month’s debate should be chalked up to one “bad night.
“The reality we saw with our own lying eyes is evidence of a deeper challenge,” Torres wrote in a long post on X. “The notion that the President is going to be saved by this interview or that press conference misses the forest for trees.”
Biden’s most trusted aides believe that a strong performance could keep some of the Democratic lawmakers with reservations from speaking out publicly. Beyond that, they hope a strong articulation of shared values and forceful responses to tough questions will reassure those questioning his stamina and ability to keep doing the job.
Inside the White House, there have also been numerous discussions about what actually qualifies as a “big boy” press conference. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has continued to use that phrasing to describe Thursday night’s presser ever since Bloomberg reporter Justin Sink asked whether the format would be limited to just a couple questions or a longer back-and-forth.
Setting aside any questions about echoing that infantilizing language from the White House podium, there is the question of how many questions Biden should take. In discussions with White House Correspondents Association board members, officials signaled the president would take around four questions. But another person familiar with internal conversations said that aides are hopeful Biden will be able to call on 6-7 people, depending on the number of follow-up questions he receives, the length of his answers and how skillfully press wrangler Sonja Thrasher is at wrestling the microphone back from reporters.
Senior adviser Anita Dunn, that person said, was working over the last 24 hours to finalize the list of reporters Biden will call on. All in all, the expectation among aides is that the press conference will last around a half hour or so.
“No matter what he does, it’ll never be enough for the press corps or those people who want him to step aside,” said a second former administration official also granted anonymity to talk about the situation. “And anyone who pretends after this that it’s the thing that convinced them he needs to step down — those people are cowards. If you think that, fine, but you should have said so before now.”
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