Top Joe Biden officials struggled to maintain their composure as the president confused Donald Trump with Kamala Harris last night, as dozens of Democratic lawmakers prepared to turn on him.
Biden also confused Ukrainian President Zelensky with his arch-enemy Vladimir Putin in a disastrous news conference as his fellow Democrats launched a coordinated effort to publicize their demands that he drop out of the White House race.
The president has been warned he now faces a “brutal” 48 hours.
Former President Barack Obama held emergency talks with Nancy Pelosi, who had been urging Biden’s critics to remain silent ahead of last night’s crucial NATO news conference.
Biden’s cabinet may have hoped the worst would be over after its boss confused Russian President Putin with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
Democratic sources said the president faces a brutal 48 hours as dozens of Democratic lawmakers make public calls for him to step down after his gaffe-plagued NATO news conference.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (left), Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan struggled to contain their reactions to the president’s latest gaffe.
But the cameras were focused on Anthony Blinken, Lloyd Austin and national security adviser Jake Sullivan as the president made arguably his worst gaffe of the night.
“I would not have chosen Vice President Trump as my vice president,” Biden told the watching world. “Do I think she’s not qualified to be president? Let’s start there, first of all.”
Sullivan put his hand to his mouth and Secretary of State Blinken let his gaze fall sadly into the distance as the president poured gasoline on his re-election chances.
Only Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin seemed to control his features, staring unblinkingly at the commander in chief and even attempting a slight nod of agreement.
The trio had a front-row seat at the news conference at the end of the NATO conference on Thursday night, when calls for their resignation reached new intensity.
The president insisted he would remain in the race, rejected claims he is unfit to serve and said there are no polls showing he would lose to Trump in the November general election.
But his performance did nothing to calm his critics, and another lawmaker, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, called on Biden to withdraw from his campaign just minutes after the news conference ended.
CBS quoted four Democratic Party members as saying a coordinated party rebellion is now underway that they hope will force Biden to step down by the middle of next week.
Obama had previously sought to calm Democrats’ nerves following Biden’s disastrous presidential debate with Donald Trump last month, insisting that “bad debate nights happen.”
Democrats Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi held emergency talks on Biden’s future as their previous support for the president appeared to be fading.
Donald Trump was quick to mock his rival’s latest mistakes
But the 44th president reportedly did nothing to stop his friend George Clooney from publishing his virulent op-ed demanding Biden’s recall earlier this week.
Pelosi had also pledged loyalty but told MSNBC she would support Biden’s decision when he made it, days after he insisted he already had.
Two teleprompt screens, a list of vetted reporters and press aides with microphones ready to mute tough questions set the stage for last night’s news conference.
Yet even with screen railings, protesting aides and an opening statement, Biden struggled at times with a raspy throat, flubbed lines and erratic responses.
He answered questions from 10 reporters and spoke for an hour on topics ranging from the Democratic convention and his health to long-range weapons for Ukraine and how to confront the rise of China.
His allies and worried Democratic supporters wanted proof that he was still up to the job.
He opened his news conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, where world leaders were marking NATO’s 75th anniversary, with a rambling, scripted speech about the importance of alliances and a list of his accomplishments in office.
But then came his first big blunder of the night when he introduced the president of Ukraine.
“Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” he said before realizing that what he wanted to introduce was President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is currently at war with Putin.
There was a gasp in the room. Some people shouted the correct name as the leader of the free world tried to move.
“No, we are going to defeat Putin,” he said, as if to suggest he simply had Putin in his head rather than suffering a moment of superiority.
The room full of about 100 journalists, all with phones in hand and prepared texts of questions, grew nervous, fearing that his “press conference” would merely be a chance to talk to them and then leave.
“With that, I’ll take your questions,” Biden said to the almost audible relief of his audience.
Biden’s latest press conference gaffes sparked a wave of memes
The pained reaction from Biden’s top officials did not escape observers on social media.
‘I’ve been given a list of people to call here: Reuters, Jeff Mason.’
He was immediately asked about George Clooney’s explosive intervention the day before, calling for him to step aside, and about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who suggested there was still time to decide whether to go in or out.
“There’s a long way to go in this campaign,” Biden said. “So I’m going to keep going, keep going.”
“And because, look, I have more work to do. We have more work to finish this.”
If Biden’s future depended on the NATO summit in Washington, it was partly because that was what Biden wanted.
“I think a good way to judge me,” he told George Stephanopoulos on ABC last week, would be to see me at the summit.
Following his disastrous debate performance, some experts, including Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a prominent CNN commentator, urged Biden to take a cognitive test.
Biden last night reflected on the benefits of age, though he dismissed concerns about his stiff gait, which has sparked long-distance speculation on the Internet about symptoms associated with Parkinson’s.
“I have a little problem with my left foot because I broke it and I didn’t wear the boot,” Biden said, referring to the fracture he suffered in 2020.
“The only thing age does is create a little wisdom if you pay attention,” Biden said.
But by the end, memes depicting “Vice President Trump” were flooding the internet and the pained reaction from Biden’s top officials was already attracting scorn and admiration in equal measure.
“That’s the ‘damn, I need to update my resume…’ look,” wrote one Twitter user.
Biden has spent this week surrounded by the pomp and gravitas of NATO. On Wednesday he hosted allied heads of state and government at the White House.
A mixture of admiration and contempt greeted officials’ attempts to maintain calm.
“Jake Sullivan just watched billions of dollars of NSA and CIA pet projects disappear right now,” wrote another.
“Lloyd Austin was very cold. That was impressive.”
Blinken came under particular scrutiny after he was seen vigorously shaking his head at undiplomatic comments from his boss calling China’s Xi Jinping a “dictator” at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November last year.
And Donald Trump was quick to weigh in with his reaction to Biden’s latest gaffes.
‘Crooked Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ press conference with ‘I would not have picked VP Trump to be VP, even though I believe she was not qualified to be President,’ he wrote.
‘Good job, Joe!’
Biden’s X account tried to make the most of it, writing in response: “By the way: yes, I know the difference. One is a prosecutor and the other is a criminal.”