President Biden will hold a separate press conference today — his first since November — to wrap up the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night, one of his biggest public tests since last month’s impasse. Discussion performance That has caused alarm among Democrats on Capitol Hill and raised questions about whether he should be the party’s 2024 presidential nominee.
The president admitted he had what he called a “bad night” in the debate and is trying to prove he can be the nominee and defeat former President Donald Trump.
What sparked this concern about Biden’s campaign?
when Discussion, Mr. Biden, 81, stammered early on, his voice poised to break out. His campaign later said he was suffering from a cold. His voice barely recovered throughout the 90-minute debate, and he failed to respond effectively to many False statements During the debate, Trump lost his train of thought at times. At one point, he struggled to name Medicare while answering a question about the tax rate for the wealthiest Americans, then said, “We finally beat Medicare.”
Mr. Biden’s campaign hoped to assuage concerns about his age with an early debate, but instead, that performance now threatens his political future.
Recently, Mr. Biden said NATO summit It may be a test of his fitness for office Democrats on Capitol HillDemocratic governors and even world leaders will be watching.
“Who can hold NATO together like I can,” the president challenged ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. Interview Last week. He added, “I think a good way to judge me is that you’re going to have a NATO conference in America next week. Come. See what they have to say.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, told the Washington Post that the NATO summit “gives [Mr. Biden] It’s an opportunity to showcase his leadership and foreign policy credentials, and the press conference gives him an opportunity to address concerns.”
The president has refused to agree to take an in-depth neurocognitive test, telling Stephanopoulos on Friday that every day in office is a cognitive test.
“I run the world,” the president said.
Except for ABC News interviews, the president relies heavily on teleprompters to deliver speeches. Some Democrats have called on the president to hold a press conference soon, saying they want to see the president on the campaign trail without a script and meet him in person.
What time is Biden’s press conference scheduled to start today?
The president’s press conference is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. ET, although the timing may be delayed. Mr. Biden’s day is filled with working sessions with world leaders gathered for the summit.
What happened to NATO?
Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to be a major theme for NATO, as Mr. Biden and other world leaders say Russia won’t stop. Ukraine. The President announced that the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy will provide air defense equipment to Ukraine. In the coming months, the United States and its partners will deliver dozens of additional tactical air defense systems to Ukraine, he said.
“We know Putin will not stop in Ukraine. But make no mistake — Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” the president said of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Latest updates on the President’s health
The president has not been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease or any other serious neurological disorder, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said this week.
On Tuesday, Jean-Pierre, Walter Reed neurologist Dr. Kevin Connard said his visit to the White House in January was not intended to treat the president. But on Tuesday night, the Associated Press reported that Conard had met with Mr Biden at the White House in January. Then Jean-Pierre issued a statement Conard actually met the president at the White House in January, but only as part of his annual physical, the rest of which was completed in February.
Despite concerns from voters and some Democrats, the White House and the president say he has four more years in the job.
How is Biden polling against Trump?
A CBS News poll found Mr. Biden slipped a bit, but was still within the margin of error. Trump is now Mr. He has a 3-point edge over Biden Battleground states Collectively, and a 2-point edge nationally. That’s because Democrats said they were less likely than Republicans to vote “definitely.”
CBS News
Mr. Biden has cast doubt on polling and his low approval numbers. When Stephanopoulos said he had never seen a president re-elected with a 36% approval rating, the president responded that he didn’t believe that number.
“Well, I don’t believe that’s my approval rating,” the president told Stephanopoulos. “Our polls don’t show that,” he said, though he declined to provide specific numbers.
