Worthy Christian News > US News > Frail Biden Hits Back At Trump But Does Not Exclude Stepping Aside

Frail Biden Hits Back At Trump But Does Not Exclude Stepping Aside

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Frail U.S. President Joe Biden, who is under intense scrutiny amid questions over his age and cognitive capabilities, tried to convince reporters on Thursday that he is in good health and the best candidate to beat Donald J. Trump.

However, in a turnaround, the 81-year-old Biden suggested he would consider stepping aside if it became clear he could not beat Trump in the upcoming elections.

In a defiant hour-long press conference, Biden stressed that he was the best commander-in-chief to lead the NATO military alliance during the war in Ukraine.

“Some of you forgot that he [Trump] called it genius” when Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. Biden recalled that Putin thought he could overrun even Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital and the center of national political power.

However, more than two years later, the president said Kyiv is still standing, and NATO is stronger than ever. He commented at the end of NATO’s 75th-anniversary summit, where diplomats expressed concern that this may have been Biden’s last gathering of the Western military alliance.

However, the president stood firm in the rare solo appearance before reporters, who asked repeated questions about the crisis engulfing his candidacy. “I’ve gotta finish the job,” he said.

However, the conference was also marred by occasional verbal mistakes, including mistakenly referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.”

PAINFUL MOMENT

Earlier in the evening, there was another painful moment when the president introduced Ukraine’s leader as Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a NATO event.

It triggered gasps in the room, but Biden quickly corrected himself, saying: “I am so focused on beating President Putin, we are up worry about it. Anyway, mister president,” he said while shaking hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said: “I am better [than President Putin] prompting Biden to answer: “You’re a hell lot better.”

Yet the gaffs underscored concerns within his own Democratic Party, where prominent members have called for him to stand aside after his disastrous debate against Trump last month fuelled concerns over his age.

However, a senior Democrat has defended Biden’s gaffes, which have dominated the headlines. “Sometimes, I can’t even remember my kid’s names because I’m so tired,” Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison told the MSNBC network. “We’ve got to stop the nitpicking and then focus on the work ahead. This guy has done it, he’s done it in the past,” Harrison said.

Former President Trump was back on his Truth Social media platform to poke fun at Biden’s performance at the NATO press conference. He referred to when the president mistakenly identified Trump as his vice president rather than Kamala Harris.

“Crooked Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ Press Conference with, ‘I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social, mocking the president’s gaffe. “Great job, Joe!” he added.

Biden responded on his X platform account: “Yes, I know the difference. One’s a prosecutor, and the other’s a felon.”

LONG CAREER

Harris started her career as a prosecutor in California in the 1990s before being elected the state’s attorney general.

Trump was found guilty of business fraud at his hush-money trial in May and is awaiting sentencing – though his lawyers asked the judge to toss out the verdict after the U.S. Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.

In a separate Truth Social post, Trump, 78, made fun of Biden mistakenly saying commander-in-chief instead of chief-of-staff and posted a clip of the moment with the caption “Crooked Joe.”

At the press conference, Biden said he needs to “pace myself a little more” when pressed on how he is up to the 24/7 nature of the presidency, but he argued that he is kept busy while his 2024 rival is not.

“Since I made that stupid mistake in the campaign — in the debate, I mean, my schedule has been full-bore,” Biden said.
“Where has Trump been? Riding on his golf cart and filling out his scorecard?” Biden said. “He has done virtually nothing. I’ve had roughly 20 major events, some with thousands of people showing up.”

Biden explained that he is always inclined to “keep going” and that his staff always add events.

BEST QUALIFIED?

Biden has long argued that he alone can defeat Trump after having done so in 2020. “I think I am the best qualified—I know—I believe I’m the best qualified to govern,” Biden said. And I think I am the best qualified to win.”

“But there are other people who could beat Trump, too,” he acknowledged before quickly adding that it would be “hard” for Democrats to start from the beginning.

A reporter then asked Biden if he would reconsider his decision to stay in the race if his team showed him polling data that Vice President Harris would fare better against Trump. “No, unless they came back and said there is no way you could win. Me,” Biden said. “No one’s saying that. No poll says that.”

When asked if he would take a cognitive test before the election, Biden said he would if his doctor advised him he needed one. Biden stressed that he had taken three “significant” neurological exams during his presidency, most recently in February.

“They say I am in good shape,” he said. He then reiterated that he is tested “every single day” on his neurological capacity by simply doing his job as commander-in-chief.

“And I’ll ask you another question: no matter what I did, no one’s going to be satisfied,” Biden added. “Did you have seven [doctors]? Did you have two? Who’d you have? Did you do this? How many times did you — so, I am not opposed if my doctors told me I should have another neurological exam, I’ll do it. But that’s where I am.”

A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found Biden continues to run evenly with Trump: If the election were held today, Americans would be divided 46-47 percent between Biden and Trump.

If Vice President Harris were to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee, the poll found that Harris would lead Trump at 49-46 percent among all adults and 49-47 percent among registered voters. Yet, with questions raised about the Biden-Harris campaign, there seemed little time left for the president and his donors to unite.