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Biden's odd response when asked about George Clooney's stunning call for him to step back: 'AFL-CIO. Go, go, go!'
President Joe Biden faced a barrage of questions during his meeting Wednesday with new British PM Keir Starmer about George Clooney’s stunning op-ed calling for him to step aside.
Biden’s response, as he faces calls in Congress to step down, was to say: ‘AFL-CIO. Go, go, go!’ His response suggests he puts more stock in the powerful labor union, which issued a statement saying it stood in ‘strong solidarity’ with him on July 3, following his debate fiasco.
The cacophony in the Oval Office came as reporters got their first sustained chance to ask Biden about the Hollywood star's call for him to step down from the race – just weeks after helping him haul in nearly $30 million at an L.A. fundraiser.
He is certain to face more questions on the matter when he holds what the White House is now calling a 'big boy press conference' on Thursday at the NATO summit he is hosting in Washington.
'Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024,' Clooney wrote in his bombshell New York Times op-ed.
'I love Joe Biden ... But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe 'big F-ing deal' Biden of 2010. He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,' he said.
Biden was questioned about actor George Clooney's call for him to step back from his reelection run
Biden's meeting with Starmer, and the brief press availability at the top of the sit-down, was his latest opportunity to demonstrate he has what it takes to win in November.
Starmer congratulated Biden on a 'really successful summit.' The two men bantered about soccer – Biden noted that the two countries use different words for the sport, and Starmer spoke about watching part of the EuroCup semifinal with his Dutch counterpart.
Biden offered a banal response, saying: '. ‘By the way, soccer has become incredibly popular here in the United States.'
Starmer spoke about the 'special relationship' between the U.S. and Great Britain.
'There's a lot going on seeking closer ties with Europe. Good for all of us, the transatlantic alliance. I think it's a great idea that we're going to be working together on,' Biden said.
Biden pointed to his labor backing in response to the setback
Lifelong Democrat George Clooney called on Biden to step aside from the 2024 race after his disastrous debate even after helping him haul in $28 million at a June fundraiser
With his own political future on the line, Biden went back to his diplomatic wheelhouse and glad-handed world leaders at the NATO summit in Washington Wednesday.
After a string of elected Democrats called on Biden to step down, the president is using the summit he is hosting in Washington to try to demonstrate his mastery of the global scene as well as the vigor critics in his own party found absent during his Atlanta debate disaster.
He scheduled a high-powered meeting with Britain's new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey. It was their first official meeting since Starmer's Labour Party ended 14 years of conservative rule.
Earlier, Biden welcomed leaders of the 31 NATO countries for a series of grip-and-grin photos, joined by outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shook hands.
Among them was Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who played host to Biden and other G7 nations while hosting that summit in Bari, Italy.
A clip of the two went viral when it showed Meloni placing her hands on Biden's arm and guiding him back toward a group of leaders for a photo after a parachute demonstration, after Biden walked a few feet away to speak to a parachutist nearby.
Right this way: President Joe Biden greeted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the NATO summit in Washington. She hosted him last month at the G7 in Bari, Italy, guiding him toward a photo-op at one point
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called it a 'cheap fake' when asked about it by DailyMail.com. 'The President walked over to give a thumbs up to divers who had just landed right in front of him,' she said at a press briefing last month.
The Starmer meeting in the Oval Office was an opportunity for Biden to begin relations with the the first Labour government in 14 years on a firm footing.
In a sign of how carefully the White House is watching the optics of the confab, the White House pushed back when a Republican National Committee X account compared him to a 'wax figure' with a short video clip from the summit.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates posted the RNC's video, which is closely cropped, and added his own link. That link shows the president waiting and standing, arms at his side, before greeting and shaking hands with German Prime Minister Olaf Scholtz.
Biden grins and raises his eyebrows during the grip-and-grin with Scholtz.
Biden also took part in the traditional ‘family photo,’ which required them to look into a camera for eight seconds.
His own political fortunes are following him at the summit, with world leaders as well as his allies and foes in Congress watching to see whether he is likely to be in power next year.
Biden didn’t respond to a question about whether he still has support for former Speaker Nancy Pelosi following her comments on MSNBC, but shook his fist in a show of confidence.
Biden scheduled his first official meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (l)
Meloni guided Biden while hosting him at the G7 summit in Italy
Biden has spent a career engaging with foreign leaders, as a two-term vice president and former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He sent a signal that domestic politics are his top priority en route to the summit, being held a few minutes' drive from the White House. He stopped by the AFL-CIO, where he talked up the U.S. economy and the contributions of U.S. workers.
During his first remarks to the summit, Biden read from printed remarks but occasionally looked up to reinforce a point.
'I will now ask the press to depart so that we can get started,' he said at the conclusion of his comments.