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Biden mixes up Kamala and Trump and says he doesn't need a cognitive test because he's in 'good shape' in mumbling press conference responding to calls to step down
Joe Biden called Kamala Harris 'Vice President Trump', introduced Volodymyr Zelensky as 'President Putin' on a night where he made excruciating gaffes as he fought for his political life.
The 81-year-old president insisted he doesn't need a cognitive test because he is in 'good shape' at a press conference where he meandered through statements, mumbled and coughed in the face of mountain of calls for him to step aside.
He denied reports he wants more sleep more, blamed staff for his disastrous debate performance and said wife Jill 'gives him hell' in the hour-long press NATO summit conference that didn't ease concerns of Democrats who want him off the ticket.
Ailing Biden insisted he is staying in the race, rejected claims he is unfit to serve and said there are no polls that show he would lose to Trump in the November general election.
He predicted that he won't get ditched as the candidate, but in a surprising statement he opened the door to being replaced by saying delegates at the Democratic National Convention could vote for whoever they want.
Biden started the highly-choreographed event with scripted comments on the NATO, took out a sheet with a list of reporters to take questions and started with a botched answer.
'Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, did I think she was not qualified to be president,' Biden said an hour after he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as 'President Putin' in an embarrassing blunder.
President Joe Biden said he 'picked Vice President Trump,' mangling his answer about VP Kamala Harris at a press conference where Democrats were judging him on his capabilities as a candidate
Biden mistakenly said 'Vice President Trump' when defending Harris' governing ability, as his party debates whether to try to dump him. She would be a leading candidate to run in his place
He made another mistake when he said he was following the advice of his commander-in-chief - a title he holds - when he was discussing restricting using American weapons in Ukraine. is country.
Taken alone, the gaffes might have been par for the course for Biden, but they came at a time when congressional Democrats are watching him closely, with yet another lawmaker, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, calling for Biden to step back from his campaign just minutes after the presser ended.
Trump mocked the Harris error with a post where he wrote sarcastically, 'Great 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’s a prosecutor, and the other’s a felon.
Biden expressed confidence in his ability to win, even as he showed new willingness to consider taking a neurological exam under certain circumstance, in a race where a new Washington Post / ABC poll had a majority of Democrats urging him to step back.
Biden and the White House have repeatedly brushed off the request for an exam, and Biden himself made the point that 'no matter what I did, no one’s going to be satisfied.'
Nevertheless, he said he had gotten ‘three significant and intense neurological exams by a neurosurg – a neurologist’ as part of his annual physical. ‘And they say I’m in good shape,’ Biden said.
The flub about Harris came shortly after Biden mistakenly called Volodymyr Zelensky 'Putin' – the leader who is waging war on his country
He said he would get another exam ‘if the neurologist tells me he thinks I need another exam.’
‘If they think there’s a problem, I promise you … I’ll do it,’ Biden said. ‘No one’s suggesting that to me now.’
Following his disastrous debate performance, some experts including Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a prominent CNN commentator, have urged Biden to get a cognitive test.
Biden reflected on the benefits of age, even as he dismissed concerns about his stiff gait, which has prompted long-distance Internet speculation about symptoms associated with Parkinson's.
'I do have a little problem with my left foot because I broke my foot and didn’t wear the boot,' said Biden, referencing the fracture he suffered in 2020.
‘The only thing that age does is creates a little bit of wisdom if you pay attention,’ Biden said.
Biden expressed confidence in Harris and in the advice of medical experts – but some of his fellow Democrats want to know if he'll heed bad polling data. Asked if he would yield if advisors told him Harris would fare better against Trump than he would, Biden responded: No. Unless they came back and said there’s no way you can win – me. No one’s saying that. No poll says that,' he said, dropping his voice to his trademark whisper.