watch
now
President
Joe
Biden
on
Thursday
said
that
nothing
would
make
him
reconsider
his
decision
to
remain
in
the
2024
presidential
election
contest
unless
polling
data
showed
“there’s
no
way
you
can
win.”
“No
one’s
saying
that,”
Biden
said
in
a
stage
whisper
during
a
news
conference
in
Washington,
D.C.
“No
poll
says
that.”
Biden’s
statement
was
in
response
to
a
reporter
who
asked
him
if
he
would
reconsider
his
vow
to
stay
in
the
race
if
his
campaign
team
“came
back
and
showed
you
data
that”
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
“would
fare
better
against
former
President
Donald
Trump.”
Biden
began
the
news
conference
after
seeing
more
Democrats
in
Congress
call
on
him
to
exit
the
race.
Those
calls
were
sparked
by
his
dismal
performance
in
a
debate
against
the
Republican
Trump
in
late
June,
where
Biden
sometimes
garbled
his
words
and
lost
his
train
of
thought,
sparking
concern
his
mental
faculties
were
declining.
U.S.
President
Joe
Biden
attends
a
press
conference
during
NATO’s
75th
anniversary
summit,
in
Washington,
U.S.,
July
11,
2024.
Leah
Millis
|
Reuters
Biden
was
asked
during
the
conference
if
he
would
release
his
Democratic
National
Convention
delegates
to
“vote
their
conscience,”
setting
up
the
possibility
of
the
first
seriously
contested
Democratic
convention
presidential
nomination
fight
in
more
than
five
decades.
“Obviously,
they’re
free
to
do
whatever
they
want,”
Biden
replied.
“But
I
get
overwhelming
support.
Overwhelming
support.
I
won
…
I
forget
how
many
votes
I
won
in
the
primary,
overwhelming.”
“And
so
tomorrow
if
all
of
a
sudden
I
show
up
at
the
convention,
and
everybody
says
we
want
somebody
else?”
Biden
said.
“That’s
the
democratic
process.”
The
president
then
added
in
a
whisper:
“It’s
not
gonna
happen.”
Biden
in
the
same
session
referred
to
Harris
as
“Vice
President
Trump.”
Earlier
Thursday,
he
botched
an
introduction
at
the
NATO
summit
of
Ukrainian
President
Volodymyr
Zelenskyy
by
calling
him
“President
Putin”
—
the
name
of
the
Russian
president
who
began
the
ongoing
war
against
Ukraine
with
a
2022
invasion.
Moments
after
the
news
conference,
Rep.
Jim
Himes
of
Connecticut,
who
is
the
top
Democrat
on
the
House
Intelligence
Committee,
said
Biden
should
drop
out
of
the
contest.
During
the
conference,
Biden
had
spent
about
seven
minutes
giving
a
rambling,
confusing
answer
about
China.
“President
Joe
Biden
is
a
remarkable
leader
of
unparalleled
public
service,
undeniable
achievement,
and
unconditional
patriotism,”
Himes
said
in
a
statement.
“It
is
because
of
those
traits,
and
in
consideration
of
that
legacy,
that
I
hope
President
Biden
will
step
away
from
the
presidential
campaign.”
“The
2024
election
will
define
the
future
of
American
democracy,
and
we
must
put
forth
the
strongest
candidate
possible
to
confront
the
threat
posed
by
Trump’s
promised
MAGA
authoritarianism,”
Himes
said.
“I
no
longer
believe
that
is
Joe
Biden.”
Rep.
Scott
Peters,
a
California
Democrat,
later
Thursday
night
joined
that
call,
saying,
“The
stakes
are
high,
and
we
are
on
a
losing
course.”
