More representatives called for the president to end his re-election bid after a session with reporters, while others highlighted his firm grasp of foreign policy after a NATO summit.
Representative Jim Himes, a moderate Democrat from Connecticut, called for President Biden to drop out of his re-election campaign.Credit…Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
- Published July 11, 2024Updated July 12, 2024, 3:41 a.m. ET
President Biden entered Thursday night hoping that a steady performance at a news conference with the national press corps would quell dissension among Democrats, some of whom want him out of the race.
But within minutes of his departure from the stage, two more Democratic representatives joined the growing number of party members calling for him to end his re-election campaign against former President Donald J. Trump.
“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,” Representative Jim Himes, a moderate Democrat from Connecticut and the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. “I no longer believe that is Joe Biden.”
And Representative Scott Peters of California also argued that Mr. Biden should leave the race, saying, “The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course.”
Later in the evening, Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois joined their ranks, becoming the 18th Democratic member of either the House or the Senate to call for Mr. Biden to step aside.
More Democrats may defect on Friday, now that members of Congress no longer have to worry about embarrassing the president during the NATO summit that took place in Washington this week. But other Democrats said Mr. Biden’s deft grasp of policy — and the fact that he answered questions for nearly an hour — was heartening, despite awkward moments like a flub in which he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.”
“Honestly, could the other guy have done any of that?” Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, one of Mr. Biden’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, said of Mr. Trump in an interview. “Anyone concerned about his ability to lead and govern should be reassured.”
transcript
Highlights from Biden’s News Conference
President Biden held an hourlong news conference with reporters, stumbling early on but remaining defiant in the face of questions about his fitness to continue his campaign.
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“The President of the United States, Joe Biden.” “Hey, everybody. Thank you. Please be seated.” “What concerns do you have about Vice President Harris’s ability to beat Donald Trump if she were at the top of the ticket?” “Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president did I think she was not qualified to be president.” “You mixed up presidents Zelensky and Putin earlier today. Officials here are saying off the record that your decline has become noticeable. Hasn’t this now, frankly, become damaging for America’s standing in the world? Thank you.” “Did you see any damage to our standing in my leading this conference? Have you seen a more successful conference?” “China has to understand that if they are supplying Russia with information and capacity, along with working with North Korea and others to help Russia and armament, that they’re not going to benefit economically. I know Israel well and I support Israel. But this war cabinet is one of the most conservative war cabinets in the history of Israel. And there’s no ultimate answer other than a two-state solution here.” “If your team came back and showed you data that she would fare better against former President Donald Trump, would you reconsider your decision to stay in the race?” “No, unless they came back and said, there’s no way you can win. Me. No one is saying that. No poll says that. I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again.”
President Biden held an hourlong news conference with reporters, stumbling early on but remaining defiant in the face of questions about his fitness to continue his campaign.CreditCredit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
On CNN, Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee said Mr. Biden had “convinced a lot of people he should stay in the race.”
“Much (too much) will be made of Pres Biden flubbing names. But his substance in that presser matters,” Patrick Gaspard, the president of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, wrote on social media. “His cogent responses on China and Russia. His centering of need for new industrial policy. Even policy points that I might disagree with were robust! Substance matters.”
In a text message, Representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania — a Biden ally — said the president “showed his command of the issues and policy.”
Mr. Biden’s aides, meanwhile, took a victory lap.
Ron Klain, the former White House chief of staff who helped prepare Mr. Biden for the debate that exacerbated questions about the president’s age, wrote that the president had delivered a “strong performance” with a very strong economic message “about lowering prices and growing the economy.”
And on X, Mr. Biden responded to having mixed up his vice president — the former district attorney of San Francisco and the former attorney general of California — and his opponent, Mr. Trump, with a sharp attack.
“By the way: Yes, I know the difference,” Mr. Biden wrote. “One’s a prosecutor, and the other’s a felon.”
Katie Rogers, Neil Vigdor, Robert Jimison and Tim Balk contributed reporting.