After a criticized debate performance against Donald Trump, Joe Biden has barely made himself available to the media or answered questions from the audience. This has led to his abilities being questioned and speculation that he cannot do without a teleprompter with a ready script.
Now finally, two weeks after the debate failure, it was time. Biden met the assembled press corps during the last day of the NATO summit. There he addressed the aforementioned speculation and said the press conference was his way of showing that he is ready for the job – without aids.
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Better than critics predicted
At least on that point he was right. It was a long press conference and he answered more questions than many probably expected.
The questions were met with lengthy expositions about his politics and view of the security situation. The performance was better than critics had predicted.
But does it really matter?
More and more Democrats skeptical
Just hours before the press conference published New York Times data from anonymous sources in the president’s circle that they are trying to formulate a plan to get him to step down.
Every other day, new Democrats come forward with criticism, skepticism or calls for Biden to drop his candidacy. They are few so far – but we still see the effects it has.
Earlier during the NATO week, there were also reports that one of the most important supporters of Joe Biden, former speaker Nancy Pelosi, chooses to refrain from saying what she thinks he should do.
That in itself is remarkable and is interpreted by many as her actually wanting to see him drop out.
Biden’s chance to prove himself reliable
During the NATO summit, the leaders of the vast majority of countries have been asked about their confidence in Joe Biden and whether they question his abilities. American media have also asked us Swedish journalists how the discussions about Biden are going in Sweden.
The NATO days would be Biden’s chance to show himself as a reliable and stable leader. The hope was enough to silence the critics. But misstatements at this level mean the questioning of his mental capacity lives on.
The question is how long can his campaign do it?