It's Do or Die Time for Biden at NATO Presser

President will again be under the microscope at Thursday night news conference
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 11, 2024 7:01 AM CDT
At NATO Presser, All Eyes Will Fall Once More on Biden
President Biden pumps his fist as he poses with NATO leaders at the NATO summit in Washington on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Biden is currently on a "media blitz," including a rare solo press conference Thursday evening to cap off a three-day NATO summit. The New York Times calls it a "high-stakes moment," where Biden's "allies, doubters, and enemies will be watching for any evidence of stumbles" in the wake of his disastrous debate performance last month against rival Donald Trump. More on what's going down:

  • The speech: Per the Times, it's not clear how long Biden will speak for, or how many questions he'll take, and that may all prove to be a factor in how his words are received. "A hasty exit, with journalists calling out after him, could fuel more concerns about ... Biden's stamina and capacity to handle tough questioning," the paper notes.

  • Rarity: Biden isn't known for solo press conferences—the Times notes he last held one on his own eight months ago, and he's held fewer pressers during his tenure than any commander in chief since Ronald Reagan.
  • Precedence: The Washington Post notes that Biden doesn't have a history of stellar news conferences, referencing a two-hour one in 2022 where he got testy with reporters, and Jill Biden lashed out at aides for letting it go on so long.
  • Wariness: The AP expresses some doubt on whether Biden can rise to the occasion, noting that the president "is not known as a master of the big rhetorical moment." The outlet also notes that "nothing he's tried seems to be stopping the bleeding" after the debate: "Where he has sometimes failed—spectacularly, in the case of the debate—is at a defining part of the role that isn't in the official job description: delivering inspiring oratory that commands the attention and respect of the nation."
  • Donors: Sources tell Politico that "money has started to dry up" for Biden after the debate, with canceled fundraisers and donors large and small warning they'll close their wallets if the president doesn't drop out of the race. "This is a massive, massive problem," one source says. "Right now, we should be scaling up, doubling and tripling our goals as we head into the fall. But we're cratering." The outlet calls this "erosion" of cash an "existential threat" to Biden's campaign.
(More President Biden stories.)

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