Analysis: The press finally got to question Biden, and he came away largely unscathed

For nearly an hour on Thursday night, President Joe Biden went face-to-face with the press — and, perhaps against the wishes of some in his own party, managed to emerge largely unscathed from the high-stakes confrontation.

Answering a barrage of tough questions, Biden addressed 11 outlets during his closely watched media briefing, repeatedly reiterating that he plans to remain in the 2024 race while demonstrating an impressive grasp of complex foreign policy issues.

Stylistically, Biden was not without his flaws. After introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Vladimir Putin earlier in the day, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as Donald Trump.

And throughout the occasion, the 81-year-old president spoke mostly in his trademark low, monotone voice.

But without a doubt, the Biden who appeared at the conclusion of the NATO summit was not the same Biden who took the stage at the presidential debate. CNN two weeks ago.

Did he ace Thursday’s test? Probably not. But did he get a passing score? Definitely.

Interest in Biden’s clash with the news media has grown steadily throughout the week as lawmakers and other senior Democratic figures have called for him to step aside and abandon his bid for a second term.

Not since his disastrous debate with Trump has Biden appeared unscripted at a public event in such a long time. And going back even further, Biden has not held a solo news conference since November, making Thursday’s his first of 2024.

The press was eager for an opportunity to confront Biden.

As Hadas Gold of CNN reported Thursday, journalists covering the White House were entering the press conference with a significant amount of pent-up frustration.

Reporters felt blocked and misled by the White House. They were earnestly seeking a forum in which they could directly question Biden about his fitness for office and his desire to seek another four years.

The truth is that despite their pointed questions, reporters got little out of Biden on Thursday night.

He stayed on message and was able to keep up with the relentless stream of questions directed at him. Aside from his initial mistake of referring to Harris as Trump, Biden demonstrated a deep understanding of the issues.

He was not the senile, dementia-ridden man he was sometimes portrayed as to the American public.

As Bill Carter, the veteran media critic, pointed out on X (formerly Twitter), it’s curious why Biden didn’t hold such a press conference right after his poor debate performance to assuage concerns and stop the bleeding sooner. It would have been much more important back then.

But at this point, will that stop the pessimists, who have been gaining momentum, from calling for him to drop out of the race?

Manu Raju, from CNN reported after the press conference that that is unlikely to happen. In fact, Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement after the press conference saying he believed Biden should drop out of the race.

But it could get much worse. CBS News’ Margaret Brennan reported that four Democratic sources told her they “expect dozens of Democratic lawmakers in the next 48 hours to issue statements” calling on Biden to step aside.

And Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jeff Zeleny, from CNN reported that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi have spoken privately about their concerns about the Biden campaign.

In other words, at this juncture, while Biden’s performance at the much-hyped press conference was strong, it may simply be too little, too late. Time will tell.