White House officials hailed US President Joe Biden’s much-anticipated news conference as a success on Thursday night (11) after he fielded numerous questions on domestic and foreign policy issues and vowed to continue seeking a second term.
Biden has demonstrated “solid command of domestic issues and foreign relations,” a senior White House official told CNN .
A Biden campaign official who said the president had skillfully discussed issues with complicated foreign policy implications lamented that they wished “that version of him” had appeared in the debate. CNN two weeks ago.
A CNN previously reported that a growing number of officials involved in the president’s reelection efforts are beginning to privately acknowledge that they do not believe Biden has a path to victory and want the president to abandon his reelection bid.
“Too little, too late”
Even though the White House and campaign officials are touting Thursday night’s press conference as a success, many Democrats don’t believe tonight will be enough.
“Too little, too late,” said one Democratic congressman, while acknowledging that Biden had been “strong” during the news conference. But he added: “This doesn’t address the long-term issues of winning.”
Even for some of the president’s most ardent supporters, whether a news conference will be enough to stop the bleeding is an open question.
Asked whether tonight would reassure worried colleagues, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, Biden’s campaign co-chair and a longtime friend of the president, replied: “You’ll have to ask them.”
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen — a former House Democrat — told Anderson Cooper of CNN that his colleagues in his caucus should “stop playing fantasy and understand that we need to support Joe Biden, and all this dissent is just helping Donald Trump, and he is the last person in the world you want anywhere.”
Cohen dismissed Biden’s gaffe in which he called Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump,” saying “I’d rather Trump be vice president any day than have him ever be president.”
He also rejected fellow Democrat Rep. Jim Himes’ call for Biden to resign, saying Himes’ Connecticut constituency is “much whiter, much more liberal and much more elite.”
Calls for Biden to step down
Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and California Rep. Scott Peters called on President Joe Biden to step away from the 2024 race after the news conference.
Himes was the first House Democrat to call on the president to step down from the ticket after his press conference tonight.
Overall, 16 Democratic members of Congress, including one senator, Peter Welch of Vermont, have called for Biden to step aside.
Himes argued that Biden should make the decision to suspend his campaign so as not to risk his legacy.
“The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forward the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by MAGA authoritarianism [Make America Great Again, ou “Torne os EUA grande novamente”] promised by Trump. I no longer believe it is Joe Biden,” Himes said in a statement shared on X.
Meanwhile, Peters argued that Biden’s “track record of accomplishments will not translate into similar success in his re-election campaign.”
“We must find a candidate from our deep talent pool who can defeat Donald Trump,” Peters said.
“That means putting forward a ticket that can win in the swing states where Democrats are not dominant but where this election will be decided.”
Peters added that a nominee to replace Biden “must be selected through a fair and transparent process” and urged his fellow Democrats to join him in “putting country first.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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