Biden wrongly calls Kamala Harris ‘Vice President Trump’

President Joe Biden insisted Thursday that he was the best qualified candidate to take on former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, in a back-and-forth with reporters that at times railed against the decisions of a conservative-led Supreme Court and in detail some of the nuances of U.S. foreign policy toward China, Russia, Australia, and South Korea.

Biden parried with reporters about his fitness for office even as he tried to argue that the economy and national security had improved during his time in the White House. But his efforts were somewhat hampered by a gaffe in which he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” and the subsequent attention to that detail shows just how much the nation has become concerned about his age and fitness in the wake of the crisis. a poor performance during a presidential debate two weeks ago.

The president once again vowed to stay in the race, calling himself “the most qualified person to run for president,” and suggesting he felt the severity of the challenges he inherited after winning the Oval Office in 2020 were big enough to justify him going back. on an earlier plan to serve as a kind of “bridge” between his generation and that of Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden made persistent comparisons between himself and Trump, noting that he felt Trump could not stand up to leaders in Russia and China or manage the world around them the way he could in the nation’s highest office.

While Trump mocked Biden’s early verbal gaffe on social media, some journalists seemed impressed by his answers. “President Biden is showing depth of knowledge and fluidity” in his foreign policy answers, CNN’s Kasie Hunt said on Twitter. “This is where @JoeBiden feels most comfortable: foreign policy. This allows him to show the contrast with Trump who hates NATO. We know that Donald Trump could never speak like that on foreign policy issues,” said Roland Martin, an independent journalist who broadcasts on his own platforms.

Still, the risks for Biden were clear. More than a dozen members of Congress have called on him to step aside and let a younger candidate take the wheel of the campaign. Actor George Clooney wrote an op-ed in the New York Times calling for the same, citing Biden’s age and condition.

Responding to questions for more than an hour, Biden responded to a slew of questions about his suitability for the role and whether he could handle the duties if he wins a second term.

He also suggested at the end of the scrum that he was aware of his predicament. Biden acknowledged that he could consider resigning if he was convinced he simply could not beat Trump. “If I get to the convention and everyone says we want someone else, that’s the democratic process,” Biden said. Then he followed, whispering, “That’s not going to happen.”