What's happening in the 2024 presidential race
- President Joe Biden insisted he is the best candidate to beat former President Donald Trump at a high-stakes news conference tonight at which he defended his fitness for office.
- Biden's remarks this evening did not stem the tide of Democratic lawmakers calling for him to drop out of the race. After the news conference, three more joined the growing list of those who say he should step aside.
- Biden senior advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, as well as Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, met with Senate Democrats this afternoon in an effort to calm Democratic anxieties.
Biden expounds on policy while his party frets over his delivery
For nearly an hour tonight, Biden faced reporters and spooled out ideas shaped by a half-century in elected office.
He spoke about gun violence and taxes, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s economic leverage over Europe.
But at this perilous point in Biden’s candidacy, policy positions aren’t necessarily what his audience needed to hear.
Mixed reviews about Biden's performance roll in
Democrats' reviews of Biden's performance at the news conference were a mixed bag this evening, a notable departure from the reaction to last month's debate.
A Democratic strategist who thought tonight went well said the president "sort of sounded like Biden of 2022.”
However, the source added that "this boat has taken on so much water. This still is really up in the air, honestly.”
A major Democratic donor who thinks Biden should exit the race said the news conference was "overwhelmingly positive."
"We’re paralyzed because he did good enough," the donor said.
A Democratic lawmaker argued that there should be an open convention, saying, "Let the world see that Democrats are not afraid of engaging in a truly democratic process, unlike the other side.”
Separately, a House Democrat said Biden's performance showed him to be a "well informed, sincere, kind man" while adding that he was "plagued with gaffes and some memory challenges."
A senior Biden adviser said Trump "could never and has never showed a command of the issues like Joe Biden just did."
NBC News’ Peter Alexander recalls Biden’s mistakenly calling Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” at the start of his news conference and breaks down his responses to questions on various important topics.
Rep. Eric Sorensen calls on Biden to step aside in 2024 race
Rep. Eric Sorensen, a vulnerable Democrat in Illinois, said after Biden's news conference tonight that he thinks the president should abandon his re-election bid.
“In 2020, Joe Biden ran for President with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again,” Sorensen wrote in a statement. He went on to say that he's “hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President.”
Sorensen expressed uncertainty yesterday over Biden's presidential bid. Asked whether Biden was the best person to lead, he told NBC News, "Well, I think it remains to be seen. Well, we’ll have to wait and see, and I think that we’ll know that here soon."
Sorensen won the seat of former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Cheri Bustos in 2022.
Several Democrats reiterate support for Biden after news conference
Several Democrats tonight vouched their support for Biden after his news conference, even as some of their colleagues called on him to step aside following tonight's remarks.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., praised Biden on X, saying he was "demonstrating how a world leader with his hand firmly on the tiller of our ship of state, manages the country, U.S. national security interests and the naysayers."
Asked in a CNN interview about whether Biden's news conference had convinced Democrats and American voters that he should remain in the race, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said, “I think convinced a lot of people that he should stay in the race," adding that Biden had spoken "so knowledgeably" about foreign policy.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a longtime Biden ally and campaign co-chair, said on X, "No one is more prepared to lead our nation forward than Joe Biden."
More than a dozen House Democrats have now publicly asked Biden to drop out of the presidential race, and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont became the first senator to do so. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said conversations within his caucus continue. NBC News’ Ryan Nobles reports.
Rep. Scott Peters calls on Biden to withdraw: 'We are on a losing course'
Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., tonight urged Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, saying his debate performance raised concerns that Biden "will not be able to wage a winning campaign."
"This was not a blip," Peters said in a statement. “Today I ask President Biden to withdraw from the presidential campaign. The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course. My conscience requires me to speak up and put loyalty to the country and to democracy ahead of my great affection for, and loyalty to, the President and those around him."
Peters is the second congressional Democrat to call for Biden to drop out after his news conference this evening.
Biden hits back at Trump over 'vice president' gaffe
Biden responded to a social media post from Trump that mocked a flub during tonight's news conference in which Biden mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."
"By the way: Yes, I know the difference. One’s a prosecutor, and the other’s a felon," Biden wrote on X, referring to Harris' former role as California attorney general and Trump's recent conviction in his New York hush money case.
Referring to the gaffe in a post on Truth Social, Trump had teased, "Great job, Joe!"
Biden campaign points to Project 2025 for his last answer
As the news conference was concluding, Biden responded to a shouted question from NBC News about how to he would combat Trump's criticism about his referring to Harris as "Vice President Trump."
"Listen to him," Biden said, before walking away.
Campaign officials said on X that Biden was referring to Project 2025.
Rep. Jim Himes urges Biden to 'step away' from 2024 race after news conference
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., called on Biden to "step away" from the presidential race in a statement tonight after his news conference.
“The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism," Himes wrote. "I no longer believe that is Joe Biden, and I hope that, as he has through a lifetime of public service, he will continue to put our nation first and, as he promised, make way for a new generation of leaders."
Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, is the first member of the Connecticut delegation to call for Biden to drop out.
