Biden faces media, says he's seeking 2nd term 'to complete the job'
CBC
During a closely watched news conference on Thursday night, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed his intent to seek a second Oval Office term "to complete the job I started," defying mounting calls for him to drop his re-election bid from some Democrats, party supporters and donors.
"I'm not in this for my legacy," Biden said, answering a question about the possibility that he could lose to Donald Trump in November.
Biden, 81, the presumptive Democratic nominee, maintained he's the "best-qualified person" to be in the White House, but also said it was important to "allay fears" voters may have about his abilities.
The news conference came on the tail end of a NATO summit in Washington. But the focus on the president's appearance before the media took on added importance amid the pressure he is facing surrounding his re-election bid.
During the news conference, Biden, who took the stage about an hour later than expected, reiterated the need for a strong NATO military alliance to deter aggression and prevent war.
He also played up his background in foreign policy, providing long answers to journalists' questions, speaking about issues involving China, Russia and Ukraine.
Yet he also made an attention-grabbing gaffe when he referred to Trump while speaking about U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris.
"I wouldn't have picked Vice-President Trump to be vice-president if she was not qualified to be president," Biden said, answering a question from Reuters about his confidence in Harris.
That mix-up came a few hours after Biden, while at the NATO summit, mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin before correcting himself.
Such slip-ups are not new for Biden, who has previously admitted to being "a gaffe machine."
Biden has been fighting to keep his re-election bid alive in the wake of a much-panned June 27 debate performance against Trump, his 78-year-old presidential predecessor and Republican rival.
They are the oldest contenders to ever seek the Oval Office. Biden, who served 36 years in the U.S. Senate before two terms as Barack Obama's vice-president, is already the oldest American to serve as president.
The pressure on Biden to drop from the ballot continued to build into Thursday evening, with Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, saying the president should end his candidacy.
"We must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump's promised MAGA authoritarianism," Himes said. "I no longer believe that is Joe Biden."
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