President Biden's "do or die" moment, the press conference in which he had to convince the world he's able to lead the US for four more years, has come and gone. So what's the verdict? It's a mixed bag, with praise for Biden's foreign policy acumen and often-nuanced answers to reporters' questions at the conclusion of the NATO summit in DC, but a still-nervous acknowledgment that there were some stumbles. There's also a still "jittery" Democrat contingent that isn't sure Biden's the one for the job, per Politico, which says Biden did "some damage control" on that front, "but not enough." More on the presser's aftermath:
- Political purgatory: "Democrats are trapped in a limbo that is really a special layer of hell," Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch noted on X. "Biden giving detailed, smart policy answers but the nattering nabobs will obsess on two very mundane 'gaffes.' He's still losing the swing states but not so badly to force him out. Makes me wanna holler."
- Further defections: As the news conference came to a close, more Democratic lawmakers said publicly that Biden should leave the race. "Today I ask President Biden to withdraw from the presidential campaign," California Rep. Scott Peters said in a statement, per Politico. "The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course." Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes and Illinois Rep. Eric Sorensen made similar remarks.
- And even more? Meanwhile, "well-placed" Democratic sources tell CBS News that they expect "dozens" of Dem lawmakers to ask the same of Biden over the next 48 hours, with some of those statements already reportedly written. One of the sources says they think the next few days will be "brutal," and that "it may become untenable by sometime next week for the president to continue in the race," as CBS puts it. As of Friday morning, one Democratic senator and 16 House Democrats had called for Biden to step aside, per the AP.
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