Biden Recovers Some Momentum but Encounters Increased Pressure to Withdraw

President Joe Biden navigated one of the most heavily scrutinized presidential news conferences in history — but it may not matter.

Critics, new and old, pounced before it was over, and Biden allies quickly congratulated him for skillfully parrying an unprecedented press interrogation about his fitness for office.

He gave both encouragement to supporters — “I think he convinced a lot of people he should stay in the race,” said Rep. Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat — and fuel for his critics, including a garbled reference to his running mate, “Vice President Trump.”

After nearly an hour, Biden seemed to be left where he started, a politically weakened president facing calls to step aside from even longtime allies questioning his fitness after a disastrous debate last month with Donald Trump.

At least two more House Democrats called for the president to drop out of the race — bringing it to about 17 congressional members from his own party to express that view since the debate.

"Today I ask President Biden to withdraw from the presidential campaign,” said Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.). “The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course.”

Just minutes earlier, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, also called on Biden to step aside in a post on X. And purple-district Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) wrote on X: "I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President."

Republicans also piled on.

“The emperor has no clothes, and if he won’t step aside other senior leaders in the Democratic Party need to stand up and make him — for the security of our nation,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

During the press conference, Biden said the only way he’s stepping aside is if he is shown data that shows he won’t win the race — though he insisted no poll so far has shown proof that he isn’t the best Democratic candidate to defeat Trump.

“If what he said at the end of his presser is true, it sounds like Biden's team has not been very candid with him about what the data is showing: the age issue is a huge and potentially insurmountable concern and his odds of victory are very, very slim,” David Axelrod, a former chief strategist for President Barack Obama, said on X.

When asked about his ability to do the job, the president said there’s “no indication” he’s slowing down and said he has more work to do: “I want to finish it.”

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill) said in an interview on CNN that Biden “did a fine job” during the news conference but added, “We can’t have a situation where every day we are holding our breath. Whether it’s a press conference, debate or a rally.”

Schneider called on Biden to exit the race earlier Thursday.

Still the press conference wasn’t as bad as some Democrats feared. Biden demonstrated his deep knowledge of foreign policy — including his role in expanding NATO and a complex response to a question about China. He defended his accomplishments, including legislation to bring high-tech manufacturing back to the U.S. and working to bring down inflation and spur employment.

It was enough for some Democrats to say they’re sticking with him.

“Tonight President Biden was knowledgeable, engaging, and capable,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said on X. “He displayed a level of depth on foreign policy that Donald Trump has never and could never. No one is more prepared to lead our nation forward than Joe Biden.”

Daniella Diaz, Nicholas Wu and Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.

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