Biden praises "Vice President Trump" during confused White House press conference
President Joe Biden is facing calls from a growing number of Democrats who say it is time for him to end his reelection campaign.
Yet while Biden continues to insist that he will stay on as his party's nominee, Biden recently suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris has already been replaced.
Biden praises "Vice President Trump" during press conference
According to The Washington Times, Biden made the bizarre comment while speaking with reporters at a White House press conference on Thursday evening.
At one point a journalist asked, "What concerns do you have about Vice President Harris' ability to beat Donald Trump if she were at the top of the ticket?"
Q: "What concerns do you have about Vice President Harris' ability to beat Donald Trump if she were at the top of the ticket?
President Biden: Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn't think she was not qualified to be vice president. pic.twitter.com/TqqSKBsyQu
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 11, 2024
Biden responded by saying, "Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn't think she was not qualified to be vice president."
President calls Ukrainian leader "President Putin"
The Times noted that Biden's comment about Harris was not the only slipup of the night, as he made a similar gaffe earlier in the day.
While speaking at a NATO summit in Washington, he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin."
Those incidents are likely to further fuel doubts about Biden's mental competence, which ratcheted up sharply following his disastrous debate with Trump late last month.
The press conference did nothing to reassure Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who on Friday became the latest Washington lawmaker to publicly say Biden needs to go.
"Please pass the torch"
"Joe Biden saved our country once, and I’m joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again," The Hill quoted Pettersen as saying in a social media post.
"Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump, who is the greatest threat to the foundation of this country that we have ever faced," she continued.
The Colorado Democrat then went on to express a sense of "deep admiration" and "love" for the president and his record.
However, she concluded by stating that "my son and my constituents can't suffer the consequences of inaction at this critical moment."