SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Here's a news flash - Nielsen says more than 24 million people watched a press conference about NATO on Thursday. Of course, it was the one held by President Biden, as he faces scrutiny over whether he's fit to serve a second term. NPR's Ron Elving joins us. Ron, thanks so much for being with us.
RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: The president gave strong and detailed answers about complicated foreign policy questions, even as he did mix up a couple of names, yet three more Democratic members of Congress asked him to end his reelection campaign. Why?
ELVING: In all likelihood, those statements were written before the NATO press conference and set up to be issued soon after. That may have created the impression they were reactions to the news conference more than they probably were. What was striking, though, was that news reports had suggested far larger numbers of members had prepared statements just like those, and they were ready to be released after the news conference, based on previous fears about Biden, and we did not hear or see those statements. Now, we don't know what those 24 million people thought about that news conference, and, of course, he was far from perfect, but at least it was a strong reiteration of Joe Biden. It was hard to escape the feeling that he and his advisers had finally gotten him ready to debate Donald Trump - two weeks after the debate. There is still a deep well of affection for Joe Biden among Democrats in Congress, so even if many want the president to quit, they want him to do it without their having to come out against him in public.
SIMON: The president was reminded at that press conference that in 2020, he'd referred to himself as a bridge to the next generation of leaders, and then he was asked why he didn't step back and let Vice President Harris lead the ticket. He said she was prepared to step into his shoes in case something happened, but added...
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: The consideration is that I think I'm the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once, and I will beat him again.
SIMON: How do you read that answer?
ELVING: Two ways you could interpret that - either as an answer to the generic question about being a bridge to a new generation or as a more specific comeback on Vice President Kamala Harris in particular. What he said was he's better positioned to beat Trump than anyone else in the party, and that would include Harris - no specific disrespect there, but he didn't make an exception for her, either. Let's remember that incumbents usually do have a certain advantage. The previous three incumbents before Trump all ran for reelection and won. That's been the pattern through our history, and as for the vice president, many in the party remember her own campaign for the nomination that Biden won. She had some strong moments in the early debates, but after that, she faded and didn't even make it to the first round of caucus and primary voting. Later on, of course, as part of the ticket, she broadened Biden's appeal in the November contest against Trump. She helped with women, younger voters, people of color, and she has been poised to play that role again in the current cycle, with a special new focus on the issue of abortion rights.
SIMON: Ron, a few times this week, I've heard the president reject calls for him to step aside as the work of elites, pundits, big donors, celebrities, who he feels have always underestimated him as a working-class son of Scranton, Pa. Has the criticism he's been under been rubbing something personal?
ELVING: He has long felt, much as you described, disrespected by elements of the party, intellectuals on campus and in government and in the media, and surely, we would include in this the Hollywood creatives who have become major fundraisers and influencers over the past 30 years. These categories, taken together, have become a powerful force in the party. Some call them the Brahmin Left, signifying their elevated cultural standing and power. Biden never liked - well, let's put it this way. He never felt like he was one of them. He wasn't a Kennedy, a Clinton or an Obama, and he has doubtless felt put down at times, even as other glamorous candidates turned to him to help them win blue-collar voters. And by the way, on that note, Scott, last night, Biden was on that theme big time in Detroit, reminding everyone he had walked a picket line not just as a candidate, but as a president.
SIMON: NPR's Ron Elving, thanks so much. Particularly good to speak with you, well, any week, but certainly this week. Thanks so much.
ELVING: Always good to be with you, Scott. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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