President Joe Biden’s much-touted press conference was presidential and newsy Thursday night: less strident than last week’s ABC interview, more deliberate and open to Democrats’ concerns. It also had some traditional bumbly Biden moments. The political question moving forward: Which part will people remember?
“It’s a Rorschach. If you were ready to boot going in, you’ll still want to. If you were ready to defend, you still will. If you were on the fence on either direction, you’re still there,” said a White House aide. “Hinging the fate of democracy on each of these pretty spaced out, unscripted events is exhausting and unsustainable.”
That’s the political box Biden finds himself in, and the event marking the end of a NATO summit Biden hosted in Washington again showcased it.