'Total disaster': Critics crucify Biden over his 'rambling' first press conference in 78 days in which he claimed to have 'over-performed' during first year despite 7% inflation, tanking approval, COVID chaos and woeful Afghan withdrawal
Joe Biden sought to reset his presidency in a marathon first year press conference on Wednesday, vowing to reconnect with voters and touting successes, in an almost two-hour performance that his critics derided as rambling and incoherent.
'I didn't overpromise, but I have probably outperformed what anybody thought would happen,' he said.
'Can you think of any other president that's done as much in one year?' Biden asked, ticking off the epic struggle against COVID-19 and trillions of dollars in government funding to save the US economy from pandemic fallout.
'I don't think there's been much on any incoming president's plate that's been a bigger menu than the plate I had given to me,' the 79-year-old said.
'The fact of the matter is, we got a lot done.'
His critics were quick to note that he has presided over the highest inflation in 40 years; empty supermarket shelves due to supply chain issues; and more COVID deaths in 2021 - 446,000 - than the 385,000 in 2020.
They also pointed to the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, and noted that during his remarks Biden made several damaging blunders, which his aides scrambled to correct.
Speaking on the eve of the anniversary of his inauguration on January 20, 2021, Biden held only the second White House press conference of his presidency - then surprised many by staying at the podium for one hour and 52 minutes.
The exchange, according to US media, extended beyond even the longest of the famously rambling - though far more frequent - press conferences held by Donald Trump.
Joe Biden on Wednesday held his tenth press conference. He has held fewer in his first year than any other recent president
US President Joe Biden is looking to change the narrative as he enters his second year in office
At various times combative, joking and meandering, Biden rejected criticism over his handling of the pandemic and soaring inflation.
Asked about his approval ratings, which have sunk into the low 40 percent area, Biden was curt.
'I don't believe the polls,' he said.
Biden acknowledged missteps since taking over from Trump, citing 'a year of challenges.'
These included that he 'didn't anticipate' the ferocity of Republican obstruction to his agenda in Congress.
On COVID testing capabilities, which continue to struggle to meet demand, he said 'we should have done it quicker.'
Biden likewise said he understood 'frustration' over steadily rising prices, which he blamed on COVID-related supply chain issues.
Fighting inflation will be 'hard and take a lot of work.'
'It's going to be painful for a lot of people,' he said, noting that high prices were being felt 'at the gas pump, the grocery stores and elsewhere.'
OUTPERFORM?
Among the strongest criticism came from Tucker Carlson, the top-rated Fox News host, who used his 8pm show to excoriate the speech.
'Outperformed. Well, it's true, actually. Outperform - meaning more Americans have died from coronavirus on my watch than under evil anti-science Cheeto man; which isn't easy you dog-faced, pony soldier. Stick that in your hat and smoke it,' Carlson said.
'It got weirder from there.
Tucker Carlson was withering in his criticism of Biden's performance
'Biden talked about his so-called voting rights legislation, which only Nazis oppose. Without that legislation, the next election will almost certainly be fraudulent, rigged, illegitimate, stolen.
'See how that works? If you complain about an election after the fact, you're an insurrectionist. The Justice Department may indict you for sedition. But if you complain about an election ahead of time preemptively, then you're a civil rights leader. There's a difference, Mr. Man. Learn it. Love it, live it.
'Biden went on to boast under his steady, wise leadership, peasants in this country have gotten 'raises.' Now, he didn't mention that inflation has already eaten those raises in a single bite, and next year's raises too. But no one in the press corps bothered to ask anyway.
'Biden did allow that there are some Americans who are 'frustrated and fatigued,' but that is not his fault. It's COVID's fault, a disease created by unvaccinated Trump voters and not - we want to be clear about this - not created by his family's longtime patrons in the government of China. They had nothing to do with it. You did it.
'In any case, the solution, Biden explained, is more testing and more shots. That's why he plans to send a COVID test to every American household and force every last holdout to get the vaccine.'
Empty shelves are seen at a grocery store in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 14
GIVING PUTIN THE GREEN LIGHT?
Biden was asked about the mounting tension in Ukraine.
He warned President Vladimir Putin that his country would pay a 'dear price' in lives lost and a possible cutoff from the global banking system if Moscow invades.
Yet he also raised eyebrows - and reportedly angered Ukraine - by saying that a 'minor incursion' by Russia would elicit a lesser response.
'My guess is he will move in,' Biden said of Putin.
'He has to do something.
'Russia will be held accountable if it invades - and it depends on what it does.
'It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and what to not do, et cetera.
'But if they actually do what they're capable of doing, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine.'
He later sought to clarify that he was referring to a non-military action, such as a cyberattack, that would be met with a similar reciprocal response, and that if Russian forces cross the Ukrainian border, killing Ukrainian fighters, 'that changes everything.'
His remarks were seized upon by his critics.
'I am cringing at the thought of Putin hearing this press conference with Biden,' said Nikki Haley, Trump's ambassador to the UN.
'Never show your cards. Especially when your cards aren't good.'
Even Democrats were taken aback.
David Axelrod, Obama's former senior advisor, noted: 'Language around Russia and Ukraine will get a lot of scrutiny. Did he suggest a 'minor' incursion would draw a less vigorous response?'
On CNN, Matthew Chance, their senior international correspondent, reported from Moscow that Ukrainian sources were telling him they were astonished at Biden's remarks.
'Kiev is stunned by what Biden had to say,' Chance reported.
He said many felt that Biden had given Putin the 'green light' to invade.
Biden's team were forced, immediately after the press conference, to back pedal.
'President Biden has been clear with the Russian President: If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that's a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies,' said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary.
'President Biden also knows from long experience that the Russians have an extensive playbook of aggression short of military action, including cyberattacks and paramilitary tactics.
'And he affirmed today that those acts of Russian aggression will be met with a decisive, reciprocal, and united response.'
Other members of Biden's team joined the damage limitation efforts.
When CNN's Jim Scuitto tweeted: 'Did Biden open a door to Russia by distinguishing between a full invasion of Ukraine and a 'minor incursion'? Needs a sharp follow.' he was met with an immediate response.
'@POTUS clarified this,' replied Emily Horne, spokesperson for the National Security Council.
'He was referring to the difference between military and non-military/para-military/cyber action by the Russians.
'Such actions would be met by a reciprocal response, in coordination with Allies and partners.'
Joe Biden's closely watched press conference was at the core of an intense new effort by the White House to spin a calamitous last few weeks into a new narrative
An AFP scorecard on how Biden has fared in key areas in his first year in office
UNREPENTANT ON AFGHANISTAN
On one of the most traumatic episodes of his presidency - the chaotic and rushed final withdrawal from the 20-year long Afghanistan war - Biden said flatly: 'I make no apologies.'
'There was no way to get out of Afghanistan after 20 years easily,' he declared.
Biden stumbled over the cost of the conflict, but said he had no regrets about his decision - despite the devastating scenes as Afghans clung to planes to try and flee the country, and despite the return of the Taliban.
The Taliban is now back in control of Afghanistan, after 20 years of US fighting to stabilize the country
Chaotic scenes at Kabul airport on August 26, as 13 people were killed by a suicide bomber
People desperate to flee Kabul are seen standing on a plane on the tarmac, as smoke billows from the hilltops
Millions of Afghans are now struggling to survive severe food shortages during a harsh winter and economic crash. Rights organizations are pleading for more foreign aid, arguing the most vulnerable groups - women and children - are suffering.
Nearly 23 million people - more than half the population - are facing extreme levels of hunger, according to the United Nations. At least a million children under 5 are at risk of dying from starvation.
Conditions are so bad that some hospitals, without money for fuel, have resorted to cutting down trees to heat patients' rooms.
Yet Biden said it was time for America to leave.
'We were spending a trillion dollars a week — I mean, a billion dollars a week in Afghanistan for 20 years,' said Biden.
'Raise your hand if you think anyone was going to be able to unify Afghanistan under one single government.
'It's been the graveyard of empires for a solid reason: It is not susceptible to unity, number one.
'So, the question was: Do I continue to spend that much money per week in the state of Afghanistan, knowing that the idea that being able to succeed — other than sending more body bags back home — is highly, highly unusual?
'My dad used to have an expression. He'd say, 'Son, if everything is equally important to you, nothing is important to you.'
'There was no way to get out of Afghanistan, after 20 years, easily. Not possible no matter when you did it. And I make no apologies for what I did.'
Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said: 'Putin and Xi are watching Biden's press conference and laughing.'
'WE NEED TO GET INFLATION UNDER CONTROL'
Biden was asked multiple times about inflation - currently at 7 percent, a 40-year high.
'We need to get inflation under control,' Biden admitted.
He said: 'The inflation has everything to do with the supply chain. And I think what you're seeing is that we've been able to make progress on speeding up the access to materials.'
Biden said that inflation was being felt with cars, but explained that they were working 'to become self-reliant on the computer chips that we need in order to be able to produce more automobiles'.
He said they had worked with other countries to try and rein in energy prices.
'It's going to be painful for a lot of people in the meantime,' he said, adding that the way to help family finances was to pass the Build Back Better plan that reduced cost of essentials such as insulin.
'That's why the single best way — the single best way to take the burden off middle-class and working-class folks is to pass the Build Back Better piece that are things that they're paying a lot of money for it now.'
Texas congressman Ronny Jackson, who was formerly the White House physician, tweeted: 'Biden's 'press conference' is disturbing and bizarre. He's totally disconnected from reality. He has NO IDEA what's going on. It's no surprise he's been kept locked away in the basement. This is an EMBARRASSMENT.'
VOTING CONFUSION
Biden was strongly criticized for his failure to convince his own party to pass voting reform measures - and also for stating, correctly, that 2020 saw more people vote than ever before.
'Maybe I'm just being too much of an optimist. Remember how we thought not that many people were going to show up to vote in the middle of a pandemic? We had the highest voter turnout in the history of the United States of America,' the president said.
'No matter how hard they make it for minorities to vote, I think you're going to see them willing to stand in line and — and defy the attempt to keep them from being able to vote.
'I think you're going to see the people who they're trying to keep from being able to show up, showing up and making the sacrifice that needs to make in order to change the law back to what it should be.'
He said he was confident he could get voting reform passed, and brushed off one journalist noting that he had not called moderate senator Mitt Romney to discuss working together.
He said he felt there was still capacity to get the reform passed.
'President Biden brags that more people than ever voted during the 2020 election. Yet his key initiative is to address 'voter suppression.' Huh?' tweeted Larry Elder, a radio host and Fox News commentator.
With a State of the Union speech to Congress set for March 1, Biden faces a diminishing period to engineer a strategy to fight off a Republican comeback at midterm congressional elections this November.
Republicans are forecast to crush his party and take control of the legislature.
That risks bringing two years of complete obstruction from Congress, likely including threats of impeachment and a slew of aggressive committee probes.
Trump, who continues to perpetuate the lie that he beat Biden in 2020 and seeks to undermine Americans' faith in their election system, is eyeing an attempt at another presidential run in 2024.
Biden confirmed he would keep Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate in a re-election bid.
And he said that while Democrats proved unable to use their razor-thin congressional majority to pass two big priorities -- the Build Back Better social spending bill and election law reforms -- they could instead settle for passing 'big chunks' of the legislation.
A reminder of that failure was coming later Wednesday evening when the Senate was all but certain to block the voting rights reforms.
Above all, Biden emphasized his desire to leave the confines of the White House after a year featuring a decidedly light travel schedule.
'Number one: I am getting out of this place more often. I am going to go out and talk to the public,' he said.
'I find myself in a situation where I don't get a chance to look people in the eye, both because of COVID and the situation in Washington,' he said, describing how he wanted to 'connect with people, let them take a measure of my sincerity.'
'A DELICATE SUBJECT'
While Trump was issuing statements claiming that Biden was only taking soft-ball questions, the president then called on a Newsmax reporter.
'I'd like to raise a delicate subject but with utmost respect for your life accomplishments and the high office you hold,' began James Rosen.
'A poll released, this morning, by Politico/Morning Consult, found 49 percent of registered voters disagreeing with the statement, 'Joe Biden is mentally fit.'
'Not even a majority of Democrats who responded strongly affirmed that statement.'
Biden, laughing, replied: 'Well, I'll let you all make the judgment whether they're correct. Thank you.'
Rosen continued: 'Well, so, the question I have for you, sir, before — if you'd let me finish — is: Why do you suppose such large segments of the American electorate have come to harbor such profound concerns about your cognitive fitness? Thank you.'
Biden replied: 'I have no idea.'
Biden's critics seized on the exchange, and on the long-held argument put forward by Fox anchor Sean Hannity and others that Biden was mentally incapacitated.
Sean Hannity, among Biden's fiercest critic, savaged the president after the press conference
'Our enemies are watching this,' Hannity said. 'It's scary, it's troubling.'
He continued on Biden's performance in front of the press corps: 'You know, Vladimir Putin, President Xi, the mullahs in Iran. In fact, Putin is now amassing troops at the border of Ukraine, ready to attack, cause a massive war in Europe. Putin likely thinks Biden is too weak to respond.'
Hannity concluded that Biden 'might be the worst president in modern American history'.
Breitbart's editor at large, Joel Pollack, tweeted: 'This press conference marks the effective end of the Biden presidency. Let the 25th Amendment discussions begin.'
Jake Evans, who describes himself as a pro-Trump candidate for Congress in Georgia, tweeted: 'If Joe Biden's press conference today was a cognitive test, he failed it miserably. What an unmitigated disaster that was.'
Ben Shapiro of The Daily Wire tweeted: 'Joe Biden didn't do a press conference for months. We all understand the reason why.'
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