By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
President Joe Biden is facing criticism for mistakes he made during his “big boy” press conference on July 11.
During the conference, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as former President Donald Trump. That came just hours after Biden erroneously called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by the name of his rival Russian President Vladimir Putin while attending a NATO summit event.
The Democratic president has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, following a shaky debate performance against Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, on June 27.
Following the debate, the 81-year-old’s health was called into question and has resulted in several House Democrats, celebrities, party donors and political analysts asking him to withdraw his re-election bid.
However, Biden has repeatedly stated that he will not step aside and plans to win in November.
Although Biden has lost the support of some congressional members within the Democratic Party, the majority of Democrats on Capitol Hill continue to rally behind him.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) engaged in a private conversation with the president following the press conference and remains committed to supporting the Democratic leader.
“In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together,” said Jeffries.
The New York lawmaker also thanked Biden for his “continued leadership in service of the communities privileged to represent.”
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said that Biden will win his bid for re-election.
“Biden is a decent and honorable human being. A man of great character running against a lying, deceptive, cheating deplorable human being,” said Waters. “ is going to beat him.”
U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) expressed that he is “sticking” with the president.
“I’m sticking with Joe Biden as long as I can stick with him, which I hope is until after the election to celebrate with him and the Democratic Party,” said Mfume. “I think you have to ride the horse that brought you across the river.”
The Maryland lawmaker added that Biden “saved Democracy” and is a better fit to lead the nation than his Republican challenger.
Although some House Democrats have touted the idea of replacing Biden with Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, many Democrats say that is unlikely given that the Democratic National Convention is just weeks away.
U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said that despite the president’s mishaps, Democrats have to continue mobilizing to defeat Trump in November.
“I’ve been very critical of President Biden, particularly around foreign policy, but he has a good team around him and he’s done some good things,” said Bowman. “We can’t let Trump win.”
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