(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) Leading left-wing media analyst Harry Sisson held critics to task Thursday for doubting President Joe Biden was capable of carrying out what his own staff had characterized as a “big boy” press conference, in which the president was obliged to withstand an entire hour of questioning with limited assistance.
President Biden’s press conference was amazing. It’s time for Democrats to unite and SUPPORT Joe Biden! pic.twitter.com/C2oI8BLhLG
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) July 12, 2024
Sisson, a 21-year-old star of the popular Gen-Z social-media streaming app TikTok, said Biden “executed it perfectly” despite using no cheat-sheets, no teleprompter and having no advance knowledge of the questions.
Several conservatives were forced to acknowledge that Sisson’s assessment of Biden’s cognitive abilities was, once again, spot on.
Harry is right
Biden looks and sounds great 🤣 pic.twitter.com/aef0PsQ1aZ
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) July 12, 2024
He looked great! We should definitely stand behind Biden!
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) July 12, 2024
I agree. Hang on Joe! https://t.co/Ca0KMBaNpg
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) July 12, 2024
Even top former Trump official Ric Grenell had to concede that Biden threatened to be a formidable adversary after answering all of the questions.
Joe Biden is crushing it.
Build Back Better.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) July 11, 2024
However, with rumors that former President Barack Obama was behind a secretive whisper campaign to force out his former running mate—bringing in powerful influencers from the Washington, D.C., political establishment, the Hollywood film industry and the mainstream media—there were some unexpectedly negative reactions, as well.
Meghan McCain, the former View co-host whose father—the late Sen. John McCain of Arizona—was a close friend and ally of Biden’s, accused the commander-in-chief of “humiliat[ing] himself” at the event.
Please stop making us watch Biden humiliate himself.
I really can’t take it anymore.
I feel so sick and sad and awful about all of this.
It is absolutely heartbreaking. Something is obviously wrong with him .
I truly don’t understand what his family is thinking…
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 11, 2024
“I feel so sick and sad and awful about all this,” she said. “It is absolutely heartbreaking. Something is obviously wrong with him. I truly don’t understand what his family is thinking…”
In particular, some pointed to an unusual slip, even by Biden’s standards, when he confused Vice President Kamala Harris with his top political rival, former President Donald Trump.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/wjpldl2iGx
— il Donaldo Trumpo (@PapiTrumpo) July 11, 2024
The viral moment drew considerable online reaction, with one video even appearing to show Trump himself being informed of his new promotion and reacting to it with a sort of disbelief.
Trump finding out that he is Biden’s Vice President. pic.twitter.com/U1DbWV1w3l
— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 (@hollandcourtney) July 12, 2024
Another video showed several of his top Cabinet secretaries, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan appearing to react grimly to the disclosure.
Look at their faces. Lol. They’re totally saying, “We’re f@cked…” pic.twitter.com/CEyzGIEKfO
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) July 12, 2024
The gaffe came on the heels of another equally stunning moment at the NATO summit earlier that day, when Biden introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as his top rival, Russian President Vladimir Putin, eliciting from Zelenskyy a momentary look of confusion.
A close up of Zelenskyy reacting to when Biden called him “President Putin."
He couldn’t believe it. pic.twitter.com/3HXwmEN3Kc
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) July 11, 2024
Online meme producers struggled to keep up with the goldmine of new material.
Wow, he came outta nowhere 😂#DilleyMemeTeam pic.twitter.com/mkUds5r0u8
— drefanzor memes (@drefanzor) July 11, 2024
Biden’s “big boy” press conference also produced several other bizarre moments that were overshadowed by the Trump “vice president” gaffe, including one in which he bizarrely whispered an attack on his own White House staff, suggesting that they “add things all the time.”
In case you missed his 'Big Boy' press conference last night, Biden called his staff liars who add things all the time, probably referring to @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre, and admitted that his wife @drbiden is giving him 'hell' behind the scenes. He said, "I love my staff, but… pic.twitter.com/zF1NLGftuk
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) July 12, 2024
Nonetheless, members of Biden’s communication’s team appeared to be in a celebratory mood about the overall execution of the press conference, with some even suggesting that deputy spokesman Andrew Bates had popped the cork while the event was still in progress after an exceedingly jubilant tweet.
Are you drinking…?
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 12, 2024
The press conference was the 81-year-old Biden’s latest effort to prove that he is still up to the job as some have begun questioning his fitness following a debate with Trump last month that saw him appear to “sundown.”
As Biden himself noted, his schedule since then has been “full boar” while Trump—once known for doing up to five rallies in a single day in his final blitz before the 2020 election—has been uncharacteristically quiet.
Ben Sellers is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/realbensellers.
