Jake Tapper Pushes Biden Campaign Cochair to Hold 2-Hour Press Conference to Prove President’s Acuity

Jake Tapper told Biden campaign cochair Sen. Chris Coons there’s an easy way to prove the president’s weak debate performance was a fluke: a 2-hour press conference.

The CNN host — and one of the two moderators of the June 27 debate – pushed Coons on why so many democrats are trying to convince the American people that President Joe Biden’s debate performance wasn’t as bad as it seemed during a Monday interview.

“I think it is easy to settle this right now by President Biden going to the Brady Press Center in the White House and doing a two-hour press conference,” Tapper said. “Everyone would cover it live, networks probably would cover it live, he’d answer all these questions. It’s not a crazy thing to expect a president to do.”

He continued, “The fact is, you know that and the campaign knows that, the White House knows that. That’s how you settle this, you put him in front of reporters and he handles himself with acuity, aplomb, we all see it’s just a fluke. The fact that you haven’t done that says quite a bit to me.”

Some tough questioning of Biden national co-chair Chris Coons by @jaketapper
Tapper notes Biden also didn’t tell the truth at the debate about no soldiers dying on his watch.
Tapper pushes on the lack of press conferences.
Coons says he is urging Biden to do exactly that. pic.twitter.com/w0TQG4Rea1

— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) July 1, 2024

The host also called out Coons for being a part of a number of democratic officials who are attempting to categorize the debate as a one-off incident.

“With all due respect, it is not honest to say that this is just one night,” Tapper said. “There have been moments like this that people have seen in front of the cameras and other moments without cameras.”

NEW: CNN's Jake Tapper hammers Democrats for not taking Biden's mental decline seriously, calls out Chris Coons to his face for shilling for Biden.

"There is a pattern of democratic officials seemingly trying to convince you to not believe what you saw and what you heard with… pic.twitter.com/zaygyDfkQZ

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 1, 2024

Biden’s first 2024 debate against Donald Trump was marred with issues, such as a scratchy throat and a wandering mind that often made him inarticulate. He also trailed off his sentences and earned plenty of jokes on X for his open-mouthed expressions in between answers.

The president himself criticized his performance the day after the debate, looking much livelier back on the campaign trail.

“I know I’m not a young man … I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said in a rally speech, to cheers from his supporters. “I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.”