Joe Biden press conference LIVE updates: Fresh blow for president ahead of make-or-break moment

Joe Biden has already misspoken in answering his first question, and remains defiant about running for president again.

The first question was about Biden’s political future and the calls for him to step aside, and whether current Vice President Kamala Harris would have a better chance of beating former president Donald Trump.

“I wouldn’t have picked vice president Trump to be vice president if I didn’t think she was qualified to be president,” he said, confusing Harris with the former president.

“I think I am the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again.”

North American correspondent Farrah Tomazin says that Biden’s shaky answers and several gaffes won’t be enough to stem the bleeding, but his performance in the press conference was not the train wreck some in his camp would have feared.

You can read more of Farrah’s verdict on Biden’s performance here.

That’s a wrap of our live coverage of US President Joe Biden’s press conference, and all its highs and lows.

But that’s not all for our coverage of the run-up to the US presidential election, and we’ll have more stories and analysis from Tomazin as well as international editor Peter Hartcher to keep you up to date.

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As the press conference was unfolding, Donald Trump weighed in live on Joe Biden with a post on his social media network of a video clip of the president saying “vice president Trump”.

Trump added sarcastically, “Great job, Joe!”

The former president made four posts through the press conference, signing off for the night with “Crooked Joe has a case of Trump Derangement Syndrome!”

Donald Trump.Credit: AP

A gaffe by US President Joe Biden, who called Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin”, was “unfortunate”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.

Biden made the slip while introducing the Ukrainian president at the NATO summit in Washington, as he comes under increasing pressure to step down from the upcoming presidential election due to mental fitness concerns.

The mix-up happened just before Biden was set to give a press conference.

President of the United States Joe Biden and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Washington in October 2023.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese steered clear of whether Biden should step aside from the race but sympathised with him, saying it happens.

“Everyone from time to time, I think, has made a slip – it clearly was on his mind who President Zelensky is fighting,” the prime minister told Brisbane radio station 4BC on Friday.

“But it certainly is unfortunate.”

Albanese said whether Biden stepped down or not was a matter for the US, but he did say the president was “on top of his game” when the pair met in Washington in 2023.

“[Biden] chaired a meeting of the entire cabinet ... I had a long meeting with him in the Oval Office. We had a couple of dinners, including the official state dinner,” he said.

“He certainly was on top of international affairs, the AUKUS defence arrangements and our relationship, which is so important between Australia and the United States.”

AAP

As our US correspondent Farrah Tomazin said, Joe Biden’s hour-long press conference is unlikely to ease concerns about his campaign to retain the presidency, but nor was it a disaster.

Here are some of the key moments:

• Before the press conference, Biden introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit as “President Putin”, before quickly correcting himself.
• Biden confused former president Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris when responding to the first question.
• The US president denied he had limits on what he could do, but said some adjustments had been made to schedules following his “stupid mistake” in the recent debate with Donald Trump.
• He said European allies wanted him to win, and he was capable of dealing with both Russia and China now and in three years.
• Biden, who is 81, said he was no longer the “bridge candidate” for a younger generation of Democrat leaders because of the gravity of the current economic and geopolitical situation.
• The ageing president said he has had three neurological tests and they all showed he was good, but he would have more if his doctors recommended it.
• Biden said he was “determined on running” and finishing what he started.

“I believe I’m the best qualified to govern and I think I’m the best qualified to win,” he said.

US President Joe Biden just wrapped up his “big boy” press conference after almost an hour.

That is much longer than any presser he has done recently – and after a really big few days here at NATO.

It won’t be enough to assuage concerns, but the consensus is that he didn’t do as badly as some feared he might, given what we saw at the debate against his rival Donald Trump two weeks ago.

He has traditionally been quite good with policy detail – and this presser was full of foreign policy detail – but the mumbles and stumbles will no doubt get most of the focus.

US President Joe Biden has wrapped up his nearly hour-long press conference by declaring he is the best qualified person to win the next presidential election, while also rubbishing polls that put him neck-and-neck with former president Donald Trump.

“The bottom line is all of the polling data right now, which I think is premature because the campaign hasn’t even really started. It hasn’t started in earnest yet,” he said.

He said other people could probably also beat Trump, but said they would be starting from scratch, whereas he has a $US220 million ($325 million) war chest.

“So, a lot can happen but I think I’m the best – I believe I’m the best qualified to govern and I think I’m the best qualified to win,” Biden said.

US President Joe Biden departs after speaking at the news conference. Credit: AP

Joe Biden says he is in good mental shape to continue his presidency, while acknowledging some physical health limitations.

“I have taken three significant and intense neurological exams, by a neurologist. In each case, it’s similar. They say I’m in good shape. OK?” he said.

“Although I do have a little problem with my left foot because it’s not as sensitive because I broke my foot and didn’t wear the boot. But I’m good.

“I’m tested every single day about my neurological capacity to the decisions I make, every day.”

Biden said he would continue to have neurological exams if his doctors say he should have more.

He also pointed to his health record. The latest was published in February and you can read it here.

Many Democrats have either publicly or anonymously said US President Joe Biden should step aside following his disastrous debate performance against his rival Donald Trump a few weeks ago.

In one of the last press conference questions, he was asked what he thinks about those calls and whether that would affect his decision to continue his run for a second term as president.

“I’m determined on running, but I think it is important that I allay fears, that people see me out there,” he said.

“What I have been doing; we’ve done over 20 major events from Wisconsin to North Carolina to, anyway, to demonstrate that I’m going out in the areas where we think we can win, and we can persuade people to move our way.

“I’m going to be going around, making the case for the things that I think we have to finish and how we cannot afford to lose what we’ve done or backslide on civil rights, civil liberties, women’s rights.”

Biden repeated he was determined to finish what he started.

“But the other reason why I didn’t want to hand off to another generation, I have to finish this job.”

In the lead-up to the last election, Joe Biden had presented himself as a transitional figure who would unite the country and then pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.

Asked what has changed since 2020, he replied, “What changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited in terms of the economy, our foreign policy and domestic division.”

He then spoke about his experience in the Senate (which he entered in 1972), which “equipped me to have the wisdom on how to deal with the Congress to get things done” and then talked up his policy achievements, adding that there was still more to do.

Judging by this press conference, Biden is not going anywhere ... yet.

“I’ve gotta finish this job because there’s so much at stake,” he said.

“Not going anywhere”: US President Joe Biden at the press conference.Credit: Bloomberg

In the 2020 presidential race, Joe Biden referred to himself as a “bridge candidate” for a younger generation of Democratic leaders, and today he’s been asked what has changed.

“What changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited in terms of the economy, our foreign policy and domestic division,” he said.

Biden again extolled his work in getting the most done of any president since US president Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s.

“What I realised was my long time in the Senate had equipped me to have the wisdom to know how to deal with the Congress, to get things done,” he said.

“I got more major legislation passed that no one thought would happen, and I want to finish ... to get that finished.”