With his candidacy on the line as members of his party continue to call for him to step down, each appearance has been a high-stakes moment for Biden. Polls show that most Americans, including a majority of Democrats, would prefer another candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Here are six snapshots of Biden’s public appearances over the past three weeks — including times he’s parried concerns about his age successfully and times when his attempts have failed.
July 17: An abrupt break from the campaign trail
The day Biden tested positive for covid, he returned to his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., to isolate. He was experiencing cold symptoms, including a cough and malaise, according to the White House.
When he landed at Dover Air Force Base, Biden paused twice on the stairs as he disembarked the plane. He took two steps down before stopping, waving and smiling, then two more before pausing and gesturing again. He then descended the rest of the stairs. Reporters traveling with him noticed that he was moving slowly.
July 16: Policy proposal mistake
During a visit to Nevada the day before, Biden flubbed his announcement of a new proposal to cap rental costs. The proposed policy would cap annual rent increases at 5 percent for tenants of landlords who own more than 50 units. Biden mistakenly announced that the policy would cap rent increases at $55.
Biden was forceful in other parts of the speech, and the campaign stop reflected a major push from the White House to respond to voter anger over high housing prices. It was also an effort to reach Nevada voters, who have seen among the biggest jumps in housing costs nationwide and whose electoral votes Democrats have grown increasingly worried they could lose to Trump in November.
July 12: ‘I’m not going anywhere’
A few days before his Nevada stop, Biden spoke forcefully at a campaign rally in Detroit on July 12, delivering an energetic vow to stay in the race. “There’s been a lot of speculation lately: ‘What’s Joe Biden going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out?’ Well, here’s my answer: I am running, and we’re going to win!” he shouted.
He vowed to beat Trump again, insisting that he would stay in the race and making an impassioned case for his candidacy. He also spoke about what he would do in his first 100 days of a second term.
“I’m the nominee,” he said to chants of support from the audience. “You the voters, you decided. No one else. And I’m not going anywhere.”
July 11: Biden mixes up names
Introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at an event during the mid-July NATO summit in Washington, Biden mistakenly called him “President Putin,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden stepped away from the podium, then immediately caught himself. “President Putin! He’s going to beat President Putin. President Zelensky,” he corrected himself.
That evening, Biden held a news conference seen as vitally important for rescuing his candidacy. Taking questions from reporters for almost an hour, the president showed his command of a range of topics but mistakenly used some words and names. Most notably, he referred to Vice President Harris as “Vice President Trump.”
July 7: ‘Never been more optimistic’
A little more than a week after the debate, Biden leaned on a familiar tactic: He joked about his age. Speaking at a church service in Philadelphia, he quipped, “I know I only look like I’m 40 years old, but I’ve been around a little bit.”
“All kidding aside,” he continued, “I’ve been doing this a long time, and I honest-to-God have never been more optimistic about America’s future — if we stick together.”
The church visit was part of a swing through Pennsylvania as Biden worked to drum up support in the key swing state while Democrats privately debated whether he should step aside.
June 27: The debate
Among the many missteps Biden made at the debate was a moment when he appeared to lose his train of thought when responding to a question from CNN moderator Jake Tapper about tax cuts for the very wealthy.
Biden suggested that raising taxes on the very wealthy — for whom Trump enacted tax cuts — would help wipe out the national debt incurred by Trump. Biden then began listing ways that additional tax influx could strengthen the health-care system. He appeared to lose his way, however, in describing the last item on his list, making a few false starts before ending with, “look — if — we finally beat Medicare—” He was cut off by the moderator, and the “We finally beat Medicare” line became one of his most notable gaffes of the night, with Trump quickly seizing on it.
Toluse Olorunnipa, Yasmeen Abutaleb, Michael Birnbaum, Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Jeff Stein and Rachel Siegel contributed to this report.
