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Biden says 'anyway' at least 9 times while trailing off in press conference

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Biden says 'anyway' at least 9 times while trailing off in press conference

President Biden held a high-stakes press conference Thursday evening where he doubled down on his earlier pledge to remain in the presidential race while making a few gaffes, including trailing off on his thoughts and using the word “anyway” at least nine times. 

“I just got to just pace myself a lot more, pace myself. And the next debate, I’m not going to be traveling in 15 time zones a week before. Anyway, that’s what it was about,” Biden said after reporters asked him about reports he needs to go to bed earlier in the day.

“That’s what it was about. And, by the way, even with that, I love my staff. But they add things. They add things all the time. … I’m catching hell from my wife for that. Anyway,” he continued.

Biden said “anyway” at least nine times throughout the roughly 58-minute press conference, according to a transcript of the press event, sparking some on social media to joke about an “anyway drinking game.”

DEMS RUSH TO DEFEND BIDEN AMID HIGH STAKES PRESS CONFERENCE: ‘VERY STRONG PERFORMANCE’

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Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” aired a compilation of Biden’s repeated use of “anyway,” including six of the instances out of the nine found in the press conference’s transcript. 

Biden’s press conference comes as concerns mount he is not mentally fit to serve another four years in the Oval Office, including 17 elected Democrats calling on the president to bow out of the race as he prepares to square off against former President Trump in November. 

TOP DEMOCRAT ON HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE CALLS ON BIDEN TO SUSPEND CAMPAIGN AFTER NATO PRESS CONFERENCE

President Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., Thursday, July 11, 2024.  (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Joe Biden’s record of public service is unrivaled,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on X after the press conference. “His accomplishments are immense. His legacy as a great president is secure.

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BIDEN’S HIGH-STAKES SOLO PRESS CONFERENCE SLAMMED FROM THE RIGHT AS ‘ANOTHER DISASTER’

“He must not risk that legacy, those accomplishments and American democracy to soldier on in the face of the horrors promised by Donald Trump.” 

Conservatives slammed Biden on social media throughout the public event for his handful of gaffes, including holding up a list of reporters he planned to call on and appearing to confuse Vice President Kamala Harris with former President Trump, in addition to repeatedly saying “anyway.”

“This NATO press conference with Biden is another disaster. It is inexplicable the people advising this man continue to think that somehow he’s not going to humiliate himself and this country. Why do they continue to allow this to happen?” Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce posted to X during the press conference. 

Allies of the president, however, considered the press event a success, remarking on social media that Biden’s delivery while answering reporters’ questions was “strong.”

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BIDEN STAGES HOUR-LONG PRESS CONFERENCE, TAKES MULTIPLE QUESTIONS IN BID TO ALLAY FEARS OVER MENTAL DECLINE

Joe Biden closeup shot from press conference

President Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Getty Images)

“This is a very strong performance. Quite frankly. ⁦@POTUS⁩ is putting on a master class in how foreign policy and domestic policy intersect, explaining how crucial American global leadership is to our people here at home. Well done, Mr. President,” Democratic strategist Joel Rubin posted on X. 

“Tonight Joe Biden offered a lengthy, detailed dive on the major national security issues he’s juggling combined with a comfortable but forceful defense of his view of where this race stands. 50 minutes of Qs. He needed to show up big tonight and he did,” former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield posted to X. 

The president again addressed concerns about his mental acuity during the presser, defiantly defending his record in office. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN: EUROPEAN ALLIES TELL ME I’VE ‘GOT TO WIN’ IN NOVEMBER

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“Am I getting the job done? Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in 3½ years, created 2,000 jobs just last week. So, if I slow down, I can’t get the job done. That’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication of that yet … none,” he said. 

Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (Bizuayehu Tesfaye)

Biden also addressed whether Harris could serve as president, elaborating that he would not have chosen her as his running mate in 2020 if he thought otherwise. 

“First of all, the way she’s handled the issue of freedom of women’s bodies to have control over their bodies. Secondly, her ability to handle almost any issue on the board. This was a hell of a prosecutor. She was a first-rate person, and in the Senate, she was really good. I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be president. From the very beginning. I made no bones about that. She is qualified to be president. That’s why I picked her,” he said. 

Biden addressed the media as he hosted NATO world leaders for the 75th anniversary of the defensive military alliance this week. 

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Georgia activist steals the show after being introduced by Trump at Atlanta rally: 'Incredible'

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Georgia activist steals the show after being introduced by Trump at Atlanta rally: 'Incredible'

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A Georgia activist stole the show after being introduced by former President Trump at his rally in Atlanta Saturday.

Trump invited Michaelah Montgomery up on stage toward the end of his speech at the Georgia State University Convocation Center. He introduced Montgomery by explaining he met her at a restaurant this year.

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Trump said Montgomery, who attended Clark Atlanta University, had recognized him in public and commended him for funding historically Black colleges and universities.

“She looks at me, says ‘It’s President Trump. You saved my college.’ And I said, ‘How the hell do you know that?’ … This one is so smart, so sharp,” Trump recalled.

ALINA HABBA ACCUSES KAMALA HARRIS OF ‘COMMITTING A CRIME,’ COVERING UP BIDEN’S HEALTH

Michaelah Montgomery stole the show after being introduced by former President Trump at his Atlanta rally Saturday. (Getty Images/Fox News)

“She grabbed me. She gave me a kiss,” he added. “I said, ‘I think I’m never going back home to the first lady.’” 

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“You were supposed to keep that quiet,” Montgomery laughed.

The former president commended Montgomery, describing her as “incredible” with a “tremendous future,” and told her he would do “whatever I can to help you,” before giving her the podium.

“I do want to add on to some of the remarks that were made by others,” the conservative activist began. “And we do need to do our best to get the message out there. The fight is nothing if all we do is talk about it amongst ourselves.”

Montgomery added that she was a founder of an organization called Conserve the Culture, which helps “mobilize the HBCU students so that they may get this [conservative] message.”

THE ‘WEIRD’ CAMPAIGN: THE STUNNING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARRIS AND VANCE COVERAGE

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Montgomery smiling at stage

Montgomery attended Clark Atlanta University and had recognized him in public recently. (Fox News)

“Nobody needs this message more than my folks, so do y’all care for real?” Montgomery said to the cheering audience. “Are y’all with us for real?

“I’ma give it back to Big T.”

The rally took place days after Trump was criticized by the White House for statements he made at the recent National Association of Black Journalists convention about Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity.

“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said. “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”

Montgomery waving

At the end of her speech, Montgomery mentioned her organization, Conserve the Culture. (Fox News)

On Wednesday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson praised Trump for “answering tough questions” at the conference.

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“I commend my friend @realdonaldtrump for going into a hostile environment at @NABJ today and answering tough questions,” Carson said in a post on X.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign, but did not immediately hear back.

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Opinion: Trump proved himself unfit to be commander in chief

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Opinion: Trump proved himself unfit to be commander in chief

When I was an officer in the U.S. military, I abstained from voting in national elections, one small way to keep the armed forces nonpartisan. Now, to uphold that same value and prevent the military from becoming a political tool, I believe that in November, everyone — civilians, service members, veterans, everyone — should vote for whoever has the best chance to keep Donald Trump out of office.

This is not a political statement. This is a strategic judgment based on fitness to lead — both to defend the United States and to protect the civilian-military balance that has enabled our nation to become the greatest in history.

Today’s U.S. military is the world’s most powerful weapon, and in the wrong hands it could become a potent political tool as well. This weapon must not be placed under an unfit commander in chief, as the former president showed himself to be during the previous administration and as he has vowed to be again if he regains power.

I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, but an American who has fought in the forces that guard our country and our way of life, in the words of our military’s Code of Conduct. I fought in Iraq, earned two Bronze Stars and taught military strategy at West Point. My commitment to military values and nonpartisanship hasn’t changed since I rejoined civilian life. What’s changed is the choice presented in American politics. There really isn’t one, because one of the two major-party presidential candidates is clearly, demonstrably, irredeemably unfit to serve as commander in chief.

Only one candidate has suggested the execution of a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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Only one candidate has called our war dead — specifically, the Marines who fell at Belleau Wood in France during World War I — “suckers” and “losers.”

Only one candidate has suggested putting NASCAR drivers and college coaches in critical national security positions now held by lifelong military professionals who serve as generals and admirals.

All those are awful enough.

But what settles the question altogether is the certainty that former President Trump would end the military’s bedrock contract with the American people: nonpartisanship. He tried last time and came dangerously close.

Nonpartisanship isn’t simply a nice tradition. It’s the two-factor authentication that’s been at the heart of our nation’s defense for decades. The former president instead wants military leadership that mimics the Nazi high command.

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“You f— generals, why can’t you be like the German generals?” Trump complained to his chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, in 2018. Trump clarified that he wanted generals who were “totally loyal” and “yes-men,” like the Nazi commanders under Adolf Hitler.

Since America’s founding, there’s been a tension between the military and the rest of the nation’s leadership. The monopoly on violence is necessary. But monopoly means placing immense lethal power in a small, select group.

James Madison worried that “armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.” But the Revolution persuaded George Washington that a competent standing military was necessary for the country’s survival.

Over time a bargain solidified. America permitted a professional military, not loyal to a party or a president, but to all the people through an oath to uphold the Constitution. The country even granted a certain amount of autonomy in strategic matters. In exchange, the military would remain nonpartisan. It would work to earn the nation’s trust and subordinate itself to civilian leadership. Military leaders engage in an “unequal dialogue” with their civilian superiors, in scholar Eliot Cohen’s phrase. This preserves the best military advice possible while staying deferential to America’s civilian leaders. There is, of course, occasional friction between presidents and generals — well worth it to maintain this pillar of national defense.

Trump wanted to destroy that pillar. Given a second term, he probably would. In its place he would enforce a subservience that would end the ability of America’s military to provide its best (or much of any) advice on peace and war. Trump would deploy the military as a political prop in service of his own brand, as he already tried to do. And he would reshape the military and the national security apparatus so that Trumpists would rise and others would not. His second term would be staffed by those prepared to “rigorously review all general and flag officer promotions” based on pro-Trump partisan qualifications, as described in the Project 2025 playbook.

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This very same mistake was an enormous Nazi failure: Hitler broke the German generals, and so his decisions went unchecked and included some of the worst strategic moves in the history of warfare.

The immediate threat of a modern commander in chief who favors the Nazi approach would be the inappropriate use of military force on America’s streets (and perhaps even at polling places). The longer threat for this kind of recklessness is unknowable but foreseeable: eroding remaining trust in the military, eviscerating the civilian-military balance, ending America’s centuries-long success story.

“It is easy to destroy an organization,” wrote retired Adm. William McRaven, former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, “if you have no appreciation for what makes that organization great.” McRaven penned those words five years ago, during the former president’s first term in office, and ended by suggesting that if nothing were to change, someone else must serve as commander in chief.

Nothing about Trump has changed. There is only one choice on Nov. 5.

ML Cavanaugh recently retired after 25 years in the U.S. Army. He co-founded the Modern War Institute at West Point. @MLCavanaugh

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JD Vance calls Trump's offer to debate Harris on Fox News ‘masterstroke’

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JD Vance calls Trump's offer to debate Harris on Fox News ‘masterstroke’

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on Saturday called former President Trump’s offer to debate Vice President Kamala Harris on Fox News in September a “masterstroke.”

“I think it’s great,” Trump’s vice presidential pick told SiriusXM’s “Breitbart News Saturday.”In some ways, it’s a masterstroke because, of course, the Kamala campaign has been saying for a long time that President Trump is afraid to debate Kamala Harris, which, of course, is absurd because the last time he debated their nominee, that nominee withdrew two weeks later.” 

President Biden pulled out of the race and endorsed Harris as the nominee last month after his weak debate performance in late June drew concerns from Democrats.

Late Friday night, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I have agreed with FoxNews to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th. The Debate was previously scheduled against Sleepy Joe Biden on ABC, but has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant, and I am in litigation against ABC Network and George Slopadopoulos, thereby creating a conflict of interest. 

KAMALA HARRIS FACES A DIFFICULT DECISION WITH VP PICK: STRATEGIST MATT KEELEN

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“The FoxNews Debate will be held in the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, at a site in an area to be determined. The Moderators of the Debate will be Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, and the Rules will be similar to the Rules of my Debate with Sleepy Joe, who has been treated horribly by his Party – BUT WITH A FULL ARENA AUDIENCE!”

Sen. JD Vance on Saturday called former President Trump’s offer to debate Vice President Kamala Harris on Fox News in September a “masterstroke.” (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trump and Biden had previously been scheduled to debate on Sept. 10 on ABC. 

Vance said Trump has “fairly” said about the previously scheduled debate, “I’m not going to do a debate before the Democratic National Convention because maybe they’ll switch out their nominee again.” 

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22. 

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The Ohio senator added that Trump was “throwing down the gauntlet of ‘I was willing to go to CNN,’ which is far more hostile to him than any network would be to Kamala Harris, and ‘Kamala Harris, why don’t you come and agree to a debate.

“The thing that we’ve learned about Kamala, Matt, over the last four years, is she’s incredibly bad if she’s not scripted, right?” 

13 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS NOT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Kamala Harris speaking

On Saturday, Harris hit back at Trump’s offer for a new debate on X, writing, “It’s interesting how ‘any time, any place’ becomes ‘one specific time, one specific safe space.’ I’ll be there on September 10th, like he agreed to. I hope to see him there.” (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Vance added that the final reason he’s thinks “it’s so smart for the president” to want an audience at the debate is “he really feeds off of human beings, which is like natural and normal for a political leader.

“You’re supposed to lead people, and to lead people you actually have to sort of like people and engage with them well,” he said. “So, him having a crowd for this debate, I think, is really important because it will show his natural leadership ability. And it also shows, frankly, that people are kind of turned off by Kamala Harris. So, I think it’s good. Hopefully, it happens, and hopefully Kamala Harris agrees to it. If she doesn’t, then, clearly, she’s the one who’s afraid to debate.”

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Trump and Biden debating on June 27

President Biden dropped his bid for re-election after a weak debate performance against former President Trump June 27.  ( Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Harris hit back at Trump’s offer for a new debate on X Saturday, writing, “It’s interesting how ‘any time, any place’ becomes ‘one specific time, one specific safe space.’ I’ll be there on September 10th, like he agreed to. I hope to see him there.”

In the spring, Trump had called on Biden for a debate “any time, any place.” 

“Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out,” Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler told Fox News Digital. “He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10.”

Tyler said Harris would be at the previously scheduled ABC debate “one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a primetime national audience. We’re happy to discuss further debates after the one both campaigns have already agreed to. Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th.”

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