Meetings. Lots of meetings. That is just one part of the plan the White House has laid out for President Joe Biden in coming days as he strives to project a vigorous, engaged persona far removed from what the public saw during his mournful presidential debate appearance.
AP reports the White House announced Tuesday the octogenarian will meet with congressional leaders as well as Democratic governors to convince them he is the man for the job.
He will then sit for a network TV interview on Friday before holding a press conference in coming days.
Biden will speak to “Good Morning America” and “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos for the interview, as Breitbart News reported.
It will air Sunday, July 7, on “This Week” and Monday’s episode of “Good Morning America.”
Biden is also expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in Washington, DC, later this month to speak in front of a joint session of Congress.
That blitz is designed to defeat growing pressure for the 81-year-old president to step aside in the 2024 race after his disastrous performance in last week’s debate with Republican Donald Trump.
“We really want to turn the page on this,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the intensifying calls for Biden to bow out of the race, the AP report notes.
She added the president had no intention of stepping aside, saying debate failings were simply evidence of “a bad night” when he had a cold.
The push to get Biden out and about comes as Democratic leaders despair at White House attempts to dismiss Biden’s performance as a one-off after he gave halting and nonsensical answers and trailed off at times.
