Biden refers to Harris as ‘VP Trump’ during mistake-filled NATO presser

News conference held as more Democrats call on Biden to step aside

In his first news conference since his critically panned debate performance two weeks ago, President Joe Biden on Thursday made numerous mistakes while talking for about an hour. He answered questions from 10 hand-picked reporters focused mostly on his fitness for office, but included issues such as the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine.

“I’ve been given a list of people to call on here,” Biden said when the Q&A portion of his news conference began, later mistakenly referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.”

News outlets since Biden’s performance in the late June debate against former President Donald Trump have reported that Biden is tightly controlled by White House staff, some saying as efforts to hide the president’s cognitive decline. Because of Biden’s recent gaffes, many Democrats have called on Biden to step aside and allow the party to choose another candidate to run against Trump in November. Biden has been defiant, insisting he will stay in the race.

“I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job that I started,” Biden said after he was asked whether his refusals to back out of the race might backfire and cost the Democratic Party the Oval Office, as well as down ballot races in Congress. Republicans hold a slight majority in the U.S. House, and Democrats in the Senate. Either or both could flip in November, depending on voter sentiment.

When asked if Harris was ready to become president if Biden did decide to step aside, the president said, “I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I think she’s not qualified to be president. Let’s start there.”

Trump quickly mocked Biden for the flub on his Truth Social account.

“Crooked Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ Press Conference with, ‘I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president,” Trump posted. “Good job, Joe.”

Biden also lost his train of thought several times during the news conference, ending his answers with “well, anyway” without finishing his response.

When asked if he was capable of performing the job of the presidency for another four years, Biden said he was but, “I’ve just got to pace myself more.”

Earlier in the day, Biden mistakenly called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “President Putin” during an introduction. Vladimir Putin is president of Russia, which invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.

Biden’s news conference came after he addressed the NATO summit on Thursday, highlighting the U.S.’ commitment to providing aid to Ukraine and the importance of unity among NATO members. Biden hosted the summit and the various world leaders in Washington, D.C. this week.

When asked during the news conference if he would reconsider the U.S. allowing Ukraine to use U.S. weapons in its war with Russia, Biden mistakenly said, ““I’m following the advice of my commander-in-chief.” As president, Biden is commander-in-chief of the U.S. military. He soon followed, “My, the chief of staff of the military, as well as the secretary of defense and our intelligence people.”

NATO is now 75 years old and holds the position as the world’s most powerful and far-reaching deterrence pact.

“The fact that NATO remains the bulwark of global security did not happen by accident,” Biden said at the summit’s opening ceremony Wednesday. “It wasn’t inevitable. Again and again, at critical moments, we chose unity over disunion, progress over retreat, freedom over tyranny and hope over fear. Again and again, we stood behind our shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous Transatlantic community.”

According to the U.S. Defense Department, NATO has provided at least $175 billion to Ukraine, including guns, fighter jets, ammunition and training.

Trump has long been critical of the alliance, highlighting an over-reliance on U.S. monetary aid and defense funding.

Trump’s threats of non-protection over members not paying their dues has many in Europe worried about his commitment to the alliance.

“‘If we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?’ I said ‘absolutely not,'” Trump said at a campaign rally in South Carolina, remarking an interaction he had with one supposed member president.

Though a unilateral withdrawal from the alliance is not possible, there has been speculation about plans that would restructure the alliance so as to rely less on U.S. funding and defense platforms.

Related Topics:#JoeBiden #TheCenterSquare #USPresidentialElection BidenNATO NolanMcKendry

Up Next

EXCLUSIVE: Jim Jordan Investigating UN’s Involvement In ‘Fast-Tracking’ Migrants Into US

Don't Miss

Oil and gas industry critic in Canadian senate flew 100K in past year to climate conferences: report

Todayville

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ defense shield must be built now, Lt. Gen. warns

Alberta / 3 hours ago

The beauty of economic corridors: Inside Alberta’s work to link products with new markets

Energy / 3 hours ago

Why are Western Canadian oil prices so strong?

International

Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ defense shield must be built now, Lt. Gen. warns

Published on April 1, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

Lt. Gen. Trey Obering (Ret.), former director of the Missile Defense Agency, is calling on Congress and the Department of Defense to move quickly in support of President Donald Trump’s vision for a next-generation missile defense system—dubbed the “Golden Dome.” In a Fox News op-ed, Obering argues that a constellation of up to 2,000 satellite interceptors could defend against modern threats from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran at a fraction of the cost of today’s ground-based systems.

Key Details:

The Golden Dome initiative will be presented to President Trump following his executive order mandating the development of advanced national missile defense.
Obering says a space-based system, enabled by AI and peer-to-peer networking, could intercept missiles earlier in their trajectory, significantly enhancing U.S. deterrence capabilities.
Estimated cost for the full satellite constellation would be less than the price of today’s 44 ground interceptors and global radar network.

Diving Deeper:

In a March 31 op-ed for Fox News, retired Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, who directed the Missile Defense Agency under President George W. Bush, laid out a detailed argument for why President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield is both technologically feasible and strategically necessary. “We can do this — and we must,” Obering wrote, emphasizing the urgency of the moment.

According to Obering, the current U.S. missile defense architecture—reliant on ground-based interceptors and radar systems—faces serious limitations in light of the increasingly sophisticated missile technologies being developed by U.S. adversaries. “Our existing missile-defense system cannot easily defeat some of our adversaries’ more modern, sophisticated weapons,” he noted.

The “Golden Dome” proposal envisions a network of up to 2,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, operating as both sensors and interceptors. The concept, which builds on Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative and the shelved “Brilliant Pebbles” program, is now achievable thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, satellite production, and space-based communications. “Each satellite has the knowledge of every other satellite,” Obering explained. “They all serve as both threat sensors and hit-to-kill interceptors.”

Obering pointed to real-world applications of this model in Ukraine, where a peer-to-peer software system—built using concepts from Uber—has helped the Ukrainian military effectively target Russian positions. A similar concept could be applied to satellite-based missile defense. “The networking concept has already proven its effectiveness on the battlefield in Ukraine,” he said.

Importantly, Obering stressed that while no missile shield is perfect, the deterrent power of such a system would be undeniable. “The capability and capacity now exists to defeat single and multiple missile launches, thereby creating strategic deterrence — or ‘peace through strength,’ in the words of both Reagan and Trump,” he wrote.

Cost is another key factor. Obering argued that this next-gen system would come in at a lower price than the 44 ground interceptors currently deployed in Alaska and California. He cited SpaceX’s Starlink, which already has over 7,000 satellites in orbit, as proof of concept for rapid and scalable deployment. “For a defense system charged with safeguarding countless lives and trillions of dollars in assets, this would be money well spent,” he said.

He also warned that bureaucratic delays must not slow the project. “We cannot allow unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles to stifle our progress,” Obering urged. He called on Congress to expedite confirmations of key defense leaders and fully fund the Golden Dome initiative, with the Missile Defense Agency as the lead coordinating body.

With China racing ahead in artificial intelligence and space defense, Obering concluded with a stark warning: “Golden Dome must be built first; the alternative is too terrible to contemplate.”

2025 Federal Election

Liberal MP Paul Chiang Resigns Without Naming the Real Threat—The CCP

Published on April 1, 2025

Todayville

Dan Knight

After parroting a Chinese bounty on a Canadian citizen, Chiang exits the race without once mentioning the regime behind it—opting instead to blame “distractions” and Donald Trump.

So Paul Chiang is gone. Stepped aside. Out of the race. And if you’re expecting a moment of reflection, an ounce of honesty, or even the basic decency to acknowledge what this was really about—forget it.

In his carefully scripted resignation statement, Chiang didn’t even mention the Chinese Communist Party. Not once. He echoed a foreign bounty placed on a Canadian citizen—Joe Tay—and he couldn’t even bring himself to name the regime responsible.

Instead, he talked about… Donald Trump. That’s right. He dragged Trump into a resignation about repeating CCP bounty threats. The guy who effectively told Canadians, “If you deliver a Conservative to the Chinese consulate, you can collect a reward,” now wants us to believe the real threat is Trump?

I haven’t seen Donald Trump put bounties on Canadian citizens. But Beijing has. And Chiang parroted it like a good little foot soldier—and then blamed someone who lives 2,000 miles away.

But here’s the part you can’t miss: Mark Carney let him stay.

Let’s not forget, Carney called Chiang’s comments “deeply offensive” and a “lapse in judgment”—and then said he was staying on as the candidate. It wasn’t until the outrage hit boiling point, the headlines stacked up, and groups like Hong Kong Watch got the RCMP involved, that Chiang bailed. Not because Carney made a decision—because the optics got too toxic.

And where is Carney now? Still refusing to disclose his financial assets. Still dodging questions about that $250 million loan from the Bank of China to the firm he chaired. Still giving sanctimonious speeches about “protecting democracy” while his own caucus parrots authoritarian propaganda.

If you think Chiang’s resignation fixes the problem, you’re missing the real issue. Because Chiang was just the symptom.

Carney is the disease.

He covered for it. He excused it. He enabled it. And now he wants to pose as the man who will stand up to foreign interference?

He can’t even stand up to it in his own party.

So no, we’re not letting this go. Chiang may be gone—but the stench is still in the room. And it’s wearing a tailored suit, smiling for the cameras, and calling itself “leader of the Liberal Party.”

Subscribe to The Opposition with Dan Knight .

For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.