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00:00Let's cross live now to David Smith. He's Washington Bureau Chief at The Guardian.
00:04So David, firstly, will this make any difference to the growing calls for Joe Biden to step aside?
00:13Hard to say. I think the general view is that Joe Biden did enough to stay in the race and for
00:21there not to be an avalanche of voices calling for his departure. But it was not a dazzling,
00:27it was not so impressive that he will silence those critics. And indeed,
00:32even as this press conference came to an end, another member of Congress,
00:35Jim Himes, he called for Biden to quit the race. So there's a real ambivalence there. And I think,
00:43you know, the critics will look at the very first question that Joe Biden was asked about this loss
00:48of support and the way Biden made a gaffe. He referred to Vice President Trump when he meant
00:55Vice President Harris. And that was just an hour or two after he had introduced Zelensky of Ukraine
01:01as President Putin. So those verbal slips are still happening. He also said he was going to
01:07consult with the commander in chief when he in fact is the commander in chief. And yet,
01:12as this press conference wore on, the frog in his throat disappeared. His voice became clearer.
01:19And you could tell that he was really in his comfort zone discussing national security issues
01:23and foreign policy. He really showed his depth of experience on foreign policy. And he talked
01:29about not wanting Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia and how Israel has occasionally been not
01:36very cooperative. And I think that was food for thought for some Democrats. Do they really want
01:41to remove a man with all those decades of foreign policy experience? So I think in sporting terms,
01:48it was a bit of a scored draw and Biden will continue. And there are some Republicans and
01:53Donald Trump supporters who are delighted by that because they they fancy their chances of beating
01:57him. And where does the campaign go from here, David? All eyes have been on Biden, but there will
02:03be movement in the Republican camp early next week. That's right. I mean, Biden acknowledged
02:09during this press conference that while he's staying in the race and he does think he's the
02:14best qualified candidate, he does need to allay fears among Democratic voters. And he said,
02:21while Donald Trump has been playing golf, Biden has done about 20 events already,
02:26many in swing states, interviews all around the country. That continues on Friday with a campaign
02:32rally in Detroit and the crucial swing states of Michigan. Then on Monday, Biden has got another
02:41big moment, a TV interview with Lester Holt, one of the leading broadcasters. So that, again,
02:46will be scrutinized. Before that, he has a speech at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library
02:51in Texas. And some people are pointing out. So Lyndon Johnson announced he was not running for
02:58reelection back in the 1960s. So some tempting parallels there. But meanwhile, Monday is also
03:04the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. We're expecting to hear Donald
03:09Trump's pick for a running mate. There'll be a big Trump speech there on Thursday. And I think
03:14the Joe Biden camp probably praying that finally the media attention will switch back to Trump
03:19and the Republicans. And of course, hoping that Donald Trump maybe himself makes some kind of
03:25gaffe or some incident where all the scrutiny is back on him.
03:30David, for now, thank you so much. That is David Smith joining us there from Washington.
03:34He is Washington Bureau Chief at The Guardian newspaper.