President Joe Biden will hold a press conference on Thursday, the important thing event of a monumental week through which the Democratic incumbent fends off calls that he should step down because the party's presumptive nominee after a shaky debate performance.
It is precisely the form of event that many political observers say Biden must successfully conduct as a way to refute calls – including from inside his own ranks – for him to withdraw from the re-election battle against the likely Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Biden argued that he had a very bad night in Atlanta and that it was not representative of his mental acuity. A powerful performance on Thursday could persuade members of his party that he still has the power to each win in November and serve a second term. A weak performance — or similar stumbles to those in his debate appearances — could make calls for him to withdraw even louder.
Here are the small print of what White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Biden’s “Big Boy” press conference:
When is the press conference?
Biden is scheduled to reply questions from the White House press corps at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Where is Biden speaking?
Biden will speak on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, near the White House, where many events of the continued NATO summit are going down.
On which channel will or not it’s broadcast?
The White House is broadcasting much of its live content, and given the eye this event is getting, television networks may additionally move away from their programming and broadcast Biden's speech live once he begins speaking.
The Associated Press is offering a live stream on apnews.com.
Who will watch?
Probably a variety of people.
CNN reported that 51 million people watched the talk in Atlanta in prime time, while greater than 8 million people watched Biden's ABC interview live. When the networks jump into their day by day coverage or cable channels carry the show live, Biden is guaranteed to draw considerable attention.
Will Biden know the questions upfront?
Except for some obvious exceptions – reminiscent of incidents through which two black radio hosts said Biden's campaign sent them pre-planned questions – it will not be common practice for the president to know exactly what might be discussed in interviews or press conferences.
His staff prepares him for quite a lot of opportunities that arise from the day's headlines – that’s, they prepare him for the chance that journalists will need to ask him about his suitability for the job, the NATO summit or other topics.
How many questions will he answer?
This will not be set in stone and there aren’t many precedents.
What's next?
Biden returns to the campaign trail on Friday with a visit to Michigan. He may also give an interview with NBC on Monday.
Associated Press author Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.
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