Reaction to the much-ballyhooed Biden “big boy” press conference was mixed across the dial. Each of the major broadcast networks carried the presser. Each came away with their own unique spin on what was billed as a “make-or-break moment” for Biden.
ABC News reacted with despondence and doom, in a tone slightly less funereal than for President Joe Biden’s interview with George Stephanopoulos. ABC’s was the most overtly political coverage, with its focus on whether Biden did enough to remain on the ballot.
DAVID MUIR: Let's get right to Mary Bruce, our Chief White House correspondent. Mary, what’s the first reaction from your sources inside The White House, inside this campaign?
MARY BRUCE: Well, David, The White House, a source telling me they feel he knocked it out of the park. That he showed, certainly, his sophistication on a broad range of issues, including fielding all of those foreign policy questions. They feel that he had a good night here. The question is whether any of that is going to be enough, because the president certainly here is digging in. He doesn't seem to want to face that growing chorus of dissenters that we are hearing on Capitol Hill, that continues to grow. Insisting that, yes, he just needs to continue to show them that he can do this in these unscripted moments. But David, the president dismissing, still, much of their concern, and those answers have not yet been given to many Democrats.