Analyst says Biden failed to assure American people in solo press conference

(FOX 9) - President Joe Biden faced a myriad of questions from reporters during his first solo press conference in eight months, with members of the media taking aim at Biden’s mental and physical fitness.

While the president said he is determined to stay in the race, claiming he is the most qualified person for the job, Hamline University political science professor David Schultz said Biden’s performance on Thursday wasn’t enough to convince the public.

"The inability to string together a coherent sentence really was the problem," said Schultz.

Earlier in the evening, Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "Putin." He later laughed about the blunder when pressed by reporters.

He also mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump" while answering questions from the press.

"Maybe it wasn’t as bad as the debate, but nonetheless there were points there where he looked confused and couldn’t string together a coherent thought," said Schultz.

Schultz said Thursday’s press conference was essential to assuring the American people of Biden’s mental fitness. The Twin Cities political analyst said he did not believe the president was successful.

"Biden needed to reassure the American people that he was in command and in control, and he failed to do that."