President Biden held a high-stakes press conference Thursday evening where he doubled down on his earlier pledge to remain in the presidential race while making a few gaffes, including trailing off on his thoughts and using the word “anyway” at least nine times. “I just got to just pace myself a lot more, pace myself. And the next debate, I’m not going to be traveling in 15 time zones a week before.

Several Democrats and progressives rushed to the defense of President Biden as he fielded questions from reporters at the NATO summit about his mental acuity and whether he has what it takes to be successful in the 2024 race for the White House.”To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs. He’s just that f—ing good,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote in a post to X.

President Biden held a roughly hour-long press conference and took multiple questions from reporters Thursday evening as he works to quell concerns over his mental fitness and age ahead of the presidential election in November. “I’m determined on running,” Biden declared Thursday evening in his solo press conference that lasted roughly 58 minutes.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes, called on President Biden to suspend his 2024 re-election campaign, just moments after the president finished his highly anticipated press conference. Biden participated in a press conference with reporters at the end of the NATO summit in Washington D.C. on Thursday night.

President Biden faces a growing number of calls to step aside from the 2024 race for the White House, leading many Americans to question what the Democratic Party’s nomination process will look like if he stays in the race or ultimately allows for the selection of a new candidate.Biden has stated several times since his damaging debate performance last month he will not drop out of the race.