Joe Biden's senior officials struggled to keep their composure when the president mistook Donald Trump for Kamala Harris last night - as dozens of Democratic lawmakers prepared to turn against him.
The major blunder came near the top of Biden's 'make-or-break' press conference and shortly after the commander-in-chief introduced Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the end of the NATO summit as 'President Putin.'
Indeed, Biden's cabinet may have hoped that after the epic gaffe in front of a worldwide audience the worst was over.
But about two hours later, the cameras were trained on Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as the president made arguably his worst flub of the night.
Democrat sources said the President faces a brutal 48 hours as dozens of party lawmakers go public with calls for his withdrawals after his gaffe-ridden Nato press conference
Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left), defense secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan struggled to contain their reactions at the President's latest flub
'Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, if I think she’s not qualified to be president,' Biden answered a reporter's question about whether he thought Harris had what it takes to be president.
'So let's start there, number one,' he continued.
Sullivan put his hand to his mouth and Blinken allowed his gaze to drop dolefully as if staring off into space as the president poured gasoline on his chances of re-election.
Only defense secretary Lloyd Austin appeared to control his gaze, staring unblinkingly at the commander-in-chief and even attempting a slight nod of agreement.
The trio had a front row seat for the press conference at the end of the NATO conference on Thursday evening as calls for Biden to step down reached a fever pitch.
Biden insisted he is staying in the race and rejected claims he is unfit to serve while also defying reality by insisting there are no polls that show he would lose to Trump in the November general election.
And all the unforced errors came at a critical time for Biden's presidency and candidacy as Democrats launched a coordinated effort to go public with demands he withdraw from his re-election bid against former President Donald Trump.
Even his two-term White House boss, former president Barack Obama, reportedly held emergency talks with Nancy Pelosi who had been urging Biden's critics to stay silent ahead of last night's make or break NATO press conference.
But his performance did nothing to quell his critics with yet another lawmaker, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who called for Biden to step back from his campaign just minutes after the presser ended.
CBS quoted four Democrat insiders claiming that a coordinated party rebellion is now underway, labeling the next two to three days as a 'brutal' stretch during which they expect Biden will be forced to drop out by the middle of next week.
Obama had previously tried to calm Democrat nerves in the aftermath of Biden's disastrous presidential debate with Donald Trump last month, insisting 'bad debate nights happen'.
Democrat kingmakers Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi held emergency talks about Biden's future as their previous support for the president appeared to be sliding away
Donald Trump was quick to mock his rival's latest slip-ups
But the 44th president reportedly did nothing to stop his friend George Clooney publish his excoriating op-ed demanding Biden withdraw, earlier this week.
Pelosi too had pledged loyalty but told MSNBC that she would support Biden's decision when he made it – days after he insisted that he already had.
Two teleprompt screens, a list of vetted journalists, and press aides with microphones, ready to silence tricky questions, set the stage for last night's press conference.
Yet even with the guard rails of screens, fussing aides and an opening statement, Biden struggled at times with a raspy throat, botched lines and meandering answers.
He answered questions from 10 journalists and spoke for an hour on topics that ran the gamut from the Democratic convention and his health to long-range weapons for Ukraine and how to tackle a rising China.
His allies and worried Democrat loyalists wanted a demonstration that he was still up to the job.
He opened his press conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, where world leaders were marking the 75th birthday of NATO, with a filibustering tele-prompted speech about the importance of alliances, and a list of his achievements in office.
But then came his first great gaffe of the night as he introduced Ukraine's president.
'Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,' he said before realizing he was meant to be introducing President Volodymyr Zelensky who is a very much currently at war with Putin.
A gasp ran around the room. Some people shouted the correct name as the leader of the free world tried to rally.
'No, we're going to beat Putin,' he said, as if to suggest he simply had Putin on the brain rather than suffering a senior moment.
The room full of about 100 journalists, all clutching phones bearing the text of the their prepared questions, became fidgety, fearing his 'press conference' was merely an opportunity for him to talk at them then leave.
'With that, I'll take your questions,' said Biden to the almost audible relief of his audience.
Biden's latest press conference flubs prompted a flurry of memes
The pained reaction of Biden's most senior officials did not escape watchers on social media
'I've been given a list of people to call out here: Reuters, Jeff Mason.'
He was immediately asked about George Clooney's bombshell intervention a day earlier, calling on him to stand aside, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggesting there was still time to decide whether he was in or out.
'There's a long way to go this campaign,' said Biden. 'And so I I'm just going to keep moving, keep moving.
'And because look, I got more work to do. We got more work to finish this.'
If Biden's future hung heavily over the NATO summit in Washington it was in part because that's what Biden wanted.
'I guess a good way to judge me,' he told George Stephanopoulos on ABC last week, would be to watch him at the summit.
Following his disastrous debate performance, some experts including Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a prominent CNN commentator, had urged Biden to get a cognitive test.
Biden reflected last night on the benefits of age, even as he dismissed concerns about his stiff gait, which has prompted long-distance Internet speculation about symptoms associated with Parkinson's.
'I do have a little problem with my left foot because I broke my foot and didn't wear the boot,' said Biden, referencing the fracture he suffered in 2020.
'The only thing that age does is creates a little bit of wisdom if you pay attention,' Biden said.
But by the end of it memes depicting 'Vice-President Trump' were flooding the internet and the pained reaction of Biden's most senior officials was already attracting contempt and admiration in equal measure.
'That's the look of 'f*** I gotta go update my resume..' wrote one tweeter.
Biden has spent this week surrounded by the pomp and gravity of NATO. He hosted allied heads of state and government at the White House on Wednesday
A mixture of admiration and contempt greeted the officials' attempts to keep their cool
'Jake Sullivan just saw billions of dollars of NSA/CIA pet projects go poof in that moment,' wrote another.
'Lloyd Austin was stone cold. that was impressive.'
Blinken was under particular scrutiny after he was spotted vigorously shaking his head at undiplomatic comments from his boss labeling China's Xi Jinping a 'dictator' at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November last year.
And Donald Trump was quick to weigh in with his reaction to Biden's latest gaffes.
'Crooked Joe begins his 'Big Boy' press conference with 'I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president,' he wrote.
'Great job, Joe!'
Biden's X account tried to make the most of it, writing in response: 'By the way: Yes, I know the difference. One's a prosecutor, and the other's a felon.'
