USA's President Joe Biden gave a competent impression when he met the journalists' questions, according to American professor Dennis Goldford.
But it will not still the concern about his ability to campaign and win the election, he says.
The increasingly questioned Biden had not held a large and formal press conference on his own for several months when he stepped forward to face reporters on Thursday evening, in connection with the NATO summit in Washington.
He did not look as lifeless as he did during the debate against Trump. He started powerfully when he read from the teleprompter, says Dennis Goldford, professor emeritus of political science at Drake University in Des Moines in the American state of Iowa.
Well-prepared and competent
Biden appeared to a large extent as well-prepared, especially on foreign policy, emphasizes Goldford.
But he notes that the 81-year-old had it harder when he went from holding a speech to answering questions – especially questions about his health and ability.
Then he answered several times by talking about political actions, but that was not what the question was about.
Biden slipped up a couple of times – before the press conference, he called Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky "President Putin" and during the press conference, he happened to refer to his "Vice President Trump".
"Does not strengthen the image"
Mistakes of this kind, which Biden has made many times before, do not have to be a problem, according to Dennis Goldford.
But for those who think Biden is too old, this kind of everyday mistake will strengthen the image of him not being on top.
On the whole, he does not think that Joe Biden, who has been urged by several party colleagues to step down, made any catastrophic mistakes.
He did not dig the hole deeper, so to speak. But did he fill in what he had already dug up? Not really. Maybe this helped a little on the margin, but it cannot be denied that he is 81 years old.
Weakened self-confidence
Goldford says that the Democrats must take a stand on whether Biden meets the minimum requirement, namely that he does not worsen the chances of winning the election.
Right now, many Democrats are suffering from a lack of self-confidence. The question is whether he will be able to instill that self-confidence in his party colleagues in the coming days or weeks.
