The George Stephanopoulos interview with Joe Biden is going in circles. The president has repeatedly cited his record, and the ABC News host has repeatedly asked whether he’s up to the task for the next few years.
Biden says he’s in good shape and not more frail than he once was.
BIDEN: I'm still in good shape
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 6, 2024
STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you more frail?
BIDEN: No. Come keep my schedule pic.twitter.com/zPrGWFHmRG
Biden says he has regular doctors' checkups
Joe Biden said his doctors checked on him after the debate and told him he was “exhausted”. Biden continued: “I have medical doctors trailing me everywhere I go. I have an ongoing assessment of what I’m doing. They don’t hesitate to tell me if something is wrong.”
Stephanopoulos questioned whether Biden would undergo a cognitive test.
Biden responded, “I get a full neurological test every day.”
The president declined to commit to an independent cognitive assessment.
Joe Biden interview: 'I wasn't in control' during debate
Joe Biden’s interview with George Stephanopoulos has begun. Stephanopoulos said the interview is unedited.
Biden said Trump’s shouting during the debate got to him: “I let it distract me. I realized I just wasn’t in control.”
He’s broadly defending his record and says he’s “optimistic” about the future of the country. “Trump’s plan would cause a recession.”
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Full Joe Biden ABC interview to begin airing shortly
Joe Biden’s full ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos, his first sit-down media appearance since his disastrous debate, will start airing shortly. Follow along here as we post key excerpts and takeaways from the conversation.
In an short preview clip released earlier today, Biden brushed off concerns about his debate performance, saying he was feeling sick and exhausted, but that there was no reason to be concerned about any more serious condition. He rambled a bit in his responses in this excerpt. A transcript shared by ABC News included this answer to the question of whether he knew how badly the debate was going on:
Yeah, look. The whole way I prepared, nobody’s fault, mine. Nobody’s fault but mine. I, I prepared what I usually would do sittin’ down as I did come back with foreign leaders or National Security Council for explicit detail. And I realized – partway through that, you know, all – I get quoted the New York Times had me down, ten points before the debate, nine now, or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is, what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times. I couldn’t – I mean, the way the debate ran, not – my fault, nobody else’s fault, no one else’s fault.”
The interview is airing at a critical time for Biden as he is facing escalating pressure to withdraw his candidacy. Biden gave a defiant, energetic campaign speech earlier today, but it has not stopped questions over whether he is a viable candidate to face Donald Trump.
Biden and his representatives have repeatedly said this week that he was not considering dropping out.
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Fourth Congress member calls for Biden to exit the race
A fourth Democratic Congress member has called for Joe Biden to withdraw from the race, Reuters reports.
Mike Quigley, who represents Illinois, said on MSNBC:
"Mr President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this.”
Lloyd Doggett, Raul Grijalva and Seth Moulton, all House Democratic lawmakers, have also called for him to end his reelection campaign.
Biden says he's 'completely ruling out' withdrawing from the race
Reporters briefly asked Joe Biden questions in front of Air Force One just now, with one journalist first asking him if he was going to drop out of the race.
“I’m completely ruling that out,” he responded. “I’ve beaten [Trump] before and I’ve gotten more done than any president has.”
As reporters further questioned him on his viability, he criticized the media, saying, “You’ve been wrong about everything, so far. You were wrong about 2020. You were wrong about 2022, ‘We were going to get wiped out.’ Remember the ‘red wave’? You were wrong about 2023 … So look, we’ll see.”
Biden also downplayed the calls for him to step aside: “All those governors said stay in the race,” he said, referring to his meeting this week with Democratic governors, after which many of them released statements of general support for Biden. When a journalist asked about Massachusetts governor Maura Healey, who published a statement today breaking from the group and raising doubts about him remaining the nominee, Biden noted that she didn’t say anything during his meeting.
Biden also committed to doing another debate: “I hope he’ll debate me. I’m committing now [to debating] absolutely.”
Asked about reports that Democratic Senator Mark Warner wants him to withdraw, Biden responded, “He’s the only one.”
Asked about Sen. Mark Warner wanting him to step aside, President Biden responded: “He’s the only one”
— Matt Viser (@mviser) July 5, 2024
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Watch the first clip from Joe Biden’s George Stephanopoulos interview here:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Was this [the debate] a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition?
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) July 5, 2024
BIDEN: It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing, and I had a bad night. pic.twitter.com/ONIGZEfKQU
There was no major news or surprises in this first excerpt. Echoing comments he and other officials have made since last week’s debate, Biden brushed off concerns about his performance, saying he was exhausted and sick, but that it was not a sign of any more “serious condition”.
The full interview airs at 8pm EST tonight.
ABC airs excerpt of Biden interview: 'I had a bad night'
ABC has aired an excerpt from its interview with Joe Biden with George Stephanopoulos, which will air in full at 8pm EST. The excerpt featured Stephanopoulos asking the president about his poor debate performance and whether it was a “bad episode or a sign of a more serious condition”. Biden responded:
It was a bad episode [not] a serious condition … I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing … I had a bad night .. I was sick, I was feeling terrible … The doctor did a test to see whether or not I had some infection or virus, I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold.”
Biden also pointed out that Trump repeatedly lied during the debate. After Stephanopoulos pointed out that Biden seemed to do poorly from the very start of the debate, the president said, “I just had a bad night.”
Updated
Warning signs of Joe Biden’s decline were hiding in plain sight well before last month’s calamitous US presidential debate performance against Donald Trump.
But Biden had the perfect cover: a long history of verbal slips and other blunders that made it hard to blame his age alone. “I am a gaffe machine,” he admitted in December 2018 when asked about potential liabilities of his election campaign.
He also medical experts on his side. In 2021 Dr Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, pronounced Biden “a healthy, vigorous 78-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency”.
Critics say there was a conspiracy of silence at the White House, however. The 36 press conferences that Biden had given by the end of June were fewer than any president in the same timeframe since Ronald Reagan.
Biden’s team came down hard on reporters who questioned whether the oldest president in American history – now 81 – was still fully capable of doing the job. Journalists also wanted to avoid the accusation of ageism or that they were helping to elect Trump.
“It is simply astounding for the entire country, including its most seasoned reporters, to be as shocked as everyone was by the ugly and painful reality of Biden’s debate performance,” Jill Abramson, former executive editor of the New York Times, wrote on the Semafor website this week.
While it was a “super hard story to report”, she said it could have been done. Instead, Abramson said, the American press failed in its duty to hold those in power accountable. Here are some of the dots that, with the benefit of hindsight, could have been joined sooner:
History may record them as eight days that sunk a presidency, or at least the rockiest road to a convention in living memory – a week that has left Joe Biden’s re-election bid hanging by a thread.
Here’s a timeline of the week that left Biden’s re-election bid hanging by a thread:
Another Democrat in Congress has expressed doubts about Joe Biden’s viability:
I look forward to seeing President Biden’s taped interview with George Stephanopoulos. It’s important that the President also have an extended LIVE interview as soon as possible. (1/3)
— Congressman Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) July 5, 2024
Brad Sherman, from California, posted that he was looking forward to the president’s upcoming interview on ABC, but also said it was “important” that Biden conduct an “extended LIVE interview” as soon as possible.
His statement further suggested that party rules do not mandate that Biden remain on the ticket:
Counter to popular belief, the rules of the Democratic Party do NOT require that pledged delegates vote for Biden at the convention. Party rules require delegates’ votes, “reflect the sentiments of those who elected them,” at the time the delegates cast their ballots.
Democratic Congressmembers Raúl Grijalva and Lloyd Doggett have publicly called on Biden to withdraw his candidacy. In another defiant speech, Biden told supporters in Wisconsin earlier today that he would not be quitting the race.
Donald Trump's links to Project 2025
The Biden campaign has responded to Donald Trump’s attempt to distance himself from Project 2025, a rightwing effort to aggressively roll back civil rights and other liberal policies. After Trump on Friday claimed, “I know nothing about Project 2025,” and “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying,” the Biden campaign pointed out the former president’s many connections to the initiative:
Trump just desperately tried to claim he knows “nothing” about Project 2025.
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) July 5, 2024
FACT CHECK:
—His Super PAC is running ads promoting Project 2025, calling it “Trump’s Project 2025”
—His top aide and former bag boy John McEntee is the guy behind Project 2025
—His press secretary is… pic.twitter.com/O3Dqey07UT
The Make America Great Again Super Pac supporting Trump has run ads promoting the effort and calling it, “Trump’s Project 2025.” John McEntee, who served as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office under Trump, was brought on last year as a senior adviser for Project 2025 via the Heritage Foundation, an influential rightwing conservative thinktank that has drafted the plans to dismantle and reorganize US government.
Led by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is a manifesto that calls for a crackdown on immigration, the reversal of LGBTQ+ rights, further erosion of reproductive rights, the undoing of environmental protections and the implementation of other rightwing policy goals. Trump allies and former appointees have been involved in the effort.
The Trump campaign previously said Project 2025 was not its own initiative, but that it was “appreciative” of suggestions from other groups. Trump has also directly praised the Heritage Foundation and said “we need the help” from the group, as Biden’s campaign pointed out. And the Heritage Foundation has also previously claimed credit for Trump administration policies.
More here from our past coverage of Project 2025:
Joe Biden will reportedly hold a solo press conference next Thursday, according to journalist Jacob Gardenswartz, citing senior administration officials on a call with reporters.
Officials have not publicly confirmed the event, but news of a potential media conference led by Biden comes as the president has faced increasing pressure to speak with reporters and do interviews in the wake of his poor debate performance.
Biden has done fewer press conferences and media interviews than any of his past seven predecessors at this point in his term, according to a report this week in Axios. His first post-debate interview will air this evening on ABC.
Summary
Some key events and links from the day so far, as we prepare for Joe Biden’s major ABC interview to air this evening:
Biden delivered an energetic campaign speech in Madison, Wisconsin, saying: “I am running and going to win again.”
The Massachusetts governor, Maura Healey, broke from other Democratic governors supporting Biden’s campaign and issued a statement urging him to “listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump”.
The White House said Biden was seen by his doctor after the debate and that the physician found he was fine and “recovering well” after reports he was suffering from a cold.
Donald Trump attempted to distance himself from Project 2025, an agenda of rightwing activists to erode civil rights and other progressive policies under a second Trump term. But key figures involved in Project 2025 are closely linked to Trump.
Several powerful Democratic backers have said they will pause donations until Biden steps aside.
Robert F Kennedy Jr made a startling pledge to not “take sides” with respect to the September 11 terrorist attacks if his long-shot presidential campaign vaults him to the White House.
Updated
Democratic senator reportedly advocating for Biden's exit
Mark Warner, a Democratic senator from Virginia, is organizing a group of senators to urge Joe Biden to exit the race, according to a new report in the Washington Post, based on accounts of “two people with direct knowledge of the effort”.
The Post reports:
Warner is telling Democratic senators that President Biden can no longer remain in the election in the wake of his faltering debate performance, according to the people familiar with private conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely. The Virginia senator has told others that he is deeply concerned Biden is not able to run a campaign that could beat former president Donald Trump.
The senator’s spokesperson did not confirm or deny the report to the Post, saying in a statement: “Like many other people in Washington and across the country, Senator Warner believes these are critical days for the president’s campaign, and he has made that clear to the White House.”
The report was published as Biden delivered an energetic campaign speech in Wisconsin reiterating that he was not ending his campaign. But he continues to face pressure and scrutiny. The Massachusetts governor, Maura Healey, who has been a Biden campaign surrogate, issued a statement earlier today urging the president to “listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump”.
Sen. Mark Warner seeks to assemble group of Democratic senators to ask Biden to exit race (w @LACaldwellDC ) https://t.co/oDEXlvMh7x
— Liz Goodwin (@lizcgoodwin) July 5, 2024
Updated
Joe Biden tells rally in Wisconsin: 'I'll beat Trump again'
Addressing a crowd of whooping supporters, Joe Biden delivered an energetic rally speech in Madison, Wisconsin – a major swing state.
Biden opened up his remarks by taking a jab at a Fourth of July comment made by Donald Trump in 2019 when Trump said that revolutionary war troops “took over the airports” from the British.
“He’s a stable genius,” Biden said mockingly.
He went on to vow to beat Trump but not before accidentally slipping up with his words.
“I’m staying in the race … I will beat him again in 2020,” said Biden, before correcting himself a few seconds later by saying: “And by the way, we’re going to do it again in 2024.”
Biden went on to address criticisms about his age, with the 81-year old president saying: “I keep seeing all those stories about being too old … You think I’m too old to restore Roe v Wade as the law of the land? Too old to ban assault weapons again? To protect social security and Medicare? … Too old to beat Donald Trump?”
He then cited Trump’s criminal record, calling him a convicted felon with the “morals of an alley cat” and pointing to Trump’s involvement in the January 6 riots in 2021.
“You can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American at the same time,” he said, adding: “This is so damn serious. You can’t love your country only when you win.”
Biden’s demeanor throughout his nearly 20-minute address on Friday was energetic and forceful, marking a stark shift away from his performance during last week’s debate, which saw him struggle to articulate his thoughts.
With one campaign event out of the way, Biden has several more tests facing him amid these make-or-break days, with a crucial ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos set to air tonight at 8pm.
Updated
In his closing remarks, Joe Biden said:
“I have never been more optimistic about America’s future because the American people are decent, good, honorable. Just remember who in God’s name we are. We’re the United States of America …
“So let’s stand together, win this election and exile Donald Trump.”
Updated
“You can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American at the same time,” Joe Biden said.
“This is so damn serious. You can’t love your country only when you win,” he added.
“Ultimately, the American presidency is about character … It’s about the president’s decency, integrity. Do they respect people or do they incite violence and hate? … And what’s worse, the supreme court has just ruled … for virtually no limits on the power of the presidency …
“We just celebrated the Fourth of July saying we will not be ruled by a king.”
Updated
“Trump’s biggest lie of all is he had nothing to do with the insurrection of January 6,” said Joe Biden.
He went on to say:
“We all saw with our own eyes. We saw he sent thousands to attack the Capitol. We saw police being attacked, the Capitol being ransacked, mob hunting for Nancy Pelosi, gallows set up to hang Mike Pence.
“Let me ask you something, after what Trump did on January 6, why would anyone ever let him be near the Oval Office again?”
Updated
Joe Biden repeated his popular line from last week’s debate, saying that Donald Trump “has the morals of an alley cat”.
The crowd whooped in response as Biden went on to forcefully say: “Trump is a convicted felon … Donald Trump isn’t just a convicted criminal – he’s a one-man crime wave.”
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“I keep seeing all those stories about being too old,” said Joe Biden, adding:
“You think I’m too old to restore Roe v Wade as the law of the land? Too old to ban assault weapons again? To protect social security and Medicare? … Too old to beat Donald Trump?”
After each question, the crowd cheered and applauded energetically.
Updated
Biden: 'I am running and going to win again'
Joe Biden talked about his poor debate performance, saying: “Can’t say it’s my best performance but ever since then, there’s been a lot of speculation. What’s Joe going to do?”
“Here’s my answer. I am running and going to win again,” Biden said energetically.
“I’m a nominee … because millions of Democrats like you just voted for me in primaries all across America,” he added.
“Let me say this as clear as I can: I’m staying in the race to beat Donald Trump.”
Updated
Joe Biden opened up his speech with a jab at Donald Trump, telling the crowd of Trump’s comments about the Fourth of July from 2019 in which he said that revolutionary war troops “took over the airports” from the British.
“He’s a stable genius,” Biden said mockingly.
Updated
Joe Biden has taken the stage in Madison, Wisconsin.
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, yelling: “Let’s go Joe! Let’s go Joe!’
Updated
Joe Biden to speak at campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin
Joe Biden is set to take the stage shortly in Madison, Wisconsin, where he is expected to address a crowd of supporters in the swing state.
We will bring you the latest updates.
Updated
Donald Trump has asked a judge to partly pause his criminal case involving his alleged mishandling of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
In a court filing on Friday, Trump’s lawyers wrote that a pause is “necessary to minimize the adverse consequences to the institution of the presidency arising from this unconstitutional investigation and prosecution”.
The request comes after the supreme court ruled last week that Trump has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts committed as president.
NEW: Trump moves to undercut the classified docs case after Supreme Court immunity ruling
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) July 5, 2024
Trump asks Judge Cannon to hold evidentiary hearings to determine whether any conduct — presumably, re Trump claim docs at MAL were“personal” — was official and immune pic.twitter.com/DtnWSMhFae
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Massachusetts governor on Biden: 'I urge him to … carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope'
Massachusetts’ governor, Maura Healey, has released a statement on Joe Biden, saying that she urges him to “listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump”.
On Friday, Healey, one of Biden’s top surrogates, said:
President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years. I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees this is the most important election of our lifetimes … The best way forward right now is a decision for the president to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.
Whatever president Biden decides, I am committed to doing everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump.
NEW: Gov. @maura_healey breaks her silence on Biden. The surrogate for his reelection campaign urges him to “listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.” #mapoli pic.twitter.com/wg1hodYVhT
— Lisa Kashinsky (@lisakashinsky) July 5, 2024
Healey’s public statement follows previous reports of the governor strongly speaking out against Biden’s re-election bid.
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that although Healey did not speak during Wednesday’s meeting between Biden and several Democratic governors, Healey did say in a separate call with other governors that she had told White House chief of staff Jeff Zients that Biden’s political position was “irretrievable” following his poor debate performance.
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A crowd of anxious Democrats have packed into a middle school gym in Madison, Wisconsin, to see Joe Biden deliver remarks in part of a redemption tour that his campaign hopes will assuage fears about Biden’s age and cognition following a devastating debate performance last week.
In blue writing on wall of the gym is an apt quotation:
Other people may not have had high expectations for me … but I had high expectations for myself.
The quote, attributed to the decorated American gymnast Shannon Miller, and painted on the wall to motivate an audience of middle schoolers, could just as easily speak to the president today.
“I support him no matter what,” said Marcy Wynn, a Democratic party activist from Madison who had squeezed into the gym to see the president speak. For Wynn, the only acceptable scenario for Biden to step down would be if he made the choice himself. And above all, she is worried about a second Trump term. “On the worst day of my life, the last person I would vote for would be Donald Trump.”
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Biden's doctor says the president is fine and 'recovering well', White House spokesperson says
Biden was examined by his physician after last week’s debate with Trump and is fine, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told the Hill.
The Biden campaign said a cold was partially to blame for his poor performance. The president confirmed the doctor visit on a call with Democratic governors on Wednesday and said that he will end work events before 8pm in order to get more sleep, the New York Times reported.
This revelation contradicts what White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday said, that he “did not get checked out by the doctor” since February, adding: “It’s a cold, guys.”
Updated
More powerful donors publicly withdraw their support for Biden.
When asked by the Ankler’s Matthew Frank if he was “holding firm” with the Biden campaign, IAC chairman Barry Diller said “no.”
Diller, who is married to designer Diane Von Fürstenberg, previously donated the maximum amount to Biden’s campaign in 2023 and gave $100,000 to Biden and the Democratic party’s joint Super PAC.
Other wealthy Democratic donors are also rallying to pressure the president to step down.
Abigail Disney, heir to the Disney family fortune told CNBC: “This is realism, not disrespect. If Biden does not step down the Democrats will lose. Of that I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”
The White House said on Wednesday that Biden plans to stay in the race despite his poor debate performance.
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Biden cancels address to teachers' union gathering amid strike
Joe Biden has cancelled his upcoming Sunday address to the National Education Association Staff Union after the country’s largest union announced a strike over unfair labor practice complaints including overtime nonpayments.
A statement released by Biden’s campaign team said:
President Biden is a fierce supporter of unions and he won’t cross a picket line. The president is still planning to travel to Pennsylvania this weekend, and we will have more details to share at a later point.
His campaign team said Biden will still travel to Pennsylvania this weekend (where he was set to deliver the speech outside the NEA’s convention in Philadelphia).
The National Education Association publicly endorsed Biden’s presidential bid in 2020 and 2024.
Updated
Trump attempts to distance himself from Project 2025
Donald Trump is attempting to distance himself from Project 2025, a political roadmap created by conservatives for a potential second term of Trump.
The project, which is led by the Heritage Foundation, seeks to crack down on various issues including immigration, reproductive rights, environmental protections and LGBTQ+ rights. It also aims to replace federal employees with Trump loyalists across the government.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.
👀Trump distancing himself from the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025.” pic.twitter.com/If9xbwiWDB
— bryan metzger (@metzgov) July 5, 2024
In response to Trump’s post, several critics were quick to point out that it appears unlikely that Trump is unaware of Project 2025, given that many individuals involved in the project are close to Trump.
“Many people involved in Project 2025 are close to Trump world & have served in his previous admin,” CNN’s Alayna Treene said.
Meanwhile, economist Robert Reich wrote, “Don’t be fooled. The playbook is written by more than 20 officials Trump appointed in his first term. It is the clearest vision we have of a 2nd Trump presidency.”
Last week, Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign launched a new website landing page in attempts to underscore the threat of Project 2025. The launch came in response to the blueprint of policy proposals that could dismantle and disrupt the US government.
The page said:
“Project 2025 is the plan by Donald Trump’s Maga Republican allies to give Trump more power over your daily life, gut democratic checks and balances, and consolidate power in the Oval Office if he wins…
Trump’s campaign advisors and close allies wrote it – and are doing everything they can to elect him so he can execute their playbook immediately.”
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Biden's ex-chief of staff: donors 'don't get to decide to oust' president
Ronald Klain, Joe Biden’s former chief of staff, has pushed back against Democratic donors over reports that they are strategizing ways to pressure Biden into withdrawing his re-election bid.
In a post on X that featured the New York Times headline “Major Democratic donors devise plans to pressure Biden to step aside”, Klain wrote:
We are the Democratic party! These … people don’t get to decide to oust a pro-labor pro-people president.
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Biden has verbal slip-up in radio interview
Joe Biden has had another slip-up in which he accidentally said that he is the “first Black woman” to serve as vice-president “with a Black president”.
During an interview on Thursday with Philadelphia’s WURD radio station, Biden defended his competency following his poor debate performance last week.
In the conversation, Biden at one point said, “By the way, I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice-president, first black woman, to serve with a black president,” referring to his vice-president, Kamala Harris, and former president Barack Obama.
He added, “I had a bad debate … But 90 minutes on stage does not erase what I have done in three and a half years.”
You can listen to a clip of the interview here:
Updated
Joe Biden’s staff are “miserable”, according to a White House official who spoke to Axios.
“Senior advisers are a total black hole … Even if you’re trying to focus on work, nothing is going to break through or get any acknowledgment” from bosses, the official went to add.
The reported comments come amid the political fallout faced by Biden and his campaign team following a disappointing debate performance last week which sent Democrats scrambling.
Speaking to Axios, a high-ranking Democratic National Committee official said: “The only thing that can really allay concerns is for the president to demonstrate that he’s capable of running this campaign.”
The official went on to add: “Everything else feels like Weekend at Bernie’s by his inner circle to prop him up.”
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Sanjay Gupta: Biden should 'undergo detailed cognitive and neurological testing'
CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, has written an op-ed in which he called for Joe Biden to “undergo detailed cognitive and neurological testing and share his results.”
He went on to write:
“For me as a brain specialist, it was concerning to watch President Joe Biden, and it quickly became clear that I was not alone in my reaction. Over the past week, I received more than a dozen calls, texts and emails from medical colleagues who, like me, specialize in the brain. It wasn’t that what we noticed was necessarily new but that it was particularly pronounced, and right from the start of the debate.
From a neurological standpoint, we were concerned with his confused rambling; sudden loss of concentration in the middle of a sentence; halting speech and absence of facial animation, resulting at times in a flat, open-mouthed expression. To be clear, these are only observations, not in any way diagnostic of something deeper, and none of these doctors wished to suggest that was the case.
The consensus from the doctors reaching out to me, however, was that the president should be encouraged to undergo detailed cognitive and movement disorder testing, and those results should be made available to the public …
The country is watching now, and that assessment gives cause for concern – and a need for transparent testing.”
Updated
In a fiery post on Truth Social, Donald Trump attacked ABC host George Stephanopoulos ahead of his interview with Joe Biden on Friday, saying:
The meanest and most vicious Interviewer out there is George Slopadopoulos of FAKE NEWS ABC, one of the worst and most vile Broadcasters in the business – In fact, the home of disgraced ‘reporter’ Brian Ross whose reporting on the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax was so outlandish that ABC, after defending him at levels not seen before, was forced to put him, and their reputation, out to pasture.
Now ABC, and Liddle’ George, a tiny, angry man, can make up for their past indiscretions and journalistic failures by doing a real interview with Crooked Joe, not a cut up promotion with only his few coherent answers released to the public.
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Joe Biden has released a campaign video on X in which he condemned the supreme court’s decision on Donald Trump’s immunity case.
Accompanying the video – which featured a montage of January 6 insurrection videos and clips of Trump’s speeches, Biden wrote:
Donald Trump attempted to overthrow an election, wants to be a dictator on day one, and has promised revenge and retribution if he wins – and the supreme court he appointed just gave him virtually unlimited immunity to do it.
Ask yourself: What will happen next?
Donald Trump attempted to overthrow an election, wants to be a dictator on day one, and has promised revenge and retribution if he wins—and the Supreme Court he appointed just gave him virtually unlimited immunity to do it.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 4, 2024
Ask yourself: What will happen next? pic.twitter.com/uEtCdCJ1i7
Updated
Joe Biden has reportedly admitted that he needs more sleep during a call with Democratic governors.
The Guardian’s Chris Michael and agencies report:
The US president told the Democratic governors that he had been feeling fatigued, needed to get more sleep and was aiming to reduce overwork, particularly by planning fewer engagements after 8pm, the New York Times reported.
The topic came up at a crucial meeting on Wednesday aimed at shoring up the support of key senior Democratic figures after the US president’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last week.
Governors, including California’s Gavin Newsom and Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, who are increasingly tipped as rivals to Biden and his vice-president, Kamala Harris, emerged from the meeting enthusiastically pledging their ongoing support for the president as the presumptive party nominee for this November’s election.
For the full story, click here:
Make-or-break days ahead for Biden and presidential campaign
Good morning,
Make-or-break days are ahead of Joe Biden as the president prepares for a crucial interview and several campaign events in swing states.
Following the political fallout of Biden’s lackluster performance during last week’s presidential debate, the president and his team have been scrambling with damage control as major Democrat backers pause their donations. Meanwhile, at least two sitting House Democrats have publicly called on Biden to withdraw his re-election bid.
In what will be seen as a crucial test of Biden’s competency, the president is expected to sit for his first televised interview on Friday following last week’s debate with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. ABC said the interview will “air in its entirety as a primetime special” at 8pm ET.
Meanwhile, Biden’s campaign team on Friday announced that the president will engage with an “aggressive travel schedule” this month that will span multiple swing states, CNN reports. His campaign team added that Biden “can also be expected to engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments over the course of the month, as he has consistently throughout this campaign”.
Here are other developments in US politics:
Biden is set to return to Madison, Wisconsin, for a campaign rally this afternoon.
Donald Trump has challenged Biden to a “no holds barred” debate following a moderated debate last week by CNN which saw the speakers’ mics muted when they were not speaking.
Arizona’s former Republican governor Jan Brewer has condemned election denialism amid Republican politics in a new Guardian interview.
Updated
