Democrats increasingly worried about Biden’s ‘cratering’ fundraising: report
President Biden’s fundraising pool is quickly drying up as more major donors and top Democratic officials continue to call on him to drop out of the race. Top Democratic officials and operatives who work with the party’s major donors say fundraising efforts for Biden are “cratering,” according to Politico. Some donors have outright canceled fundraising events, while others have said they will not donate until Biden drops out of the race, the outlet reported. “This is a massive, massive problem,” one of the sources told Politico. “Right now, we should be scaling up, doubling and tripling our goals as we head into the fall. But we’re cratering.” The sources said grassroots fundraising is also being affected by Biden’s disastrous debate performance against former President Trump. One person told the outlet they expect small-dollar donations to drop by up to 25% by the end of July. FIRST DEMOCRAT SENATOR CALLS FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN TO DROP OUT ‘FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY’ Unrest in the donor class echoes Biden’s wavering support among Democratic lawmakers. Several Democrats in the House have called on Biden to step aside, and the first Democratic Senator, Peter Welch of Vermont, did the same on Wednesday. Celebrity actor George Clooney, who held a fundraiser for Biden three weeks ago that brought in over $30 million, also broke with Biden on Wednesday. He said the Biden he saw at the fundraiser was the “same man” that Americans saw at the debate against Trump. TRUMP WANTS BIDEN, HITS KAMALA, AS WHITE HOUSE ADMITS VISITS BY PARKINSON’S DOCTOR “It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010,” Clooney wrote in a New York Times op-ed. “He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” “We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly,” Clooney continued. HOLLYWOOD ICON AND BIDEN SUPPORTER MICHAEL DOUGLAS CHANGES HIS TUNE ON PRESIDENT Liberal celebrities in Hollywood were quick to follow Clooney’s defection on Wednesday. “I think it’s a valid point,” Michael Douglas reacted to Clooney’s essay on Wednesday’s installment of “The View.” “I’m deeply, deeply concerned. I mean, especially – it’s difficult because the Democrats have a big bench. They’ve got a lot of heavy hitters,” Douglas said before suggesting Biden was ill-advised ahead of last month’s presidential debate. Actress Mia Farrow similarly warned in a post on X that it’s “time to pass the torch” or “we will lose the Senate, the House and our Democracy.” “Ill [sic] vote for Joe if he declines to step down. Of course. But he is losing,” Farrow said. “We cannot EVER give our country to Trump.” Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
UEFA Euro 2024 final: Teams, match schedule, start times, venue, date
Who will play in Euro 2024’s final? When is the match and how to follow? Who is the top scorer? Al Jazeera explains. After a whopping 50 matches, the Euro 2024 gears up for its ultimate clash, as Spain and England are set to meet in Sunday’s final. Spain are aiming for a record fourth title at the continental championship, while England will be playing in their second consecutive Euro final. Here’s what you need to know about the final: ⚽ When and where is the Euro 2024 final? Spain vs England: Sunday July 14, 9pm local time (19:00 GMT) at Olympiastadion in Berlin Al Jazeera will bring you live text commentary of the game with build-up starting four hours before kickoff. Olympiastadion will hold 75,000 fans for Sunday’s Euro 2024 final [Fabian Bimmer/Reuters] ⚽ Who are the favourites? As the only side with a perfect 100 percent winning record, Spain are favourites to lift the trophy. ⚽ What happens if a match ends in a draw? If a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time of two periods of 15 minutes each will be played. If still tied, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout. ⚽ How much is the prize money? European football’s governing body UEFA will pay 331 million euros ($360m) in total prize money to the 24 participants. The maximum amount that a champion team may achieve if they have won all three of their group matches is 28.25 million euros ($30.31m). ⚽ Who has scored the most goals? Six players are tied for the top scorer with three goals each – Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Harry Kane (England), Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Dani Olmo (Spain) and Ivan Schranz (Slovakia). Among them, only Kane and Olmo will play in the final. ⚽ What are the head-to-head records of the finalists? The head-to-head record of Spain and England in all international matches: Spain wins: 10 England wins: 13 Draws: 4 ⚽ How did Spain and England reach the final? Here is their road to the final: Spain 3-0 win over Croatia in Group B in Berlin 1-0 win over Italy in Group B in Gelsenkirchen 1-0 win over Albania in Group B in Dusseldorf 4-1 win over Georgia in the round of 16 in Cologne 2-1 win over Germany in the quarterfinal in Stuttgart 2-1 win over France in the semifinals in Munich England 1-0 win over Serbia in Group C in Gelsenkirchen 1-1 draw with Denmark in Group C in Frankfurt 0-0 draw with Slovenia in Group C in Cologne 2-1 win in extra time over Slovakia in the round of 16 in Gelsenkirchen 5-3 win on penalties over Switzerland in the quarterfinal in Dusseldorf 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the semifinals in Dortmund A star is born. Spain’s 16-year-old winger Lamine Yamal became the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Euros after he scored a screamer in their semifinal victory over France [Annegret Hilse/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli snipers accused of attacking fleeing civilians in Gaza
Palestinians who fled Gaza City after Israeli evacuation order say snipers shot dead civilians near Yarmouk stadium. Several civilians in Gaza City say people were shot dead by snipers after the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order and told Palestinians to head south as it steps up its offensive across the enclave. The attacks reportedly took place as civilians evacuated a number of neighbourhoods in Gaza City, having been ordered to leave on Wednesday, even as mediators from Qatar, the United States and Egypt were meeting with Israeli officials in Doha for talks seeking a ceasefire. One man told Al Jazeera he was sitting near Yarmouk stadium when he saw an Israeli sniper shoot a man on a bicycle carrying canned food. “The sniper shot him directly,” he said. “We were unable to move his body. Even the paramedics were unable to access the street. They couldn’t retrieve or evacuate the body of this person.” Ambulance staff forced to turn back reportedly told the man that they had not received instructions to retrieve bodies. They had been warned that anyone approaching the deceased would be shot. A woman told Al Jazeera she wanted to pass through Yarmouk stadium but was told there were bodies of Palestinians in the streets who were shot by Israeli snipers. “We came to ask for help from the paramedics and firefighters to at least take the dead bodies so they wouldn’t remain in the street,” she said. “They need to be buried.” Multiple people said they saw a man walking in the street being shot in the head by a sniper taking aim from a tower. Several people later managed to retrieve his body. “This person was walking peacefully, and then a bullet was shot into his head. We went down and brought him here,” one man said. Reporting from the neighbourhood of Shujayea, where the Israeli military had intensified its attacks over the past two weeks, Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim Al Khalili said Israeli forces left a trail of destruction after withdrawing from parts of the area. “Many residents are in shock, struggling to comprehend the scale of the devastation,” he said, adding that there are numerous civilian casualties. “Hospitals and clinics are overwhelmed with the injured, many of whom require urgent medical attention,” he reported, and thousands of residents have been displaced. The buildings still standing are structurally compromised with “significant damage to roofs, walls and foundations”, he said. Essential services such as water, electricity and sanitation have been “severely disturbed”. Israel’s army has repeatedly ordered hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to leave areas that it had previously declared were safe to return to – in both northern and southern Gaza. On Wednesday, it dropped leaflets addressed to “everyone in Gaza City” warning people to leave the “dangerous combat zone”, days after ordering evacuations of the city’s Daraj, Tuffah and Old City neighbourhoods. B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has called Israel’s orders for Gaza City’s entire population to evacuate “absolute madness”. In a post on social media on Wednesday, it said the international community must now intervene and “demand that Israel immediately stop the war”. The talks on a ceasefire and an exchange of captives held in Gaza for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were ongoing in Qatar’s capital on Thursday. Tamer Qarmout, an assistant professor of public policy at the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies, said he remained “quite pessimistic” about them after “previous rounds of negotiations have failed miserably”. He told Al Jazeera that these talks would be the last push by the administration of US President Joe Biden, after which the “Americans would be busy with their elections and the Gaza war will be a secondary or third priority for them”. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine seizes cargo ship carrying ‘looted’ grain for Russia
The Cameroonian-flagged ship is alleged to have been working for Russia to transport the Ukrainian grain to the Middle East. Ukraine has seized an international freighter it says was transporting stolen Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said on Thursday that its forces stopped the vessel in the Black Sea near Ukraine’s Odesa region, seizing it and apprehending its captain. The Cameroon-flagged vessel, Usko Mfu, had been working for Russia to export grain to the Middle East, the SBU said. It had repeatedly docked at the Crimean sea port of Sevastopol since last year to pick up several tonnes of the “looted” products, the statement said. Sevastopol is an important military hub for Russia on the Black Sea. To conceal its movements, the SBU said, the vessel regularly shut off its GPS tracker and logged false travel information. Its captain, an Azerbaijani citizen, could face up to five years in prison for violating travel restrictions governing Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories. It is unclear if 12 other foreign crew members, who prosecutors said were also on board the vessel when it was seized, will face charges. “The investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime and identify other persons involved in the illegal activity,” the SBU said. Battle over resources Russian forces occupied swaths of southern Ukraine’s agricultural regions in the first year of its 2022 invasion, and Kyiv has accused Russia of stealing and destroying its grain. Ukraine also blames Russia for pulling out of a United Nations-brokered deal in 2023 that allowed Kyiv to safely transport its grain across the Black Sea, causing its food exports to plummet. Ukraine has since opened new sea routes, often hugging the coast, to bypass Russia’s de facto blockade, bringing its grain exports back to near pre-war levels. The European Union in May imposed “prohibitive” duties on grain imports from Russia in a bid to cut off revenues to Moscow for its war on Ukraine. The bloc’s trade commissioner said the measure would “tackle illegal Russian exports of stolen Ukraine grain into EU markets”. Adblock test (Why?)
CenterPoint exudes chaos, but also appears to be restoring power faster than it previously has
According to state filings, the utility is restoring power at a relatively quicker pace than after prior storms. Texans are still fed up.
Days after Beryl, Texans toil to cope with debris, heat, rain and no power
More than 1 million Texans still don’t have electricity. For those hardest hit by Beryl, the wait will stretch into next week.
Biden’s ‘big boy’ NATO news conference carries high stakes as first presser since disastrous debate
President Biden is slated to face the media late Thursday afternoon in his first solo press conference since his disastrous debate last month, and it’s anticipated that he’ll be grilled as the nation weighs his mental acuity amid heightening health concerns. Biden is expected to hold the news conference on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. after hosting NATO leaders in Washington, D.C., this week. The media has dubbed the press conference a “big boy press conference,” with the president fielding questions from the media solo. It marks Biden’s first solo press conference of the year and the first time he will speak to the media at a presser since his debate against former President Trump on June 27, Fox News found. Biden is facing heightened concerns over his health in the wake of his poor debate performance, which opened floodgates of concern in the Democratic Party that the president’s 81 years of age and alleged slipping mental acuity will cost the party as the Biden campaign squares up against Trump. At least nine elected Democrats have called on Biden to drop out since the debate, and at least 23 Democrats, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Reps. Adam Schiff and Jamie Raskin, have expressed concern over Biden’s performance and re-election effort. DEMOCRATS, MEDIA DEMAND BIDEN DO MORE INTERVIEWS, PRESS CONFERENCES AMID DEBATE FALLOUT Biden has vowed to remain in the race despite rising concerns and calls for him to drop out and let another candidate take on Trump. “There’s been a lot of speculation: What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What’s he going to do?” Biden said Friday in a speech in Madison, Wisconsin. “Well, here’s my answer: I am running and going to win again.” On Wednesday, Pelosi suggested in an interview that Biden should reconsider his vow to remain in the race, adding fuel to the fire of the party’s disarray. NATO SUMMIT IN DC IS ‘PIVOTAL’ MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT FOR BIDEN AS SCRUTINY OVER FITNESS FOR OFFICE INTENSIFIES “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.” “I want him to do whatever he decides to do, and that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with,” she added. Pelosi said in the interview that she and other Democrats are waiting to see how the week goes for Biden, suggesting that she told fellow Democrats to not speak publicly about their thoughts on Biden until the week concludes. “Let’s just hold off,” she said. “Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week.” Biden delivered a strong NATO speech on Tuesday afternoon, compared to his disastrous debate performance and repeated gaffes during public events in recent months, but praise for the speech from prominent allies has been few and far between. The president earned praise on social media from liberal-leaning accounts that said the president delivered a “classic” and “strong speech.” Prominent Democrats, however, overwhelmingly remained silent from publicly remarking on the speech. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Mark Warner and the White House for comment about whether they view the speech as a success but did not receive replies. “Today, NATO is more powerful than ever,” Biden said Tuesday evening during his speech. “It’s good that we’re stronger than ever because this moment in history calls for our collective strength. Autocrats want to overturn global order, which is, by and large, kept for nearly 80 years and counting. Terrorist groups continue to plot evil schemes, cause mayhem and chaos and suffering in Europe. Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, and Putin wants nothing less than Ukraine’s total subjugation to end Ukraine.” BIDEN DELIVERS STRONG SPEECH TOUTING NATO AMID HEALTH QUESTIONS, DEMOCRATS’ CONCERNS In addition to the president’s NATO speech on Tuesday, Biden’s schedule is stacked with NATO meetings, dinners, a bilateral meeting with newly minted U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and a meeting with the nation’s largest federation of trade unions, the AFL-CIO, among other engagements this week. The press conference is the most highly anticipated event on his schedule for members of the media as well as the Democratic Party because it allows the president to directly speak with reporters as questions mount about his health. Since Biden’s disastrous debate performance, Democrats and the media have repeatedly said that if Biden remains in the race, he needs to hold more interviews and press conferences. “The only way for him and the campaign to respond is not by talking to senators or governors, because this is not a tell-me situation. It’s a show-me situation,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told CNN last Wednesday. “So he’d have to be out and about in the hurly-burly of a campaign, open-ended press conferences with folks like you, engagements with voters that are unscripted.” BIDEN ‘WORKING THE PHONES’ IN BATTLE TO SAVE RE-ELECTION BID, WITH DEMOCRATS STARTING TO RETURN TO HIS CAMP Biden did sit down for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopolos that aired on July 5, but the interview did not quell mounting concerns over the president’s mental acuity and age, most notably when Biden repeatedly dodged whether he would take a cognitive test. BIDEN SAYS ‘WORLD’S LOOKING TO AMERICA’ AS HE FACES SCRUTINY BEFORE HOSTING NATO SUMMIT “Have you had the specific cognitive tests, and have you had a neurologist, a specialist, do an examination?” Stephanopoulos asked. “No, no one said I had to. … They said I’m good,” Biden responded. Stephanopoulos pressed Biden a third time on taking a cognitive or neurological test and whether he would release the results of such a test to the public. The president, however, brushed off the question by saying he is
Battleground Dem feels heat after Biden’s debate as party turmoil continues
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is being slammed for his political similarity to President Biden as the president’s poor June debate performance continues to pose concerns to Democrats in down-ballot races and on Capitol Hill. “Joe Biden’s politics now are not much different from mine,” Brown says in the ad from Republican candidate Bernie Moreno’s campaign. His quote comes from a 2021 interview. SENATE DEMS TEST WHETHER ABORTION CAN BREAK THROUGH TALK OF BIDEN CONCERNS The ad notes the vulnerable Democrat’s proclivity to vote in line with Biden, with a narrator saying, “Extreme liberal Sherrod Brown voted with Biden 99% of the time.” The campaign cited an analysis of Senate votes during the 117th Congress in 2021 and 2022, which showed Brown siding with Biden 98.5% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight. BIDEN ADVISERS TO JOIN SENATE DEMS FOR SPECIAL MEETING AMID SWELLING CONCERNS In 2023, during the first half of the 118th Congress, Brown voted with the president 97.9% of the time, per a separate FiveThirtyEight aggregation. “Sherrod Brown votes with Biden 99% of the time for his disastrous agenda that has destroyed our economy, created a wide open southern border, waged war on American energy, and sold out Ohio workers,” said Moreno spokesperson Reagan McCarthy in a statement. “Brown can try to run from his record of voting in lockstep with his longtime friend Joe Biden, but Ohioans know that he has rubber-stamped this administration’s agenda every step of the way.” DEMOCRATS SAY CALLS TO REPLACE BIDEN AFTER PRIMARIES AREN’T ‘THREAT TO DEMOCRACY,’ A CHARGE LOBBED AT TRUMP The ad is part of a seven-figure statewide ad buy that will run on digital and streaming as well as through the mail. In the video, an additional clip of Brown is played from 2019, during which he says, “We have a president who is a racist,” in reference to former President Trump. WARNER SAYS PEOPLE ARE ‘RAISING SOME QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO GET ASKED’ ABOUT BIDEN The ad further includes footage of Biden calling Brown his “buddy” and links to a website named JustLikeBiden.com. Brown spokesperson Matt Keyes said in a statement to Fox News Digital: “Sherrod works for Ohio, which is why he’s stood up to presidents of both parties to block bad trade deals, worked with Republicans to make sure border patrol agents and law enforcement officers have the resources they need, and demanded the Biden Administration crack down on Chinese solar products that undercut Ohio manufacturers.” “Meanwhile, Bernie Moreno can’t be trusted and only looks out for himself.” The Ohio Senate race is rated a “Toss Up” by nonpartisan political handicapper Cook Political Report, alongside only two other Senate races. Moreno’s latest ad against Brown tying his record to the president’s comes as Biden continues to see a downturn in critical polls of the national electorate going into the November election. With split-ticket voting on the decline, candidates for Senate are much more likely to be elected if the presidential nominee at the top of their ticket also carries their state. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘Big blow to big government’: Major SCOTUS decision strips power of ‘faceless leviathan’ of federal agencies
The Supreme Court this term took a hammer to decades-old legal doctrine that largely saved executive branch agencies in legal disputes. Now, experts say Congress and the next president will have no choice but to work more closely together and stop relying on the “faceless leviathan” of federal agencies. In a David vs. Goliath dispute, a group of fishermen sued a government agency that mandated the fishermen pay $700 for “at sea monitors,” arguing that the rule is out of the bounds Congress set for the federal agency. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the fishermen in a 6-3 decision last month, and, in doing so, overruled what is known as the Chevron doctrine — a legal theory established in the 1980s that says if a federal regulation is challenged, the courts should defer to the agency’s interpretation of whether Congress had granted it authority to issue the rule, as long as the agency’s interpretation is reasonable and Congress had not addressed the question directly. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the majority, warning that eliminating Chevron could give judges without expertise authority in legal disputes regarding regulation of food, medicine, the environment, etc. SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH FISHERMEN IN LANDMARK CASE DECIDING FATE OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE But conservatives and Republicans, who argued Chevron gave the government too much power to rule through bureaucratic red tape, praised the decision. “The Supreme Court’s decision in Looper Bright v. Raimondo is a big win for the little guy and a big blow to big government. Power ought to reside with Americans and those they elect and not the faceless leviathan of 3 letter agencies that has thrived under Joe Biden,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. “I think what this decision should mean is that our elected leaders in Congress should be the ones who are making the laws that impact Americans’ everyday lives, and not unelected bureaucrats in cubicles in Washington, D.C.,” Casey Mattox, vice president of legal strategy at Stand Together, told Fox News Digital. “It should mean the president having to work with Congress instead of just simply major swings from one direction to the other every four to eight years. That has not served America well,” he said. “Congress should not be passing the buck to unelected people to make the decisions,” Mattox added. “And so, I think essentially what the decision to overturn Chevron means is that when Congress is passing laws, it needs to actually get the expertise it needs and then be politically accountable for the decisions it’s making.” HOW MAINE LOBSTERMEN TURNED A ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’ FROM THE WHITE HOUSE INTO A POLICY VICTORY With Chevron eliminated, Congress will now be forced to write laws with more clear language and less ambiguity. John Vecchion, counsel for New Civil Liberties Alliance, who represented some of the fishermen in the case, said that one of the damages of the Chevron doctrine was that it incentivized Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, not to compromise on clear language when writing bills that become law. “Because they would make a bet that when their friend was in executive office, either the Republican or the Democrat, the regulation would be made in such a way that helped them, and they could then say ‘this is the law’ but not take the blowback if there were bad results from that,” he explained. Republicans in Congress have already shifted focus to legislation that would eliminate more executive red tape. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., and Sens. Schmitt, Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, held a press conference Wednesday to press forward on regulatory reforms. “It should infuriate Americans that for decades some of the most important policy questions have been decided by unelected bureaucrats and not their elected representatives,” Cammack said. SUPREME COURT SIGNALS INTEREST IN HEARING A MAJOR CLIMATE CHANGE CASE THAT COULD BE A ‘NIGHTMARE’ FOR LIBERALS She added that the Supreme Court’s decision “cracked open the door” and that lawmakers need to “ensure that Congress is the chief lawmaking body, not bureaucrats.” That assurance could come in the form of the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, or REINS Act. The bill would broaden the scope of the Congressional Review Act to require every new “major rule” proposed by federal agencies to be approved by Congress before going into effect. Specifically, the House and Senate would be required to pass a joint resolution in order for a major rule to be approved by Congress. The bill defines a “major rule” as any federal rule or regulation that may result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies or geographic regions; or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises. “The REINS Act would… reverse the problem that we’ve got now today, where you can be deprived of life, liberty and property… simply by violating something that’s never even darkened the door of either chamber of Congress, let alone passed in the manner required,” Lee said. Additionally, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Ky., on Tuesday sent letters to federal agencies to “demand the review of various overreaching regulations” in an effort to “free the American people from the power-hungry administrative state.” “With their ruling in this case, the Supreme Court restored proper constitutional separation of powers as our Founding Fathers intended by overturning Chevron deference and requiring the courts to decide disputes over interpretation of statutory text,” he said Wednesday. “Agencies can’t be allowed to run free without any checks on their power — we’ve already seen how frequently federal agencies will abuse their authority,” Scalise said.
Pressure on Biden builds as George Clooney says he’s unfit and politicians privately agree
George Clooney has bailed on Joe Biden. That’s right, the superstar actor who just helped the president raise zillions of dollars, wants him out of the race. You may not care what an entertainer who’s not in the business of politics has to say, but his reasoning is what matters here: “It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010,” Clooney wrote in a New York Times op-ed yesterday. “He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” This is from a supporter, a lifelong Democrat declaring his love for Biden, who’s observed the man close up. “We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.” TRUMP WANTS BIDEN, HITS KAMALA, AS WHITE HOUSE ADMITS VISITS BY PARKINSON’S DOCTOR That’s the weirdness of the political limbo we’re dwelling in. I’ve been wondering whether Biden would be pushed aside if every Democratic lawmaker could secretly vote on denying him the nomination, but we don’t have a parliamentary system, where a vote of no confidence carries the day. Biden has made clear he’s not stepping down, no matter how many pundits and politicians demand it, and no one can force him to do it. But what if the noise level and the pressure gets to be too great? Nancy Pelosi was on “Morning Joe” yesterday – the same show where Biden vowed to run against the “elites” – and was asked if she wanted him to stay in the race. “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” the former speaker said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision, because time is running short.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement. More like a bat signal. FIRST DEMOCRAT SENATOR CALLS FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN TO DROP OUT ‘FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY’ Michael Bennet became the first Senate Democrat to say Biden will lose in November and Republicans will take over both chambers. I’ve interviewed Clooney a couple of times. He’s a smart guy, the son of a journalist. He may have cleared the way for others to speak out. On “The View” yesterday, Michael Douglas, also professing his admiration for Biden, said: “I don’t worry necessarily today or tomorrow, but a year down the line, I worry…I’m deeply, deeply concerned.” Clooney’s defection is more important than similar pleas from Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, both anti-Trumpers. That’s because he was actually part of the campaign – and the comparison to the abysmal debate was devastating. But it’s not like Biden is going to bow out as long as Clooney keeps inviting him to Lake Como. He’s wanted to be president his entire adult life. I covered his first campaign in 1987, after which he had emergency brain surgery for an aneurysm. Nobody can force him to give up the White House and Air Force One. HOLLYWOOD ICON AND BIDEN SUPPORTER MICHAEL DOUGLAS CHANGES HIS TUNE ON PRESIDENT There’s something that happens to a candidate who becomes president after being repeatedly written off. He comes to believe he has a superpower, a faith in his own abilities, despite the critics and naysayers. The same thing happened to Donald Trump when few expected him to win in 2016. Biden has been slow off the mark. He just announced he’ll sit down with NBC anchor Lester Holt next Monday. The president should have done a half-dozen interviews by now, not just calling Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski to complain about the elites. Instead, he built up the George Stephanopoulos sitdown but turned in a tentative and low-energy performance. Biden appeared to be in denial, saying he didn’t believe the polls showing Trump widening his lead since the CNN debate. But tongues are being loosened. On his podcast yesterday, NBC’s Chuck Todd said a “pretty senior” Cabinet secretary told him two years ago, “He can’t run again like this.” “It’s the classic open secret, conversation, right?” Todd said. “It’s the story everybody knows and everybody was afraid to talk about.” Well, “everybody” didn’t know. And you can’t betray an off-the-record conversation. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Most journalists had no access to Biden or his inner circle, but watched the obvious decline on television. Then the debate blew everything up. The New York Times says the president may be trying to run out the clock, stalling until it’s too late for others to do anything to open the door for Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer or any other Democrat. The only thing that could prompt Biden to reconsider, in my view, is if Hakeem Jeffries, Jim Clyburn and Pelosi march up to the White House and tell him the party wants him to step aside. And even then, the president who won 99% of the delegates may dig in his heels.