6 states shift toward Trump in 2024 race: Cook Political Report
A leading nonpartisan political handicapper is shifting five crucial swing states and one key congressional district toward former President Trump in his 2024 election rematch with President Biden. The ratings move by the highly regarded Cook Report comes in reaction to new polling in the race between Biden and Trump after the president’s disastrous debate performance against Trump in their face-to-face showdown two weeks ago. The Cook Report publisher and editor-in-chief Amy Walter shifted Arizona, Georgia and Nevada from “toss up” to “lean Republican,” pushed Minnesota and New Hampshire from “likely Democrat” to “lean Democrat,” and also moved Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District from “likely” to “lean Democrat.” (Nebraska and Maine are the only two states that divide their electoral votes by congressional district.) “The notion that the presidential race is a Toss Up was a stretch even before the debate,” longtime Cook Report analyst Dave Wasserman argued in a social media post. “Today, Trump has a clear advantage over Biden and a much more plausible path to 270 Electoral votes.” WHAT SWING STATE VOTERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BIDEN’S EXTREMELY ROUGH DEBATE PERFORMANCE Wasserman emphasized that “Biden’s post-debate dip represents the biggest polling shift of the year,” with Trump topping the president 47%-44% in the Cook Report’s new national polling average, which they premiered early Wednesday. “Trump’s current numbers among Black and Latino voters are incompatible with any plausible Democratic victory scenario.” NEW POLL INDICATES TRUMP TOPPING BIDEN IN THIS CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE A slew of national and key battleground state polls conducted entirely after the debate and released last week and this week contain plenty of red flags for the president – including Trump widening his single-digit edge over Biden and deepening concerns of Americans about whether Biden was up to the task of running the country. Following his extremely rough debate performance in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, Biden has been attempting to prove that he still has the stamina and acuity to handle the toughest and most demanding job in the world. And he’s trying to prove that he has the fortitude to defeat Trump. The debate was a major setback for Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history. His halting delivery and stumbling answers at the showdown in Atlanta sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and a rising tide of public and private calls from within his own party for him to step aside as its 2024 standard-bearer. BIDEN TELLS CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS THAT CALLING FOR HIM TO DROP OUT ‘ONLY HELPS TRUMP AND HURTS US’ Since the debate, seven House Democrats have publicly called on Biden to end his re-election bid, and a growing number of both House and Senate Democrats have publicly and privately warned that the president will lose to Trump in November. But Biden, at rallies and fundraising events since the debate, has repeatedly emphasized that he’s staying in the race. In a letter sent to congressional Democrats on Monday as they returned from the July 4th holiday recess, the president reiterated that he’s “firmly committed to staying in this race” and argued that “the question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it is time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump.” “Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us,” the president added. “It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Walter, in her analysis on the ratings switch, wrote that “plenty of nervous down-ballot Democrats and donors are hoping that team Biden, confronted with worsening poll numbers and an aggressively antagonistic press corps, will see the writing on the wall and gracefully announce his exit from the contest. That possibility looks remote as of this writing.” The move by the Cook Report is the second major shift by a leading nonpartisan political handicapper in the wake of the debate. Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball last week moved Michigan from “Leans Democrat” to “Toss-up.” Additionally, Minnesota was shifted from “Likely Democrat” to “Leans Democrat.” “President Biden’s debate performance was so bad that it has forced us to reassess some of our assumptions about the race,” Sabato Crystal Ball forecaster Kyle Kondik wrote in explaining the shift of the two states. “Michigan and Minnesota move to more competitive categories in our ratings.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Biden tells union leaders ‘they’re warning me’ not to speak too long
President Biden told union leaders that he’d been warned not to spend too much time speaking to them on Wednesday ahead of NATO summit proceedings. Biden’s schedule stated that he would “drop by” the AFL-CIO union meeting in Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning, and he kept his remarks to the group brief. Biden has a packed schedule for the final three days of the week, and his public appearances are under more scrutiny now as Democrats have begun calling for him to drop out of the presidential race. “With your help and your leadership, we’re going to build this country from the bottom up and then middle out, not the top down,” Biden told the union leaders. “Now, they’re warning me not to take too much time with you all today, in terms of talking.” Biden wrapped up his remarks soon after the statement. He is scheduled to appear at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., later on Wednesday. DEMOCRATS ARE IN A ‘BIG-TIME PICKLE’: LEE ZELDIN Experts say this multi-day summit is a “pivotal” moment for Biden, during which he must make his case that he is fit to serve as his party’s nominee. FORMER WH PHYSICIAN PUSHES BACK ON KJP’S ‘RIDICULOUS EXCUSE’ SURROUNDING BIDEN’S DOCTOR VISITS “This week is pivotal for President Biden, not only because of the intense interest in what he will be saying at his press events but also because this summit provides a clear example of restored American global leadership in support of our nation’s defense,” Joel Rubin, a former State Department official during the Obama administration, told Fox News Digital. “The long-term bipartisan investment in NATO is paying off, and the president will have a chance, at this summit, to remind the American people about why his approach of building security coalitions with global partners advances both America’s security abroad and our economy right here at home,” he added. HOUSE DEMOCRATS REACH ‘NO CONSENSUS’ ON BIDEN AFTER ‘TOP SECRET’ CLOSED-DOOR MEETING Biden has faced growing resistance to his campaign for re-election ever since his debate against the presumptive GOP nominee, former President Trump, which many deemed a disaster for showcasing the president in a worse light than many anticipated. Trump at one point said, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence” as Biden appeared to trail off during one of his answers. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital that Biden “must show the American public that he has the ability to serve out the remainder of this term, let alone a future one” as the “eyes of the world” watch the NATO summit. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It is on President Biden to show he’s capable and up to the task,” Lawler said. “What we’ve seen in recent weeks doesn’t cut it.” Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report
Sotomayor faces backlash for gun rights views after bodyguards shoot would-be carjacker: ‘Incredibly ironic’
Two armed U.S. Marshals on the protection detail for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor shot a would-be carjacker in self-defense last week, casting scrutiny on her co-signing a 2010 Supreme Court opinion that decried such firearm protection as a Second Amendment right. Kentrell Flowers, 18, was shot Friday after he approached an unmarked Marshals vehicle near Sotomayor’s home. Flowers pointed a handgun at one of the two Marshals on duty through the driver-side window in an apparent attempt to carjack him, according to a police report. Flowers was arrested at the hospital and faces charges of armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN FEDERAL BAN ON BUMP STOCKS The incident sparked criticism of Sotomayor’s Second Amendment positions during her tenure on the high court, including one decision where she co-signed a dissent that said the Constitution does not protect “a private right of armed self-defense.” In that case, McDonald v. Chicago, decided in 2010, then-Justice Steven Breyer dissented from the majority which ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to own a gun against the regulations of state and local governments. “In sum, the Framers did not write the Second Amendment in order to protect a private right of armed self-defense,” Breyer wrote. SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF NRA IN KEY FIRST AMENDMENT CASE Ryan Petty, a school safety activist whose daughter was murdered in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, commented on the incident in a post on X, saying, “Defensive gun use.” Parker Thayer of Capital Research commented on X, “Sotomayor is protected by the same guns she has repeatedly written that civilians do not need and should not own.” “Justice Sotomayor has aggressively opposed the individual right to self-defense in her dissenting opinions on several major Second Amendment cases over the years,” Erich Pratt, senior vice president for Gun Owners of America, told Fox News Digital. “So it is incredibly ironic, even hypocritical, that her own private protective detail was forced to exercise this basic and universal right to protect themselves in a very dangerous situation. Hopefully, this incident will open her eyes, but we won’t hold our breath,” he said. This term, Sotomayor penned a dissent in a case that ruled a ban on a firearm accessory known as a “bump stock” was unconstitutional. WOULD-BE CARJACKER TARGETS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR SECURITY DETAIL OFFICER, SUSPECT SHOT “Today, the Court puts bump stocks back in civilian hands. To do so, it casts aside Congress’s definition of ‘machinegun’ and seizes upon one that is inconsistent with the ordinary meaning of the statutory text and unsupported by context or purpose. When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck. A bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle fires ‘automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.’ Because I, like Congress, call that a machinegun, I respectfully dissent,” she wrote. Sotomayor, who was nominated to the Court by then-President Barack Obama, took heat from lawmakers who were concerned about her Second Amendment philosophy. In 2004, she joined an opinion that cited as precedent “the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right.” In 2009, she also joined an opinion with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Second Amendment rights do not apply to the states. Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Biden changes tune on Trump golf challenge he was once ‘happy to play’
President Biden’s re-election campaign dismissed former President Trump’s challenge to a charity golf match as “weird antics” on Tuesday, just months after the president stated himself that he would be “happy to play.” At a campaign rally at his Doral course in South Florida on Tuesday, Trump posed a challenge to Biden: a golf match with $1 million to a charity of Biden’s choice if the former president were to lose. “I’m also officially challenging crooked Joe to an 18-hole golf match right here on Doral’s Blue Monster, considered one of the greatest tournament golf courses anywhere in the world, one of the great courses of the world,” Trump said. “It will be among the most-watched sporting events in history. Maybe bigger than the Ryder Cup or even the Masters.” “I will even give Joe Biden 10 strokes a side. Ten strokes, that’s a lot. That means 20 strokes, in case you don’t play golf. And if he wins, I will give the charity of his choice, any charity of his choice, $1 million. And I’ll bet you he doesn’t take the offer.” TRUMP CHALLENGES BIDEN TO GOLF MATCH, SAYS HE’LL GIVE $1 MILLION TO CHARITY IF HE LOSES Firing back at Trump’s comments, Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement, “Donald Trump hasn’t been seen in public for 12 days, now he’s inviting fictional serial killers to dinner, teasing lil’ Marco Rubio, praising Project 2025 architect Tom Homan, and challenging the President of the United States to golf.” “Joe Biden doesn’t have time for Donald Trump’s weird antics – he’s busy leading America and defending the free world. Donald Trump is a liar, a convict, and a fraud only out for himself – par for the course,” Singer added. Singer’s comments came a little more than three months after Biden signaled he would be willing to take on the former president in a round of golf. “Donald, my offer to play golf still stands. I’ll let you take three strokes off your game if you carry your own bag,” Biden wrote in a March 30 post on X. BIDEN’S GOLF HANDICAP EXPLAINED AFTER PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE STIRS SKILLS CONTROVERSY Included in the post was a clip of Biden telling comedian Stephen Colbert that he would be “happy to play” golf against Trump. The possibility of a golf match between the former and current president was also highlighted during the first presidential debate on June 27 in Atlanta, where Trump said he won two club championships while discussing fitness and insisted Biden couldn’t drive a ball 50 yards. Insisting at the time that he would be “happy to have a driving contest” with Trump, Biden alleged that he had gotten his golf handicap down to a six as vice president, and he later corrected it to an eight. However, Trump, an avid golfer, was not buying it. “That’s the biggest lie — that he’s a six handicap — of all,” he said. Trump’s handicap has been recorded as low as 2.5. Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has also offered to settle the debate over which president is the better golfer by hosting a golf match between Biden and Trump on his YouTube channel. “Let’s settle this whole handicap debate, I’ll host the golf match on my YouTube,” DeChambeau wrote in an X post after the debate. Trump owns several golf courses. Doral has hosted the LIV championship, while his course in Bedminster has also hosted the Saudi-backed tour. Fox News Digital’s Ryan Morik and Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
Top Biden fundraiser issues dire warning to Dems targeting president: ‘Better not miss’
A top Democratic fundraiser said she is fully behind President Biden’s candidacy as others in her party have spent the last week remaining silent on their support. Philadelphia-area activist Lindy Li, who recently raised more than $1 million for Biden’s candidacy, said he clearly had a bad debate night, but maintained that he remains both the best hope to defeat former President Trump and a true personification of a traditional Democrat. “Honestly, what we think or what anybody thinks is irrelevant because he is the one who holds all the cards here, and he’s decided to stay in the race and hold onto his preponderance of delegates,” Li said of Biden. “We just have to get behind him.” Li, a frequent political commentator on MSNBC and a member of the DNC’s National Finance Committee, had previously clashed with the progressive wing of her party, including supporters of democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Li describes herself as a “conservative Democrat,” but has long pledged her commitment to the president, despite his setbacks. She said that Biden has long been a consensus-minded politician. PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND BIDEN, BLASTING PREMATURE JOSH SHAPIRO SPECULATION “He has been a moderate his entire life, and that’s why he won the 2020 primary, because the majority of the party saw Bernie as not being able to defeat Trump. That’s why they chose Biden,” she said. Li noted she is close to several Democratic figures floated as potential Biden replacements – such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore – and while she supports them, she said there is still tacit proof Biden remains the man for the job. Quoting from HBO’s “The Wire,” Li chalked up the lack of Biden criticism from Democrats as proof of the line, “if you come for the king, you better not miss.” “No one wants to be the person to knife Julius Caesar,” she said. STATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS RALLY BEHIND BIDEN AFTER PARTY CHAIR SUGGESTS GOP PULL TRUMP’S NOM As for the other names bandied about as replacements, Li said any one of them could have faced Biden in the primary but chose not to. “These are all ambitious people. I know them all. I know Josh [Shapiro], in particular, very well. If they could have run against Biden and won, they would have. But they looked at the empirical data during the primary and noticed that none of them could beat him,” she said. “This is not a matter of anyone being altruistic. They were being self-interested and realized that no one could beat Biden, and that’s why they didn’t dare to oppose him.” However, at the same time, it has been a “Herculean effort” to keep Democrats publicly on the same page in support of Biden. When she was on a call with Moore on Monday, Biden himself interrupted the Zoom and took questions from the assembled Democrats. “A lot of people had reservations and concerns. And people asked him point-blank, ‘what happened, what are you going to do differently?’ And he said, ‘going forward, I’m just going to be more vigorously attacking Trump’.” STATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS RALLY BEHIND BIDEN AFTER PARTY CHAIR SUGGESTS GOP PULL TRUMP’S NOM “There were no softball questions, and he answered all of them. And I know he’s doing everything he can to alleviate concerns. And I’m actually impressed by how he was able to outmaneuver all of his opponents yesterday.” Li also warned against a second Trump term, saying that all political issues aside, his behavior on and leading up to Jan. 6, 2021 disqualified him from office. As an immigrant to the U.S., Li said, she understands what she saw as “authoritarian” tendencies from Trump, adding that the throngs who rioted at the Capitol on that day in support of him reflect the stakes this November. Li, who was born in China but immigrated to the U.S. from England, said she lived under authoritarianism and that the U.S. must therefore “cherish” democracy at all costs. She added that her life experience also conversely draws her to fully support Biden, who she said has taken recent steps to try to secure the border. “The number of migrants coming down or coming over has certainly dropped because of his measures. But a lot of people in our party were really disgruntled by his actions,” she said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “But I actually am in support of the measures that he’s taken to secure our border. I’m in favor of legal immigration. My family waited years to come to the United States. My dad was a medical doctor who ended up at Harvard Medical School. And we brought useful skills to the country. So I’m all in favor of having a legal way of becoming an American.” Li rejected claims the president is dealing with health concerns to the extent Republicans crow about. “For somebody who is accused of being senile and in cognitive decline, he was quite clever. He dropped a letter which basically prevented any more hemorrhaging in the House. And then he went on ‘Morning Joe’ to dare his opponents to run against him.” In that regard, she said Democrats must unite once again behind Biden as they had in the primary, continue pushing his agenda while preventing Trump’s return. “I’m not here to gaslight anybody… I’ve had to reassure folks that Biden will remain in the race; that [Trump] is an existential threat to our country. We have to get on board. It’s a binary choice.”
Biden campaign schedule reveals president’s plans amid calls to exit 2024 race
The Biden campaign’s upcoming schedule reveals how serious the president is about defying calls for him to step aside as the Democrat’s 2024 nominee. President Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden, are going on the offensive in a number of states they’d like to keep competitive with less than four months until the November general election — and all plan to take aim squarely at former President Trump in an effort to shift focus away from the criticism aimed at the president. The Biden campaign’s efforts, which one aide referred to as moving “full steam ahead,” include the president meeting Wednesday with union leaders at the AFL-CIO’s Executive Council meeting, where he will deliver remarks and answer questions from union leaders “about the stakes for unions in this election.” ‘OBAMA BROS’ GANG UP ON BIDEN AS LONGSTANDING RUMORS OF TENSION LINGER: ‘HARD TO WATCH’ He will then head to Detroit, Michigan, for a major campaign stop on Friday, his fourth visit so far this year to the state expected to be one of the most closely watched this election cycle. His campaign hasn’t yet released the full details of the event, but it will likely serve as another opportunity for the president to shore up support from his party. Harris, on Tuesday, hit the campaign trail in Nevada, a key swing state where polls show Trump maintaining an advantage. At the event, she took a notably aggressive approach in tying the former president to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a highly scrutinized initiative that’s been portrayed as a blueprint for a future Republican administration to restructure many parts of the U.S. government. The vice president will then head to a campaign stop in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday, a state Trump narrowly carried in 2016 and 2020. This will be her sixth visit to the state just this year, and her 14th since taking office. FORMER DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CALLS OUT ‘MISTAKE’ IN BIDEN’S LETTER TO FELLOW DEMOCRATS Jill Biden, who has notably taken a larger role on the campaign trail, launched Veterans and Military Families for Biden-Harris, a voter outreach group, on Monday in three major states being targeted by the Biden campaign, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. She delivered remarks in each before headlining a Tuesday press call hitting Trump on abortion and Project 2025 ahead of his own event in Doral, Florida. The Biden campaign also launched the latest ad as part of its massive $50 million paid media campaign earlier this week, hitting Trump on abortion and Project 2025. Biden has been increasingly vocal in his attacks against Project 2025, which Trump attempted to distance himself from last week. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A source close to the Biden campaign told Fox News Digital that a vigorous schedule will continue into next week and will run counter to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Biden has been facing mounting calls from members within his own party to step aside and suspend his re-election campaign following his disastrous debate performance last month. He has been “incredibly busy working the phones” and will continue to make calls through this week as he attempts to quell the unrest in his party, a source familiar previously told Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Biden’s border policies would likely be extended if this swing state Dem governor is the new nominee
With continuing pressure on President Biden to step aside for a different 2024 Democratic nominee amid questions about his mental acuity, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has been floated as a potential candidate to replace him. As governor of one of the most closely-watched swing states and one that could decide the 2024 election, what does his current record suggest about how he would handle the border crisis which has gripped the U.S. for over three years? Shapiro ruled himself out as a replacement for Biden last year, saying he fully expected Biden to run and would not be a candidate even if he stepped aside. He said that he intends to serve all four years as governor. WHAT WOULD A PRESIDENT PRITZKER DO ON IMMIGRATION, BORDER CRISIS? “The answer is no. I just asked the good people of Pennsylvania to be their governor,” Shapiro said in an interview with KDKA. “This type of baseless speculation is just a distraction – and it is unhelpful to accomplishing what we need to do this November: defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box,” Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. As Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Shapiro was a loud voice of opposition to some of former President Trump’s border policies. In 2018, he was one of a number of attorneys general who filed a lawsuit against the practice of separating some families at the border. That policy was eventually scrapped, and the Biden administration has reached a settlement with families that were separated. Shapiro called the policy “abhorrent” and “inconsistent with U.S. asylum laws, and is fundamentally at odds with our core principles and values.” Shapiro also threatened legal action in 2019 over Trump’s declaration of a national emergency in order to divert funding to the ongoing border wall project. HOW WOULD A PRESIDENT WHITMER HANDLE IMMIGRATION, BORDER CRISIS? “I am deeply concerned about the legality of President Trump’s national emergency declaration and its impact on Pennsylvania. Congress has allocated tens of millions of dollars to our Commonwealth that could be diverted for this fictional emergency—but the federal government has not yet provided clear guidance on their funding sources,” he said. As governor, Shapiro has taken a similar stance to President Biden on what needs to be done to solve the crisis at the border. Shapiro has called on Congress to pass reforms to fix what many moderate Democrats say is a “broken” system. His solutions, like Biden’s, include a pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. “Washington D.C., needs to get its act together,” he said on Sirius XM in January. “We need comprehensive immigration reform, we need to have a secure border. And I think we also need to make sure those who follow the rules get a pathway to citizenship. Republicans and Democrats alike have failed to solve this problem over many administrations.” More than perhaps some other potential candidates, Shapiro has also emphasized the need to secure the border. In an interview with the Washington Post in March, he did just that and took aim at former President Trump for allegedly torpedoing the bipartisan Senate package that was introduced in January but has failed to secure votes to pass the chamber. “Immigration is an important issue to many people in Pennsylvania and across the country — and it should be. It’s an important issue to me. We need to secure our border. We need to make sure there is a path to citizenship for those who are here. And we need to clear rules of the road for those who want to migrate to this country,” he said. “I think it is shameful that we had an opportunity to pass a bipartisan bill on immigration and Donald Trump chose to put himself before country, as he always does, and inject more chaos into our immigration system by telling Republican sycophants to be against this in the House of Representatives,” he said. He has also pushed back against pressure from state Republicans to send the National Guard to the border, as a number of other states have done. “The last thing in the world I’m going to do is put the brave women and men of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s lives at risk to be part of some political squabble at the border that [Texas] Governor [Greg] Abbott has created,” he said in March. Those positions are similar to President Biden’s, who has called for Congress to pass the same bills, and has blamed Republicans and former President Trump for their failure to arrive at his desk. Biden has since taken executive action, including a move last month to limit arrivals at the border when they reach a certain level. Republicans have pushed back, saying it is the policies of the administration that have caused the crisis. They have called for a return to Trump-era policies, and House Republicans passed a sweeping bill last year that includes measures such as restarted wall construction, severe limits on asylum and the restoration of the Remain-in-Mexico policy.
IMD Weather Update: Delhi rains to continue, heavy downpour in Goa, Mumbai, other states
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in parts of Delhi and several states, with light to moderate showers expected until July 13 and yellow alerts issued for July 11.
House Dems defend Jeffries as Left’s disarray over Biden grows
House Democrats are insisting Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is doing a steady job leading their caucus even as his lawmakers continue to defect from President Biden’s candidacy. The high-profile Democrat’s backing is critical to Biden right now as he insists to critics and allies alike that he can beat former President Trump and serve another four years. Jeffries held a listening session with Democrats on Tuesday morning where people aired both their concerns and support for Biden. Lawmakers who left the meeting were largely tight-lipped, but those who spoke to reporters admitted that no consensus was reached on how their caucus would handle Biden. But hours after the meeting, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., became the seventh House Democrat to publicly urge Biden to step down. MEDIA FIGURES SHOCKED AT BIDEN’S ‘BAD’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE: ‘TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISASTER’ Those public declarations have drawn rebukes from Biden supporters like Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., who accused his fellow Democrats of “intra-party mixed messaging” that was “deeply self-destructive.” Asked if any of that came from a lack of direction from Jeffries, however, Torres told Fox News Digital, “Leader Jeffries is handling the situation as well as he can.” “If President Biden is going to remain the Democratic nominee, it’s counterproductive for members to express no confidence in him. We have no choice but to make the best of a complicated situation and do everything we can to ensure that he can win. So I insist on viewing it pragmatically,” Torres explained. TRUMP ADDRESSES CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE: HE ‘DOESN’T WANT TO QUIT’ Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who earlier this week released a statement disputing reports that he spoke out against Biden’s candidacy, similarly denied that Jeffries had any blame for the discord. “I would never put any of that on him. No, it’s a wide and diverse caucus. It’s a big tent. People are going to have different opinions, but he’s very good at bringing us together,” Beyer told Fox News Digital. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., told Fox News Digital that Jeffries was handling the situation “the way it should be handled.” “And that is that everybody, you know, everybody should be heard. I think that’s important,” McGovern said. Reps. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., Deborah Ross, D-N.C., Glenn Ivey, D-Md., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., also backed Jeffries. Others, like Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Mark Takano, D-Calif., did not respond to the question when asked by Fox News Digital. BIDEN ‘WORKING THE PHONES’ IN BATTLE TO SAVE RE-ELECTION BID, WITH DEMOCRATS STARTING TO RETURN TO HIS CAMP Despite Jeffries’ backing, however, pressure from House Democrats continues to trickle down onto the 81-year-old president. While just seven House lawmakers in his party have asked Biden to step aside, more have expressed their concerns over his abilities. Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine., and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., have warned they don’t think Biden can beat former President Trump. And on Tuesday evening, Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, became the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to voice hesitation about Biden. “What I said this morning and expressed to my colleagues, particularly from members on the front line, is that I think they need to do whatever it is they need to do in order to come back and be re-elected and so if they need to, you know, distance themselves, then that’s what they need to do,” he told CNN. Jeffries, for his part, told reporters on Monday, “I made clear the day after the debate, publicly, that I support President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket. My position has not changed.”
Failed Dem Biden challenger breaks silence on president’s spiraling electability: ‘Deeply disappointed’
Former Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips spoke out for the first time on President Biden’s disastrous campaign performance, after frequently attacking the president during primary season as “unelectable and weak.” “If this has been vindication, vindication has never been so unfulfilling,” Phillips told reporters Tuesday in his first public remarks on Biden’s electability since his debate against former President Trump late last month. “I made my case eight months ago and I think it’s time for others to share their perspectives,” the Minnesota congressman added while speaking to the gaggle of reporters. “I’m deeply disappointed in a political system that has resulted in this dynamic that we now face.” Following the debate, Phillips remained relatively silent as pundits, Democrats and traditional allies of the White House sounded off that the president should drop out of the race and let another Democrat lead the party to defeat Trump. He did post a cryptic message on social media quoting Gandhi one day after the debate. DEAN PHILLIPS ENDS LONG-SHOT PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST BIDEN FOR DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION “Speak only if it improves upon the silence. -Gandhi,” he posted. Phillips bowed out of the presidential race in March, after months of noting that while he admired the president, Biden’s age weakened the chance of Democrats retaining control of the White House in 2024. “I’m attacked for being honest and saying the quiet part out loud – the part DC insiders only do in private,” Phillips posted to X in February. WHO IS WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN DR. KEVIN O’CONNOR AND WHAT ARE HIS CLOSE TIES TO THE BIDEN FAMILY? “I admire our President. I voted for him and campaigned for him. He has visited my home and been gracious to my family and our country. But shame on all of you pretending everything is ok. You are leading us – and him – into a disaster, and you damn well know it.” “Our incumbent president is unelectable and weak and I think it’s going to show this country that there’s a candidate here who can actually do here what has been promised for generations,” Phillips told reporters at a campaign event in January. DEAN PHILLIPS CALLS DNC ‘DELUSIONAL’ IN FOX NEWS DIGITAL INTERVIEW “Americans were demanding an alternative, and democracy demands options,” Phillips said when dropping out in March. “But it is clear that alternative is not me. And it is clear that Joe Biden is OUR candidate and OUR opportunity to demonstrate what type of country America is and intends to be.” PHILLIPS SAYS IT WILL BE ‘GAME ON’ WITH BIDEN IF HE SURPRISES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE Phillips announced in November of last year that he would not seek re-election for his House seat, after throwing his hat in the presidential race. Phillips, who has been in the House since 2019, represents a strongly Democratic district and his all-in effort for the presidency was always a long shot. Pundits, commenters and reporters on social media have recently declared that Phillips was vindicated following the debate last month, which opened the floodgates to Democrats and legacy media outlets calling on Biden to drop out of the race. Concern over Biden’s mental sharpness hit a fever pitch during the debate, where he lost his train of thought at times and gave garbled answers in a subdued and raspy voice. The debate unleashed panic among Democratic allies and members of the media, as they worried it fueled the fire surrounding concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and age. DEAN PHILLIPS SAYS HE’S ‘RESISTING THE DELUSIONAL DNC’ BY PRIMARY CHALLENGING ‘UNELECTABLE’ BIDEN Despite the fallout from the debate, as well as his first sit-down interview with the media last week that did not help quell concerns, Biden has vowed to stay in the race. “I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump,” Biden wrote in a letter Monday to congressional Democrats, calling on them to end their questions on whether he should end his re-election bid.