White House insists Biden will ‘absolutely not’ suspend re-election campaign: ‘He is staying in the race’
President Biden is “absolutely not” considering dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. The White House has maintained Biden will continue running for a second term, even amid pressure from Democrats and former staffers and allies to step aside. A New York Times report was published Wednesday morning suggesting that Biden had spoken privately with confidants about the possibility of dropping out of the race. NEWSOM HEADS EAST FOR MEETING WITH BIDEN AS PRESIDENT TRIES TO KEEP HIS CAMPAIGN FROM HEADING SOUTH But when asked during the briefing if Biden would drop out of the race, Jean-Pierre was defiant. “Absolutely not,” she said. “And you heard, I think, I believe directly from the campaign as well.” Jean-Pierre maintained that the president’s poor debate performance was due to his having “a cold” and echoed his own explanation from Tuesday night — that he was still recovering from “jet lag” following his trip to Europe for the G-7 summit. “It was not his best night. He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question, but we cannot forget his record and what he’s been able to do. We cannot forget how he has been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years,” she said. “That matters too. And he has the most historic record, the most in modern politics, and that should matter.” Jean-Pierre said Biden “wants to continue to do that work.” “A lot of what’s on his agenda is very much popular with the majority of the American people, whether it is continuing to build a strong economic — economic policies — he’s done that, creating new jobs — he’s done that — 15 million jobs. He wants to work on that and continue to do that. And so he wants to continue to deliver, expanding health care — all of these things he believes is important,” she said. “He wants to make sure that people do not forget about the record that he has been able to lay out on behalf of the American people.” Jean-Pierre again stressed that the debate was just “a bad night.” “It was not his best night. He had a cold. He was jetlagged. You heard directly from the president about this,” she said. “And when we get knocked out, when he gets knocked down, he gets right back up.” She added: “That’s what I would focus on. The president continues to be very steady and continuing to work for the American people.” Jean-Pierre maintained Wednesday that Biden “is staying in the race.” MAJORITY OF VOTERS FAVOR BIDEN DROPPING OUT WHILE TRUMP’S BASE ‘APPEARS MORE SOLID’: POLL Biden himself said: “I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out.” Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly made a surprise appearance on a Democratic National Committee call, in a reported effort to try to calm chaos among allies within the party after the debate. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients urged people during an all-staff meeting Wednesday to tune out the “noise” and focus on the task of governing. MAJORITY OF VOTERS THINKS BIDEN IS COGNITIVELY UNFIT TO SERVE AS PRESIDENT: POLL Jean-Pierre confirmed Zients’ efforts, noting that he acknowledged to White House staffers that the last several days have been difficult. Biden reportedly has made outreach on his own, and spoke with top Democratic lawmakers like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons and South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn. But the chief of staff also encouraged White House aides to “continue being a team” and to tune out negativity and stay focused on the work of governing. Jean-Pierre was also asked about comments Biden made in 2020, in which he referred to himself as a transition candidate, and hoped to be a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders. She responded by saying Vice President Kamala Harris is “the future of the party.” “His statement stands. I mean, one of the reason why he picked the vice president, President Kamala Harris, is because she is indeed the future of the party,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden is “very proud to have partnered with her and continue to partner with her and delivering an unprecedented record for the American people.” “And I think he’s going to continue, certainly to do that. They’re going to do that as partners. Like I said, I just saw them before walking into the briefing room. We they stopped by to talk to me and my team, and they’re ready to go. They’re ready to continue. So the transition would happen in eight years,” she said. “I mean — I’m not going to get into, speculate from here. But you ask me if his remarks and statement still stands. Yes, it still does.” Meanwhile, Biden is planning to host Democrat governors Wednesday night for a meeting. Among the Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California, according to their aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were planning on attending virtually. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released this week found that more four in 10 Democrats said the Democratic Party should intervene and replace Biden as the nominee. Overall, 54% of the voters polled were in favor of Biden dropping out. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tammy Baldwin will stick to state tour instead of joining Biden during Wisconsin visit
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who is facing a competitive challenge in November, won’t be joining President Biden during his campaign stop in Wisconsin Friday. The Biden campaign announced an appearance in Madison, Wisconsin, earlier this week, which will be the president’s first visit to the battleground state since his poor debate performance against former President Trump last month. According to her campaign spokesperson, Baldwin won’t be joining Biden in Madison. Instead, the senator will be on a state tour that will take her to several Wisconsin counties, including Ashland, Oneida, Marinette, Brown, Door, Fond du Lac, Ozaukee and Dane. PRESSURE MOUNTS ON BATTLEGROUND STATE DEMS AFTER BIDEN DEBATE DISASTER “I’m so excited to kick off my Fired Up for Tammy tour,” Baldwin said in an announcement Tuesday about her campaign tour. “In the theme of our nation’s Independence Day, I’ll be meeting with voters from all over the state to talk about the ways we’re working to defend our freedoms and find solutions to the kitchen table issues that matter most to Wisconsin families.” Baldwin’s spokesperson said the tour had been planned for weeks and was announced prior to the news of Biden’s visit. GOP SENATE CANDIDATE TIES OPPONENT TO BIDEN DEBATE: BOB CASEY KNEW Quentin Fulks, Biden campaign principal deputy campaign manager, pushed back on speculation Biden may drop out of the presidential race Wednesday, touting his upcoming visit to Wisconsin, a pivotal swing state. “Obviously, there were 90 minutes of a poor debate performance, but that does not define the record of accomplishments,” Fulks said on CNN. “It does not define the vision that President Biden has and these interviews and these things that the president is doing — our campaign stop in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday. CONGRESSIONAL DEMS BLAST RULING ON TRUMP IMMUNITY: ‘EXTREME RIGHT-WING SUPREME COURT’ “We want everything to go well from the campaign’s perspective all the time. But if they don’t, I do not think that that has a bearing on whether somebody is going to continue running for president of the United States,” he added. After Biden’s debate performance, Baldwin reiterated to local Wisconsin outlets that she “supports the president.” TRUMP ALLIES CELEBRATE BLOW TO ‘SENSELESS LAWFARE’ IN SUPREME COURT IMMUNITY DECISION However, her campaign said, “Tammy Baldwin is running her own race for the people of Wisconsin,” according to The Capital Times. The Wisconsin Senate race is rated “Lean Democratic” by non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, making it one of the seven most competitive Senate matches this cycle.
Top White House aide urges staff to tune out ‘noise’ and focus on governing during debate fallout
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients reportedly held an all-staff meeting Wednesday to urge team members to tune out the “noise” and focus on the task of governing, as senior aides scramble to contain the political fallout from President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Even as Zients acknowledged that the days since the Atlanta matchup between Biden and former President Trump have been challenging, the chief of staff stressed to White House aides the accomplishments and the track record of the Democratic administration and said governing will only become more crucial once the campaign season heats up, particularly after the Fourth of July holiday, The Associated Press reported, citing a White House official. Biden himself began making personal outreach on his own, speaking privately with senior Democratic lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons and South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, a second White House official and others with knowledge of the conversations told the AP. TOP DEMOCRATS RAGE OVER BIDEN’S DEBATE DEFLECTION: ‘DON’T KNOW WHO’S MAKING DECISIONS’ On Capitol Hill, there is increasing anxiety as Biden has been slow to reach out to top Democrats and rank-and-file members, the AP reported, citing people familiar with ongoing conversations. Top Democratic lawmakers also voiced their outrage to Axios about Biden dragging his feet in reaching out to the party’s leadership in recent days, much less the rank-and-file facing competitive races this year. The members, who were not named in the Axios reporting, took particular issue with Biden’s deflection, saying that his handling of the debate fallout, rather than the debate performance itself, could cost Democrats chances of flipping the House or maintaining their majority in the Senate in November. Democrats are unsatisfied with the explanations of Biden’s debate performance from both White House staff and Biden himself. And there is a deeper frustration among some Democrats who feel Biden should have handled this much sooner and has put them in a difficult position by staying in the race. Zients tried to rally the staff’s confidence in Biden’s re-election apparatus, noting that the president has a “strong campaign team” in place and that the White House’s job was to focus on continuing to implement Biden’s agenda. He also told staff that Biden has always made it through tough times, despite being counted out during his decades in public office. The chief of staff also encouraged aides to “continue being a team” and, while acknowledging the increasing political chatter, to “tune it out” and stay disciplined, according to the official who spoke to the AP. The official was granted anonymity to relay Zients’ private remarks. Zients also urged White House staff to ask questions and offer feedback. Staff-wide White House calls aren’t unusual, but Wednesday’s 15-minute check-in came as Biden and senior White House officials were working to assuage rattled lawmakers, donors and other allies within the party amid sharpening questions about whether the 81-year-old president had the competency to run for a second term in office. BIDEN CAMPAIGN SENDS ALL-STAFF MEMO HOPING TO CALM POST-DEBATE CONCERNS According to Axios, major Democratic donors are now planning to move large contributions to House and Senate candidates before what they see as a likely second term for Trump. Biden’s re-election campaign planned a staff-wide call of its own and says it will “be using emails and all staff calls more frequently to make sure you all have the latest updates and broader campaign priorities for the day,” according to a memo sent Wednesday by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. The memo insists the election between Biden and Trump will still be close, seeking to downplay the lasting effects of the debate. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also scheduled to hold one of their sporadic lunches on Wednesday, and the president was planning on hosting an assortment of Democratic governors at the White House in the evening. Among the Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California, according to their aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were planning on attending virtually. The White House has also been on the defensive against reporting that suggests that Biden was considering dropping out of the race. Andrew Bates, White House senior deputy press secretary and deputy assistant to the president, shot back in a response on X to the New York Times’ report Wednesday that Biden told an ally that he was weighing whether to continue his re-election prospects following the disastrous debate performance. “That claim is absolutely false,” Bates wrote. Biden also agreed to an interview Friday with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New York’s universal mail-in voting law challenged in court
The state of New York’s universal mail-in voting law is being challenged by a legal watchdog group that claims the alteration to election protocol is unconstitutional. A court brief has been filed in the New York Court of Appeals seeking to overturn the law, passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, which allows every registered voter in the state to vote via mail-in ballot. The Public Interest Legal Foundation is leading the effort on behalf of multiple Republican leaders — including GOP Reps. Elise Stefanik and Claudia Tenney. MAIL-IN BALLOTS MUST HAVE DATES ON ENVELOPES, PENNSYLVANIA APPEALS COURT RULES New York residents overwhelmingly voted against universal mail-in ballots through a 2021 referendum seeking a constitutional amendment. Democratic lawmakers bypassed the failure of this referendum by simply voting the mail-in ballot expansion through the state legislature. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law late last year. Public Interest Legal Foundation President J. Christian Adams accused the New York Legislature of having “unconstitutionally passed a law to allow every registered voter to cast a ballot in the mail” with this law. NEW YORK REPUBLICANS SUE TO BLOCK DEMOCRAT GOV. KATHY HOCHUL’S NEW LAW EXPANDING EARLY MAIL-IN VOTING “The plain text of the New York Constitution prohibits the expansion of mail voting,” Adams added. “If New York lawmakers want to expand mail voting, they need to pass a constitutional amendment.” Democrats claim that the expanded avenue for absentee voting makes the democratic process easier for voters. Their critics contend this change in protocol makes voter fraud much easier. This is not the Public Interest Legal Foundation’s first time in court fighting the expansion of absentee ballot eligibility. The foundation previously led the 2022 legal challenge against a similar law in Delaware. The campaign saw initial success when a state superior court sided against the proposed permanent absentee voting expansion. However, the New York Supreme Court shot down that decision last month in a 5-0 ruling, finding that the Public Interest Legal Foundation did not have standing to sue.
Multiple letters circulating among House Dems calling on Biden to step aside for 2024: sources
There are multiple letters circulating among House Democrats that would call for President Biden to step aside in the 2024 White House race, two sources familiar with those discussions told Fox News Digital. Efforts have included both vulnerable Democrats in swing districts and left-wing lawmakers in safe seats, one of the sources said. The letters are mainly being circulated at the member level right now, both sources said, with lawmakers closely guarding the monumental decision they are weighing. “Everyone is guarded now,” one senior House Democratic member told Fox News. “People may be just doing what they believe is best for them.” KARINE JEAN-PIERRE ANSWERS POINT-BLANK IF BIDEN SUFFERS FROM DEMENTIA AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE It comes after Reuters first reported that a group of 25 House Democrats was preparing to call on Biden to step aside as the 2024 candidate if he does not buck concerns that he’s not up to the task within a matter of days. House Democratic leaders have not seen that letter, Fox News is told. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News was first to report on the effort by safe-seat Democrats on Wednesday. The news emerges as more Democrats come forward to publicly express their concerns about the 81-year-old president’s fitness for office. Questions about his physical and mental condition were brought to the forefront during last Thursday’s debate between Biden and former President Trump. BIDEN BLAMES EUROPEAN TRIPS FOR DEBATE FLOP, DESPITE LONG HUDDLE AT CAMP DAVID: ‘ALMOST FELL ASLEEP ONSTAGE’ Democrats are now questioning whether Biden is the best positioned candidate to beat Trump, who they largely view as a threat to democracy. The dam broke on Tuesday afternoon when Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, became the first sitting House Democrat to outright call for Biden to pull out of the race. “My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,” Doggett said in a statement. “Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.” Hours later, Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. – two of the most vulnerable Democrats this election cycle – came out and said Biden would likely lose to Trump. The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on House Democrats’ letters.
Top political handicapper shifts two key states toward Trump post-debate
A well-known non-partisan political handicapper on Wednesday shifted two key states toward former President Trump in the wake of President Biden’s extremely rough performance during last Thursday’s debate. Sabato’s Crystal Ball 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.” BIDEN CAMPAIGN SENDS ‘ALL STAFF’ MEMO TO TRY AND STEM DEEP CONCERNS Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is facing the roughest stretch of his bid for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at the debate, sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer. CASH DASH: TRUMP TOPS BIDEN IN FUNDRAISING RACE Additionally, in the past 24 hours, a small but increasing number of House Democrats have also urged the president to end his re-election bid. However, Biden’s campaign has repeatedly insisted that the president has no intention of dropping out of the race. Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, for a quarter-century was part of the Democrats’ so-called blue wall of states. However, Trump flipped all three in his 2016 presidential election victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Four years later, Biden won all three states as he defeated Trump in the 2020 election. A Republican has not carried Minnesota in a presidential election since then-President Nixon’s 1972 landslide re-election over a half-century ago. It was the only state then-President Reagan lost in his 1984 re-election landslide. However, recent polls in Minnesota indicate a competitive race between Biden and Trump, and the former president’s campaign is eyeing Minnesota and Virginia as it tries to expand the 2024 electoral map. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
NEET-UG paper leak row: CBI arrests co-conspirator from Jharkhand, 6th arrest in case
The CBI arrested Aman Singh who is a key conspirator in the NEET-UG paper leak case from Jharkhand.
Veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani admitted to Apollo hospital in New Delhi, days after being discharged from AIIMS
The senior party leader was moved to emergency at Apollo Hospital on Mathura Road.
Top Democrats rage over Biden’s debate deflection: ‘Don’t know who’s making decisions’
Several top Democratic lawmakers expressed their anger over President Biden’s public denial and deflection about his rocky debate performance, according to a report Wednesday. Some Democratic members of Congress told Axios they want Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to privately encourage Biden to step aside. Multiple lawmakers reportedly told the outlet they are enraged Biden had slow-walked reaching out to Democratic leadership after the debate, much less the rank-and-file members in competitive races. Those members, who were not named in the report, said they fear the president could jeopardize Democrats’ chances of holding the Senate majority or regaining control of the House in November. BIDEN BLAMES EUROPEAN TRIPS FOR DEBATE FLOP, DESPITE LONG HUDDLE AT CAMP DAVID: ‘ALMOST FELL ASLEEP ONSTAGE’ “I don’t know who’s making decisions,” one House Democrat reportedly told Axios. “Why the hell isn’t Biden on the phone with congressional leadership?… Everybody now thinks he could cost us the majority.” The White House said Biden spoke with Jeffries on Tuesday. Lauren Hitt, a Biden campaign spokesperson, told Axios the president “has spoken personally with multiple elected officials on the Hill and across the battlegrounds since the debate.” According to the report, lawmakers privately are growing fearful Biden is consulting only family members or people on his payroll in determining whether he should stay in the race. As the president’s inner circle slims, the lawmakers told Axios they’re certain Biden’s family doesn’t want him exposed to outside criticism, even if it comes from friends. At a campaign fundraiser in McLean, Virginia, Tuesday night, Biden blamed his poor debate performance on his foreign travel in June, which included a visit to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, according to a print pool report with notes from a small group of journalists permitted to attend the private event. “I decided to travel around the world a couple of times,” Biden reportedly told a group of donors. “I didn’t listen to my staff,” the president said, adding that he “came back and nearly fell asleep on stage.” Biden rested for two days in Delaware and spent another six days preparing for the debate at Camp David in Maryland following his back-to-back trips to Europe, the New York Times reported. His debate preparation also never began before 11 a.m. and the president “was given time for an afternoon nap each day,” the newspaper said. MICHELLE OBAMA LEADS BIDEN, HARRIS IN MATCHUP AGAINST TRUMP IN LATEST POST-DEBATE POLL The White House claimed Biden “was working well before then, after exercising.” Even Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a longtime Biden ally, admitted in an interview Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that it’s a “legitimate question” to express concern about Biden’s debate performance. “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, is this an episode, or is this a condition? And so when people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate – of both candidates,” Pelosi said. “Both candidates owe whatever test you want to put them to, in terms of their mental acuity and their health – both of them.” Biden also agreed to an interview Friday with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. Axios reported that major Democratic donors are now planning to move large contributions instead to House and Senate candidates before what they see as a likely second term for former President Trump. Even Democrats who once accused Trump supporters of “gaslighting” by expressing concerns about 81-year-old Biden’s age and mental fitness are reportedly fed up with Biden, more so over his downplaying and deflection in the debate’s aftermath, rather than over the debate itself. “Strangely, we are getting to the point where it may not have been the debate that did him in, but the aftermath of how they’ve handled it,” a top Democratic operative told Axios.
Trump campaign rips Biden after former president’s mental acuity called into question
The Trump campaign slammed the White House and the Biden campaign for calling former President Donald Trump’s mental acuity into question. “Never in history has a debate resulted in a candidate’s own donors and surrogates pondering whether their candidate should stay in the race, until now,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. The comment comes after the White House and Biden campaign questioned former President Trump’s fitness to serve, a response to questions that continue to swirl around President Biden’s mental acuity. Asked during a news conference Tuesday if Biden had Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “no” while hinting that the “same exact question” should be asked of the “other guy,” referring to Trump. KARINE JEAN-PIERRE ANSWERS POINT-BLANK IF BIDEN SUFFERS FROM DEMENTIA AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE Biden continues to face widespread skepticism about his ability to win the election and serve another term as president in the wake of a disastrous debate performance last week, resulting in many calling on the president to step aside and let a younger candidate take over at the top of the ticket. The Biden campaign has acknowledged the president’s poor performance but pushed back against the idea he would drop out of the race, arguing Biden still has the ability to lead and is the party’s best chance at defeating Trump. The campaign has also begun calling Trump’s cognitive ability into question, citing times the former president has confused who he was talking about. TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM BIDEN AFTER ‘RIDICULOUS’ CHEAP FAKE NARRATIVE “Donald Trump is unhinged and out-of-control, determined to make this country a dictatorship and punish his enemies with new powers handed to him by the Supreme Court – while also confusing Joe Biden for Barack Obama, Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi, and routinely ranting and raving about nonsense like sharks and windmills,” a campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. But the Trump campaign pushed back hard against the suggestion Wednesday, with Leavitt telling Fox News Digital that Trump “undeniably dominated Joe Biden in the debate and held him accountable for his failure, weakness, and dishonesty.” “While it’s been another bad week for Biden, it’s been a terrible three and a half years for the nation,” Leavitt said. “Inflation is crushing every family, Biden’s border invasion is bringing crime to every community, and weakness from the White House is encouraging chaos and war around the globe – and that is why President Trump continues to dominate Joe Biden in every poll. Americans feel the sharp contrast in their lives under President Trump and Biden.”