Democratic governors from across the nation descended on the White House Wednesday evening to speak with President Biden after his widely panned debate performance last week.
The aim of the meeting was to shore up support among the party’s top leaders and stave off diminishing confidence in Biden’s candidacy.
Among the Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person were Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, among others.
After the meeting only Govs. Walz, Hochul, and Moore spoke to reporters.
Gov. Walz said he and his colleagues had a “great conversation” with President Biden.
Walz said his fellow governors were worried not because of any lingering doubts about Biden’s cognitive abilities but because of “the threat of a Trump presidency.” That threat, Walz said, “is not theoretical for governors.”
Walz praised the Biden administration for its handling of Covid, and “investing in infrastructure and the middle class.”
Walz clarified that none of the governors were denying that last Thursday, the night of the debate, was a “bad performance.”
“But it doesn’t impact what I believe,” Walz said.
Gov. Moore described the meeting with Biden as “honest” and “candid.”
“The president has always had our backs. We’re going to have his back as well, because the results that we’ve been able to see under this administration have been undeniable in all of our individual state,” Moore said.
Moore framed the presidential race as a binary choice: “between someone who has continually delivered for us in our states and the people of our states and, frankly, someone whose vision for the future of this country is downright dangerous.”
Gov. Hochul said President Biden was “in it to win it.”
“All of us pledged our support to him because the stakes could not be higher,” Hochul said, invoking on the eve of Independence Day, the fight against tyranny.
The entire press conference clocked in at around five and a half minutes.
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy was asked about the White House briefing by press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre regarding President Biden’s debate performance in Atlanta last week.
Kennedy critiqued Jean-Pierre’s response pretty much as well Republicans have graded Biden’s creaky debate demeanor.
“She’s blamed the president’s performance on jet lag, a cold, staff. They blamed it on everything but murder hornets.”
Kennedy said he watched the debate like many people, saying he thought “Trump’s was one of his best” whereas the performance by Biden was similar to a “multiple vehicle pileup.”
“I don’t know if President Biden will quit,” Kennedy said Wednesday on Fox News. “I wouldn’t bet my house on it. And if I were betting your house it would be a maybe.”
Kennedy went on to say “President Biden is deeply unpopular” and that the “American people believe President Biden is older than the Adirondack Mountains.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said after Wednesday’s meeting with President Joe Biden and other fellow Democrat governors that the president still has what it takes for another four-year term.
“We came together tonight to listen to President Biden tell us in his own words what his plans were,” Hochul said. “I'm here to tell you tonight, President Joe Biden is in it to win it. And all of us said we pledged our support to him because the stakes could not be higher.
“On the eve of the 4th of July celebration, we talk about how we transition under a monarchy and a tyranny that our founding fathers fought against, and we risk right now descending back into that very same place. We will stand with the president and fight that force, that force being Donald Trump.”
Hochul has previously dismissed rumors she’s aiming for a job in a potential second Biden administration.
{{#rendered}}California Gov. Gavin Newsom met with 23 other Democrat governors Wednesday at the White House during an apparent damage control act after President Biden’s gaffes at last week’s first debate against former President Donald Trump during this presidential election season.
“I heard three words from the President tonight -- he’s all in. And so am I," Newsom tweeted.
Newsom was in Washington, D.C. for a planned meeting between President Biden and Democrat governors from across the country. This came after Biden’s blunders in the presidential debate a week ago and rumors that top Democratic lawmakers were urging him to bow out of the race.
Newsom has been one of the top names emerging to take his place on the ballot, but the California governor has publicly said he’s stood by Biden.
Newsom wasn’t among the Democrat governors speaking to the press after meeting with Biden.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was the lead spokesperson along with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Former President Donald Trump apparently lambasted President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during what appears to be a leaked video from a golf course.
The tweet posted by The Daily Beast shows Trump, the 78-year-old presumptive Republican presidential nominee, sitting in a golf cart with his son, Barron Trump, as the former president blasts the 81-year-old Biden.
Trump is seen at the beginning of the video holding a handful of cash and asking folks, “How did I do with the debate the other night?”
“We kicked that old, broken down pile of crap,” Trump is heard saying to those surrounding his golf cart before handing out bills. “He’s a bad guy.
“He just quit, you know — he’s quitting the race,” Trump kept saying. “I got him out — and that means we have Kamala.”
“I think she’s going to be better. She’s so bad. She’s so pathetic. She’s so f--king bad.”
Trump then redirected focus back to Biden's dealing with Russia and China.
“Can you imagine that guy dealing with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin? And the president of China — who’s a fierce person. He’s a fierce man, very tough guy,” Trump said of Xi Jinping.
“They just announced he’s probably quitting. Just keep knocking him out, huh?”
Trump then faced forward in his cart and drove away. It's unclear which golf course the video was taken.
Following a meeting with the nation’s Democrat governors with President Joe Biden on Wednesday at the White House, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Biden is still “fit for office” despite the president’s awkward performance at the initial presidential debate last week.
“None of us are denying Thursday night was a bad performance. It was a bad hit, if you will on that, but it doesn’t impact what I believe: He’s delivering,” said Walz, who leads the Democratic Governors Association.
Walz was asked whether he thought Biden looked or sounded abnormal during last week’s debate versus Donald Trump.
“Yeah, he did. He said, ‘Look,’ he didn’t listen to himself.”
“I think this idea that you get in your own head, you get a little bit cycled up on that,” Walz said. “What we saw in there today was a guy who was the guy that all of us believed in the first time who could beat Donald Trump and he did beat Donald Trump.”
Walz led the delegation that also included California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, among others.
After the leaders met with Biden, only Govs. Walz, Hochul, and Moore spoke to reporters.
“We always believe that when you love someone, you tell them the truth,” Moore said. “And I think we came in and we were honest about the feedback that we were getting. We were honest about the concerns that we are hearing from people.”
{{#rendered}}Amid a growing chorus of Democratic voices calling for President Biden to bow out of the presidential race after last week’s disastrous debate performance, the Washington Post editorial board on Wednesday published a bizarre hypothetical transcript of the Democratic frontrunner announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 campaign.
The lofty op-ed, titled “What if Biden spoke these words?” opens with an invocation of the founding fathers who “carried out a revolution at the edge of a wild frontier.”
“Over the past few days, I have been reflecting on all this. My season of service is nearing its close. This was a hard truth to face,” the op-ed reads. “But it is the natural course of things — as evident as the progression from spring to summer, from fall to winter. This is why I have decided to withdraw from the campaign for president of the United States.”
The piece compared Biden to the first U.S. president, George Washington, who supposedly faced a similar moment “as he approached the end of his second term.”
The hypothetical Biden said he wanted to “stay in the fight” but “at this moment, the nation needs something I cannot provide: a leader with the energy to run a vigorous campaign and then to work for America, at all hours, for the next four years.”
The piece accused his predecessor and GOP rival, Donald Trump, of having “exploited and exacerbated” partisan divisions.
“Mr. Trump’s unique danger lies in his claim that only he can lead the nation. I will not make the same mistake,” the “president” said. “Nor will I do anything that would ease his return to power. Staying in the race could do just that.”
The piece added no context or additional commentary.
President Biden and his top officials say they have accepted an ultimatum from the Democratic Party that the president must demonstrate to the nation he is fit for office or face a concerted effort to have him bow out of the race.
Critics tell The Washington Post they are unnerved by the lack of urgency from within the Biden administration after his disastrous debate performance ignited calls from within his own party to step down.
One senior campaign adviser called Biden’s reticence “a deafening silence.”
“I think the onus is really on Biden right now to be very candid with all of us privately, not publicly, not that we’re going to tell reporters, but to be very candid with us privately about what happened, what is the larger issue? Can we get through this?” Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., told The Post. "We do need more than emails of polling briefs from White House legislative affairs directors right now to assuage those concerns.”
Earlier Wednesday, the Biden campaign sent out an email to supporters clarifying that the president had no plans to back out of the race.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., is the latest lawmaker to call on the president to drop out of the presidential race following last week’s botched debate performance.
Grijalva told The New York Times that he thinks its time for his party to select a new nominee but qualified that he will still support Biden if he makes it through November.
“If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva said. “What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat – and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.”
Grijalva is the second sitting Democratic House lawmaker to call on Biden to step down. On Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said the president “failed” to defend his record and reassure voters that he’s the man for the job during last week’s debate.
{{#rendered}}President Biden’s campaign team sent out a fundraising email to supporters Wednesday in an ostensible effort to quell any lingering doubts about whether he will stay in the race after his widely criticized debate performance last week.
“I know the past few days been tough. I’m sure you’re getting a lot of questions. I’m sure many of you have questions as well,” a message to supporters reads. “So, let me say this as clear and simply as I can: I’m running.”
The message reminds recipients that Biden is still “the Democratic Party’s nominee.”
“No one is pushing me out. I’m not leaving, I’m in this race to the end, and WE are going to win this election,” the message says. “If that’s all you need to hear, pitch in a few bucks to help Kamala and me defeat Donald Trump in November.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is doubling down on her support for President Biden as more of her fellow Democrats are publicly and privately calling on him to step down after his botched debate performance.
The Democratic governor told MSNBC Sunday: “We have the best candidate running right now, and that is President Biden.”
She added that, “One bad night does not affect three and a half years of stellar accomplishment, and I’m really excited about the next four years ahead.”
Hochul is expected to meet with the president and other Democratic governors at the White House later Wednesday.
The governors will share feedback from voters in their state and discuss the Biden campaigns plans through November.
Hochul has dismissed rumors that she is vying for a job in a potential second administration for the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, a recent Siena College poll showed the Democratic governor hitting her lowest favorability and job approval so far. The poll, released late last month, showed the governor’s favorability rating at 38-49% and her job approval rating at 44-50%.
Biden showed similarly dismal approval figures in New York, with a favorability among New York voters at 42-53% and an overall approval rating at 45-53%.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday said Vice President Kamala Harris was the “future” of the Democratic Party.
The comments came in response to a reporter who questioned whether President Biden stood by his 2020 comments that he would be a “bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders.”
“I think his statement stands. I mean, one of the reasons why he picked Vice President Kamala Harris is because she is indeed the future of the [Democratic] Party,” Jean-Pierre said. “And he’s very proud to have partnered with her and continue to partner with her and deliver an unprecedented record for the American people.”
The White House has been in full-scale damage control following the president’s disastrous debate performance, which has fueled calls for him to step down and allow another candidate to take his place.
Another reporter asked Jean-Pierre if during the president’s lunch with the vice president earlier in the day there was any discussion of “Harris potentially taking over.”
Jean-Pierre reiterated the White House’s position that the president had no plans to drop out of the race.
“That’s something that the campaign has shared. So, I’m just repeating what the campaign has shared,” Jean-Pierre said.
{{#rendered}}Former President Trump's campaign team is blasting Democrats who are just now calling on President Biden to call it quits after his disastrous debate performance last week.
"Every Democrat who is calling on Crooked Joe Biden to quit was once a supporter of Biden and his failed policies that lead to extreme inflation, an open border, and chaos at home and abroad. Make no mistake that Democrats, the main stream media, and the swamp colluded to hide the truth from the American public -- Joe Biden is weak, failed, dishonest, and not fit for the White House," co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
"Every one of them has lied about Joe Biden’s cognitive state and supported his disastrous policies over the past four years, especially Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris."
The Boston Globe editorial board is urging President Biden to bow out of the presidential race after his disastrous debate performance.
In a column published Wednesday, the editorial board criticized the Biden administration for not doing enough to assuage the nation of its concerns.
“President Biden’s team has said little that adequately explains why his performance was historically bad, beyond that he had a cold,” the board wrote. “What we mostly heard instead was the closing of ranks around the beleaguered and wounded candidate.”
As many Democrats have publicly defended the president as the best candidate to beat Trump, the board warned there was a greater risk Biden continuing “as the party’s standard-bearer.”
“The nation’s confidence has been shaken,” the board wrote.
The writers noted there was a “bevy of potential candidates … waiting in the wings to take on Trump.”
All Biden had to do, the board wrote, was “graciously bow out of the race and free his delegates to cast their votes for someone else at the Democratic National Convention.”
President Biden is facing growing calls from members of the media, editorial boards, pundits and more to drop out of the race following a debate performance that caused anxiety among members of the Democratic Party.
The Boston Globe's editorial column comes days after The New York Times editorial board called on President Biden to “leave the race” after his widely panned debate.
A new national poll indicates that former President Trump's lead over President Biden in their 2024 election rematch is widening in the wake of last week's heavily criticized debate performance by Biden.
And the survey, released Wednesday by the New York Times and Siena College, spotlights a surge in concerns that the 81-year-old Biden, the oldest president in the nation's history, is unable to govern the nation effectively.
Biden is facing the roughest stretch of his more than year-long campaign for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at the debate with Trump in Atlanta, Georgia, 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.
This is an excerpt of a report by Fox News' Paul Steinhauser. Click here to read the full story.
{{#rendered}}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.
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."
This is an excerpt of a report by Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman. Click here to read the full story.
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."
This is an excerpt of a report by Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind and Chad Pergram. Click here to read the full story.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday was pressed on President Biden blaming his poor debate performance last week on jetlag.
A reporter noted that despite Biden’s insistence at a campaign fundraiser that international travel had taken a toll on his health, the president actually had at least a week to recover in the U.S. before the debate.
Jean-Pierre repeated the president’s talking points about that being not an excuse but an “explanation.”
“In addition to the two major trips he was also continuing to do his presidential duties, he worked late in doing that. And he also prepared for the debate,” Jean-Pierre said. “And on top of that, there was obviously the jetlag … and also he had a cold … he had a hoarse voice.”
A reporter said the White House appeared to be coming up with new excuses, as Biden had previously blamed his debate performance on having a cold.
Jean-Pierre again pointed to the president’s hectic schedule, having traveled six zone times – despite this occurring in the first half of June and the debate being 12 days after Biden arrived back in the U.S.
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich pushed Jean-Pierre to clarify the earlier reporter’s question, noting that Biden held a rally in North Carolina the day after the debate and dined at a Waffle House.
“He pushed through. That’s what this president does. He is going to continue to fight for the American people,” Jean-Pierre said. “So, he pushed through.”
{{#rendered}}Former President Trump has significantly widened his lead over President Biden after Biden's disastrous performance at last week's debate, according to a new poll from the New York Times.
Trump now leads Biden by six points among likely voters, his largest lead in the race so far. A further 74% of voters say Biden is too old to serve effectively as president, with the number spiking after the debate, according to the Times.
Biden is facing growing calls to drop out of the race from both current and former Democratic officials. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, was the first elected Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw, issuing a public statement on Tuesday.
While top Democratic Party officials remain publicly supportive of the president, rumors of growing panic continue to leak out from party insiders.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients urged aides to focus and tune out the "noise" during an all-staff meeting on Wednesday
The meeting came as President Biden's candidacy threatens to collapse under the weight of his disastrous performance at last week's debate against former President Trump. Zients encouraged White House staff to focus on the victories the administration has had over the past three years.
Zients also argued that Biden has a “strong campaign team” in place and argued that the current concern over his cognitive abilities is just "noise."
Multiple prominent groups and even some current and former Democratic lawmakers, have called on Biden to step aside in recent days. Top officials in the Democratic Party remain publicly supportive of the president, though rumors of panic continue to leak out from the party machine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
The pro-democracy business group Leadership Now is calling for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, saying they fear former President Trump could take back the White House after Biden's "deeply concerning" debate performance last week.
In a statement on Wednesday, the business leaders urged Biden to "pass the torch of this year's presidential nomination to the next generation of highly capable Democrats," saying they "fear the risk of a devastating loss in November."
The non-profit, which was founded in 2017 by a group of Harvard Business School alumni, hailed Biden for the accomplishments of his administration but said he failed to make the case against Trump in the debate and that "The reelection of Donald Trump poses an existential threat to American democracy."
"The threat of a second Trump term is such that we must ask President Biden and the Democratic Party to pass the torch of this year's presidential nomination to the next generation of highly capable Democrats," the statement reads. "This process will undoubtedly be messy and is not without risk. However, the stakes are too high not to act."
Leadership Now joins a growing chorus from across the political spectrum calling for Biden to drop his bid for a second term after his debate performance heightened concerns over his mental acuity.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Breck Dumas
{{#rendered}}A public moment last month when President Biden appeared temporarily unable to say the name of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly left allies alarmed and "shaken up."
The incident took place on June 18 at an event celebrating the anniversary of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected some illegal immigrants from deportation.
As he spoke, Biden introduced Mayorkas, who has served in a high-profile role since 2021 and has been the main official dealing with the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
"Thanks to all the members of the Congress and Homeland Security Secretary," he said, pausing. "I…I’m not sure I’m going to introduce you all the way."
He then added, "But all kidding aside, Secretary Mayorkas."
The New York Times reported this week that two people with a clear view of Biden, who has fought a stutter throughout his life, said that his soft-spoken mumbling and fumbling over words left some concerned.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Adam Shaw
Democrats and White House aides are angry over President Biden and his closest allies acting like it's business as usual following the president's rocky debate performance, causing panic among members of the party.
"Everyone is freaking the f--- out," one official told Axios.
The president's performance in the debate against former President Trump on Thursday has caused some of Biden's closest allies in the media to question whether he is the best person to beat the presumptive GOP nominee in November.
"I don't know who's making decisions," one House Democrat told Axios. "Why the hell isn't Biden on the phone with congressional leadership?"
"Everybody now thinks he could cost us the majority," the Democrat continued.
The White House said Biden had spoken to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, according to Axios. The president is also expected to meet with Democratic governors to reassure them after his debate performance.
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos is set to interview Biden on Friday for a Sunday airing — the president's first interview since the debate.
The president acknowledged his debate performance during a fundraiser in Virginia on Tuesday and blamed the bad performance on his world travels.
"I decided to travel around the world a couple of times," Biden said, according to reports. "I didn't listen to my staff."
Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report
Members of the White House press corps largely defended their reporting after receiving criticism for their handling of concerns over President Biden's age before the debate.
"To some extent, the decline has appeared to be gradual — hard to notice from day to day — and that’s perhaps made it harder for reporters to determine when is the right moment to write something," a reporter, speaking anonymously, told CNN.
These reporters, among some of the most famous and well-connected journalists in the country, said that the White House has concerned itself with preventing stories about Biden's age.
"[B]erating reporters who bring them reporting about age concerns, bemoaning that it’s all anyone writes about (clearly, it’s not) and often attacking pieces after they run," a reporter told CNN. "I think that’s left some folks to conclude that these stories are too painful to report or that they should pick their spots more. It’s clear the age stories that have angered the White House (and the liberal Twittersphere) the most."
"They keep him at arm’s length, and he rarely does extended interviews," a reporter told the outlet.
But some reporters said that the White House press corps should have done more to report on Biden's accommodations.
"I think the press, most of the White House press, did suffer from a bit of lack of curiosity," one of the reporters said.
{{#rendered}}President Biden told a key ally this week that he is aware he may be forced to withdraw from the presidential race if he cannot salvage the public's opinion of his mental capacity in the coming days, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
The ally told NYT that Biden is focused on ensuring that his upcoming interview with George Stephanopoulos at ABC News, as well as campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, must go flawlessly.
"He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place," the ally told the Times.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates flatly denied the report in a statement on Twitter.
"That claim is absolutely false. If the New York Times had provided us with more than 7 minutes to comment we would have told them so," Bates wrote.
Biden is facing ramping calls to withdraw, even from sources within his own party. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, was the first elected Democrat to call on Biden to drop out, publishing a statement on Tuesday.
Former first lady Michelle Obama is the leading candidate to take on former President Trump in 2024, according to a new poll conducted after last week's presidential debate.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll asked respondents who they would like to see take on Trump on the general election ballot amid calls to replace the current nominee, and President Biden was bested by both the former first lady and his own vice president.
When asked who they would vote for in a race against Trump, the poll found that Obama was the only Democrat to secure enough votes to beat the former president on the general election ballot.
In the hypothetical match-up, the former first lady led Trump by 11 percentage points, receiving 50% of the vote over the former president, who was the choice candidate of 39% of respondents.
The poll showing Obama leading the Democratic candidate pool comes after the Washington Post reported that her husband, former President Obama, recently told supporters that Biden’s road to re-election has become more difficult since Thursday.
Vice President Kamala Harris has also risen on the list of potential Democratic nominee replacements, but she did not receive enough support to beat Trump in the latest survey.
According to the poll, about 42% of respondents said they would vote for Harris, while a slim majority of 43% of registered voters favored Trump.
This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Aubrie Spady
President Biden will meet with Democratic governors later Wednesday as concerns over his health and mental well-being reach a critical point.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who heads the Democratic Governors Association, is already in Washington, D.C., and will be at the White House in-person. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker are also confirmed to be in Washington.
"I think the governors just want a direct and candid conversation with the president. We want to make sure he's doing okay. We all know him. He has formed a personal relationship with us," Beshear told Fox News Digital. "And he says he is [doing okay]. And we take him at his word. But it's always good to see somebody in person."
Pritzker echoed the wellness check language of Beshear, arguing that he would support any decision Biden makes regarding his campaign.
"I honor my commitments. Joe Biden is going to be our nominee, unless he decides otherwise. And so I think that there's a healthy conversation that will happen with the president, I hope, expressing, you know, what he intends to do going forward in the campaign and reassuring everybody that this is the right course," Prtizker said.
The meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the White House's Roosevelt Room, comes less than a day after the first elected Democratic lawmaker called for Biden to withdraw from the race. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, cited Biden's disastrous performance in last week's debate against former President Trump.
The White House has attempted to dismiss Biden's gaffes, miscues and mental acuity concerns as little more than the product of "cheap fakes" and misinformation, but one of Biden's current political rivals – who previously served alongside him – says unequivocally that the Biden seen during a disastrous national debate is "not the same man" he once knew.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, served as physician to the president during both the Obama and Trump administrations and previously worked in the White House Medical Unit during the George W. Bush administration. It was during his time spent serving under former President Obama that he was able to most closely observe Biden, then the vice president.
{{#rendered}}California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in Washington, D.C. Wednesday ahead of a planned meeting between President Biden and Democratic governors from across the country.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who heads the Democratic Governors Association, is already in Washington and will be at the White House in-person. Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker are also confirmed to be in Washington.
"I think the governors just want a direct and candid conversation with the president. We want to make sure he's doing okay. We all know him. He has formed a personal relationship with us," Beshear told Fox News Digital. "And he says he is [doing okay]. And we take him at his word. But it's always good to see somebody in person."
Pritzker echoed the wellness check language of Beshear, arguing that he would support any decision Biden makes regarding his campaign.
"I honor my commitments. Joe Biden is going to be our nominee, unless he decides otherwise. And so I think that there's a healthy conversation that will happen with the president, I hope, expressing, you know, what he intends to do going forward in the campaign and reassuring everybody that this is the right course," Prtizker said.
The meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the White House's Roosevelt Room, comes less than a day after the first elected Democratic lawmaker called for Biden to withdraw from the race. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, cited Biden's disastrous performance in last week's debate against former President Trump.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier said the Democrats who are now calling on President Biden to resign are likely reacting to a deluge of polls showing President Biden sinking after his disastrous debate performance.
"What has changed in the past 24 hours is we are starting to get more and more internal polls, and more external polls, public polls about the ramifications of Thursday's debate. And there are internal polls, we are told by Democratic lawmakers, that show Joe Biden now losing Virginia, New Hampshire and New Mexico to Donald Trump," Baier said Wednesday on "Fox & Friends."
"Those kind of numbers scare the crap out of everybody on down the ticket," he explained, noting that Democrats fear Biden's sagging numbers could cause them to lose the House and the Senate.
Baier predicted that Vice President Kamala Harris will continue to be the focus of positive media coverage for the White House in case she is called upon to replace Biden.
The White House has attempted to dismiss President Biden's gaffes, miscues and mental acuity concerns as little more than the product of "cheap fakes" and misinformation, but one of Biden's current political rivals – who previously served alongside him – says unequivocally that the Biden seen during a disastrous national debate is "not the same man" he once knew.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, served as physician to the president during both the Obama and Trump administrations and previously worked in the White House Medical Unit during the George W. Bush administration. It was during his time spent serving under former President Obama that he was able to most closely observe Biden, then the vice president.
"I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man we’ve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for 8 years," Jackson said.
Thursday’s debate was riddled with Biden tripping over his words, speaking in a far more subdued tenor than during his vice presidency, having a raspy and unsure voice and losing his train of thought at times. The debate unleashed panic among Democratic allies and members of the media, as they remarked his debate performance was a failure that added fuel to the fire surrounding concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and age.
Biden's mental fitness has become a focal point this election season, with Trump routinely slamming the president for his garbled language in public remarks and repeated instances of Biden appearing confused while trying to find an exit off of a stage after public events.
Now, many Democrats are asking if Biden can continue to serve as the party's nominee.
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this update.
{{#rendered}}President Biden has enlisted top A-listers to help push his campaign for re-election, and that includes perhaps the top Democrat of all, former President Barack Obama.
But after Biden’s creaky performance in the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump last week, it seems that even Obama might have doubts about Biden’s prospect of winning a second term this November.
Obama called Biden after the debate to offer more words of encouragement, according to The Washington Post, which also reported that Obama told private supporters that Biden’s road to re-election has become more difficult since Thursday.
An Obama spokesperson didn’t comment on the remarks made privately to the Post, but a Biden campaign spokesperson said Obama has given his former vice president "unwavering" support.
"President Biden is grateful for President Obama’s unwavering support since the very start of this campaign as both a powerful messenger to voters and a trusted adviser directly to the president," Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, said.
Obama hasn’t publicly called for any Biden withdrawal, but has suggested his former vice president keep pushing forward.
"Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself," Obama stated on social media after the debate.
President Biden’s son Hunter Biden has joined meetings with the president and close staff at the White House this week following a Biden family meeting at Camp David on Sunday.
Hunter Biden has joined the president in meetings with top aides, closely advising his father and popping into meetings and phone calls with the president, according to a report from NBC News, citing multiple White House sources.
The White House sources told NBC News that the president’s son's sudden presence at meetings has caused confusion for some White House staff, with the reaction being, "What the hell is happening?"
The report noted that while it is not unusual for Hunter Biden to be around the White House for events, his participation in meetings with top aides is not a common occurrence.
Fresh off a conviction last month in a federal court in Delaware over gun charges, Hunter Biden remains under indictment for tax-related felonies. Like the case in Delaware, the president’s son has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Hunter Biden was also reported to be one of the biggest advocates for his father staying in the race during a gathering at Camp David in the aftermath of the president’s poor debate performance, with some critics arguing the president using his son as a top adviser has become a conflict of interest.
"It's just a pure and simple massive interest in his dad staying president so he can pardon not only Hunter, but Joe and the rest of the family for the crimes they committed, and probably Merrick Garland, too, for his role in the cover-up," Mike Howell, the executive director of the Oversight Project at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital's Michael Lee contributed to this report.
Forward Party co-founder Andrew Yang on Wednesday told "Fox & Friends" that the "dam is about to break" as more Democratic voices come forward to demand that President Biden step aside.
Yang, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 2020, said Biden should let go of his party's nomination in 2024 "for the good of the country."
"I think that the Democratic Party has a lot of talent. I think there are reasonable governors around the country, by the way, I think he's meeting with a number of those governors today."
Yang predicted that Democrats will have an open convention in August and floated several names as possible replacements for Biden, including Governors Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
"I think that's healthy for democracy," Yang said. "The fact is, a majority of voters were concerned about Joe before the debate. Now, it's a clear majority. And he talks about defending democracy. I think democracy would have been better served if we had a real primary. But a contested convention, at least, is still much better than coronation of a candidate that, in this case, is best served by following George Washington's example and stepping aside for the good of the country."
{{#rendered}}Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley dunked on ABC's George Stephanopoulos after their tense exchange last year about President Biden's mental acuity resurfaced on Tuesday.
During an interview last August on "Good Morning America," Haley repeated her assertion that "a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris."
"There's no way Joe Biden is gonna finish his term," Haley said, "I think Kamala Harris is gonna be the next president and that should send a chill up every American spine. But also think the fact that we have a primary-"
"Excuse me, excuse me," Stephanopoulos interrupted with a scowl on his face. "How do you know Joe Biden's not gonna finish his term? What is that based on?"
"Ask Americans, do you think he's gonna finish his term? Do you think that he's actually gonna finish what he started?" Haley responded. "We look at the decline he's had over the last few years. You have to be honest with the American people, George. There's no way that Joe Biden is gonna finish out a next term. We can't have an 81-year-old president. We have to have a new generational leader. The Senate has become the most privileged nursing home in the country. We've got to start making sure we have a new generation. Everybody feels that- Republicans, Democrats and independents feel that, and it's time that the media acknowledge that."
"You all want to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, we want to talk about the future of this country. That's what we have to start doing," she added.
"Again, you didn't answer the question," Stephanopoulos pushed back. "What evidence you have that he's not gonna finish the term? What Americans feel has no basis on whether he's gonna finish his term or not."
"I mean, if you look at the decline… every person should be able to tell what country they were in the week before. He couldn't do that," Haley told the anchor. "Every person should be able to tell how many grandkids they have. It's the reason I've asked for mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75. I don't care if we do it for over the age of 50! But we need to understand that the people in DC, they're making decisions on our national security. They're making decisions on the future of our children's economic policy. We need to make sure we've got someone at the top of their game. Joe Biden is not at the top of his game. You know it. I know it. The American people know it."
Haley took a victory lap on social media after their exchange went viral.
"Believe me now, George?" Haley taunted the liberal anchor.
Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this update.
Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump said the governors who are scheduled to meet with President Biden on Wednesday must want to "see for themselves" whether the aged president remains fit for office.
Trump joined "Fox & Friends First" on Wednesday morning to discuss the fallout from Biden's disastrous debate performance last week, which has Democrats in full panic ahead of the November election.
"I think a lot of these governors right now are feeling what probably, Joey, most Democrats are, which is that there is a stench and a stain right now on the Democrat Party in the eyes of the American people," Trump said.
"People look at this party now and they say, wait a minute. There are so many people who knew how bad things had gotten with Joe Biden. And yet, they came out and they lied to the American people about it. Many of them, by the way, are continuing to lie about Joe Biden's fitness for office right now."
"Joe Biden is the anchor around the neck of the Democrat [sic] Party right now. It is a disaster for them."
Dozens of House Democrats are reportedly ready to call on President Biden to step aside as he faces continued scrutiny over his disastrous debate performance last week.
At least 25 Democratic lawmakers will call for Biden to relinquish the Democratic nomination if he "seems shaky" in the coming days, Reuters reported citing an unnamed House Democratic aide.
A second House Democratic aide said moderate House Democrats in competitive districts were getting hammered with questions about Biden in their districts this week.
U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett became the first congressional Democrat to call for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race on Tuesday. He told NBC News in an interview that he hoped other Democratic lawmakers would follow his lead.
"He has to be honest with himself," Democratic Representative Mike Quigley, a moderate from Illinois, told CNN on Tuesday. "It's his decision. I just want him to appreciate at this time just how much it impacts, not just his race, but all the other races coming in November."
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., each predicted on Tuesday that former President Trump would defeat Biden in November.
Reuters contributed to this update.
{{#rendered}}Former President Trump's campaign says it has out raised President Biden over the past three months and showcases that it has more cash-on-hand.
Trump's campaign announced on Tuesday that it and the Republican National Committee hauled in a staggering $331 million during the April through June second quarter of 2024 fundraising, topping the massive $264 million raked in by the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee the past three months.
And the former president's campaign spotlighted that it had $284.9 million in its coffers as of the end of June, compared to $240 million for Biden.
But Biden hauled in $127 million in June fundraising, topping the $111.8 million Trump raised last month.
"President Trump’s campaign fundraising operation is thriving day after day and month after month. Winning this quarter brought us a cash on hand advantage, which is punctuated by a Biden burn rate that grows while yielding no tangible results for them," Trump co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles emphasized in a statement.
The Trump and Biden campaign cash reports were released as the president's campaign tries to flip the script on the brutal narrative coming out of last week's first debate.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.
President Biden's dismal debate performance has sparked panic in the Democratic Party, and now several voters from across the country told Fox News Digital they think Biden should step aside for a new candidate.
"Pass the torch," Chicago resident Kareem said. "I don't think he's doing the things that he's supposed to be doing."
Rohan from Florida agreed that the Democrats should "do a swap out."
"I don't think [Biden's] running the show," Rohan said. "I think that there's people behind him that are running the show right now, and I find that pretty troubling."
But Trey from Nebraska said Biden has made decisions to "progress America and at least move us forward."
"He's definitely not where I'd want him to be, but I'd rather have a candidate who's a little sleepy when he has a cold than a candidate with 34 convicted felonies," Trey said while visiting Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
President Biden is facing calls from prominent network figures, columnists and allies in the media to drop out of the race — but many have stopped short of asking the commander in chief to step down as president despite concerns about his age and mental acuity.
Liberal journalist Jonathan Alter echoed the sentiments of a bevy of media voices who soured on Biden's candidacy following his widely panned debate performance, writing that the president is "too old to serve" and Democrats should hold an open convention.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Alter said, "I believe the Democrats need a different nominee in order to beat Donald Trump and save the republic from a dangerous man who is bent on destroying it."
"Biden is too old to be the candidate and to be president until 2029 but he is not too old to serve out his term," he added.
After the debate, the New York Times' Maureen Dowd compared Biden to former President Trump and suggested the president was being selfish by remaining in the race.
"He's putting himself ahead of the country. He's surrounded by opportunistic enablers," Dowd said. "He has created a reality distortion field where we're told not to believe what we've plainly seen. His hubris is infuriating. He says he's doing this for us, but he's really doing it for himself."
Dowd wrote that Biden has "clearly been declining" for the last couple of years and "looked ghostly" with a "trepidatious gait" at the debate. She also suggested that Biden did not just have an "off night" and called his blitz towards re-election an "extraordinarily risky bet."
When asked if Biden was fit to perform his duties for the remainder of his term, Dowd referred Fox News Digital to her column and did not provide further comment.
Fox News Digital's Nikolas Lanum contributed to this update.
{{#rendered}}Several New York Times writers have come out urging President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race since the debate.
Alhtough the Time’s editorial board already called on Biden to "leave the race" shortly after his first presidential debate with Donald Trump, other writers recently offered their own calls for Biden to be replaced.
Liberal Times columnist Thomas Friedman topped NYT’s opinion page on Tuesday with his latest piece, "President Biden: Teach Them How to Say Goodbye." In the article, he suggested Biden step down because it is "what Trump fears most right now."
"He fears that Biden will demonstrate the difference between a leader and a party who put the country first and a leader and a party who put themselves first, namely Trump and the Republicans who enable him despite knowing how many of Trump’s former advisers say he is unfit for office, despite knowing that Trump tried to overturn the last election, despite knowing that Trump has articulated no real plan for the country’s future other than ‘retribution’ against all who crossed him and his followers," Friedman wrote.
Times columnist Michelle Goldberg, who said Biden was "too old" to run again in 2022, called on the Democratic Party to at least consider the idea of replacing Biden instead of "resigning ourselves to our current disastrous trajectory."
"Finding a Biden alternative would be risky and messy, and there’s no guarantee that it would work better than trying to put on a brave face and drag the current president across the finish line. But the Democratic Party’s leaders — the people, let’s remember, who got us into this mess — have no right to condescend to those trying to find a way out," Goldberg wrote.
Fellow Times columnist Pamela Paul implored Biden to step out of the race as a moral decision since he is "no longer the man" to stop Trump.
"Almost everyone agrees that, above all, Biden is a good man. But in refusing to do the right thing and drop out of this race in favor of an open contest, he is not being a good man right now," Paul wrote.
She added, "Give us the opportunity to thank you for your service and bid you goodbye while you still stand on high ground."
The New York Times editorial board was notably one of the earliest high-profile publications to call for Biden to drop out, claiming that continuing his bid would be a "reckless gamble."
Fox News Digital's Lindsay Kornick contributed to this update.
A new national poll indicates that three-quarters of voters say the Democratic Party would have a better chance of keeping the White House with someone else other than President Biden at the top of the party's ticket.
And the survey, released Tuesday by CNN, suggests that Vice President Kamala Harris performs slightly better than Biden in a matchup with former President Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.
The new poll was conducted entirely after Biden's extremely rough performance during last Thursday's face-to-face showdown between the two major party contenders.
According to the poll, 75% of voters and 56% of Democratic-aligned voters say the Democratic Party would have a better shot at keeping control of the presidency if Biden is replaced as the party's standard-bearer.
By comparison, 60% of voters and 83% of Republican-aligned voters questioned said the GOP has a better chance of winning the presidential election with Trump as the nominee than with someone else.
Trump holds a six-point – 49%-43% – lead over Biden among registered voters nationwide, which is unchanged from CNN's previous poll in April. And it's consistent with Trump's lead in CNN polling dating back to last autumn.
But the vice president trails Trump by just two points – 47%-45% – in a hypothetical matchup, according to the poll.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser and Rémy Numa contributed to this update.
President Biden’s weak first debate may not prove to be his ultimate undoing if history is a barometer. Incumbents often struggle to find their footing but, in the end, win re-election.
Biden Campaign Chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon pointed to history to defend the president’s performance, telling NBC in an interview that "every incumbent president that I can remember in my lifetime has had a s----- first debate."
"Obviously, the stakes are higher for us because we are up against Donald Trump," she continued. "Obviously, we have more work to do because the president is 81, but it was also a terrible debate in 2012. I was there. I remember it clearly."
Dillon argued that June was early enough in the campaign cycle for Biden to correct course as several of his predecessors have managed to do.
Presidents Obama, Bush 43, and Reagan each faced scathing reviews of their performance against challengers as they sought, and ultimately won, re-election.
Brett O’Donnell, a Republican communications strategist and president of O’Donnell & Associates, told Fox News Digital that sitting presidents can effectively get lost in the weeds on policy and major issues facing the country and "don’t take debate prep seriously."
"They deal with these issues in a very deep way, more so than they did as candidates, as president," O’Donnell said. "So, I think they confuse knowing the issues with being able to perform in a presidential debate.
"I call it the incumbent trap, and it actually goes back further than that because Carter’s first debate with Reagan was a disaster. So, these guys — the incumbents — seem to … they forget the importance of performance as they need to know issues."
Fox News Digital's Peter Aitken contributed to this update.
{{#rendered}}President Biden’s lackluster debate performance has turned the spotlight to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has started to show off a more visible campaign role as November approaches.
Harris suddenly figures to play a defining role in the campaign down the stretch, a turnaround for a vice president that many critics have panned as a potential liability for Democrats in November.
The negativity surrounding Harris even garnered calls for the vice president to step away from the campaign as recently as March, and one Washington Post column called on Harris to "step aside" for "the country’s sake."
Now, some have speculated Harris could take over at the top of the ticket after Biden’s debate performance. The vice president’s visibility already started to increase before last week.
Media outlets have taken notice, leading to an avalanche of positive press for the vice president in recent months. Harris was called "Biden’s secret weapon in North Carolina" in a report in The Hill, which noted the vice president made her fifth trip to the battleground state last month and has led the outreach to Black communities, a largely Democratic demographic Biden has struggled to court in his rematch with former President Trump.
"She’s one of the administration’s best spokespeople to the Black community," Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons told The Hill. "The president has been making the case to the Black community as well, but obviously the VP has a different kind of appeal."
A February report in the Los Angeles Times declared that Harris had finally "found her groove," citing the vice president’s appeal to younger voters and her voice on issues such as abortion.
"She’s become a top fundraiser for Democrats, an emissary to groups that are lukewarm toward President Biden — in particular Black and younger voters — and emerged as the administration’s most forceful voice on abortion, women’s health and, as Harris frames it, the threat Trump poses to freedom and individual choice," the story said.
A few months later, a New York Times report declared the "Harris moment has arrived," calling her the "perfect messenger" for the campaign for issues such as "reproductive rights."
Some polls have seemingly caught on to the vice president’s strengthening position, with a Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted last month finding the vice president gaining strength with key demographics, including a 67% favorable rating among Black voters.
The poll represented a turnaround for Harris, who had trailed Biden with Black voters going back to the 2020 primary. But she now leads the president in the crucial Democratic voting bloc by four points.
Fox News Digital's Michael Lee contributed to this update.
Plans are in the works for President Biden to meet on Wednesday with the nation's Democrat governors in the wake of Biden's rough performance during last Thursday's first debate with former President Trump.
Multiple Democratic sources confirmed that the meeting, which is likely to be virtual, was in the process of being scheduled.
The encounter comes after Democrat governors on Monday huddled on a conference call.
Multiple Democrat sources confirmed to Fox News that Democrat governors yesterday held a call to discuss the latest developments regarding President Biden’s 2024 rematch with Trump.
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 politicians and donors for Biden to step aside as the party's 2024 standard-bearer.
Monday's call was organized by Democratic Governors Association (DGA) Chair Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota
Sources familiar with the call described it as a forum where the governors discussed how to respond to last week's debate but that there was no serious talk of urging the president to step aside. One source characterized it as a "gripe session."
Sources also told Fox News that the Biden campaign was aware of the call ahead of time.
"Democratic governors are some of the President and Vice President’s most proactive and vocal supporters because they’ve seen how the Biden-Harris Administration’s accomplishments are directly benefiting their residents. The Biden/Harris team is in constant communication with the governors and their teams, including about yesterday's meeting," a national Democratic official familiar with the call who asked for anonymity to speak more freely told Fox News.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.
Coverage for this event has ended.