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President Joe Biden is facing even more pressure to quit the 2024 presidential race, with two key Democratic allies Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer reportedly privately telling him his time is up as he grapples with a Covid diagnosis and a resurgent Donald Trump going from strength to strength since surviving an assassination attempt.
The former House speaker and Senate majority leader have reportedly each held separate talks with the president in recent days, warning that he cannot beat Trump and risks dragging down the entire party in November.
While publicly Biden has vowed he will stay on the ticket, a source told CNN his defiance is softening and he is now “more receptive to calls of concern” about his prospects. Reporting by Axios goes as far as suggesting he could drop out as soon as this weekend.
On Wednesday, Biden was forced to pull out of a campaign stop in Las Vegas after he tested positive for the coronavirus.
The White House insists he is only experiencing “mild symptoms” but Biden was seen gingerly walking up the steps of Air Force One in Nevada.
The diagnosis came just hours after the president said he would bow out only “if doctors came to me and said you got this problem, that problem”.
Key Points
- Democrats make a fresh push for Joe Biden to drop out
- Biden tests positive for Covid-19 while campaigning in Las Vegas
- President says he would drop out of race if diagnosed with ‘medical condition’
- Biden ‘receptive’ to concerns about his future
- Pelosi tells Biden polls show he can’t win – report
Dean Phillips quotes ‘Hamilton’ as rumors swirl of Biden campaign’s future
Minnesota congressman and former 2023 Democratic Party presidential candidate Dean Phillips posted this quote from the musical Hamilton as rumors about the future of Joe Biden’s candidacy swirl through the party.
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 17:02 1721318435Et tu, Morning Joe?
Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough has joined the mounting calls for President Joe Biden to step aside in the 2024 race after his stumbling debate performance in June.
“It’s really incumbent on people that are around Joe Biden to step up at this point and help the president and help the man they love and do the right thing,” Scarborough said on his MSNBCmorning show Wednesday. Biden is reportedly a loyal viewer of the show.
“This is not going to end well if it continues to drag out,” he predicted.
The pressure really is mounting, as Kelly Rissman reports.
Et tu, Morning Joe? Host of Biden’s favorite show asks him to ‘do the right thing’
‘This is not going to end well if it continues to drag out,’ the Morning Joe co-host said
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 17:00 1721318247Biden deputy campaign manager responds to claims Biden ‘receptive’ to leaving race
Responding to reports that Joe Biden is “receptive” to dropping out of the presidential race, and questions as to whether the campaign is preparing for a scenario in which Kamala Harris takes over the 2024 run, deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said: “Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not at the top of the ticket.”
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 16:57 1721317557Unraveling the attempted assassination of Donald Trump
The young man was pacing around the edges of the Donald Trump campaign rally, shouldering a big backpack and peering into the lens of a rangefinder toward the rooftops behind the stage where the former president would stand.
His behavior was so odd, so unlike that of the other rallygoers, that local law enforcement took notice, radioed their concerns and snapped a photo. But then he vanished.
The image was circulated by officers stationed outside the security perimeter on that hot, sunny Saturday afternoon. But the man didn’t appear again until witnesses saw him climbing up the side of a squat manufacturing building that was within 135 meters (157 yards) from the stage.
That’s where he opened fire, six minutes after Trump began speaking, in an attempt to assassinate the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
Continue reading...
Multiple failures, multiple investigations: Unraveling the attempted assassination of Donald Trump
Multiple investigations have been launched into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump
AP18 July 2024 16:45 1721316094Could Biden drop out of presidential race as soon as this weekend?
In a bombshell report by Axios, several top Democrats have privately told the outlet that “the rising pressure of party congressional leaders and close friends will persuade President Biden to decide to drop out of the presidential race, as soon as this weekend”.
Joe Biden is currently at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 while on the campaign trail in Nevada.
Democrats tell Axios that while he is publicly dug in and maintains he will remain at the top of the ticket, privately he’s resigned to mounting pressure, bad polls, and an inability to change the public perception of his age and mental acuity.
Biden is being told by party leaders, friends, and donors, that if he stays in the race, Donald Trump could win a landslide, destroy his legacy, and any chance of the party winning congressional majorities.
An AP poll shows nearly two-thirds of Democrats want the president to withdraw from the race.
Campaign spokesperson TJ Ducklo responded to the Axios report on X, writing: “Joe Biden is his party’s nominee. He’s the President of the United States. He’s running for reelection. Baseless conjecture from anonymous sources isn’t a scoop. Tonight a convicted felon will talk about how he’ll make people’s lives worse if he gains power. Let’s focus.”
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 16:21 1721315757Rally shooter’s phones held information about both Trump and Biden as well as rallies and DNC
The phones of the gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump held information about both the former president and his successor, President Joe Biden, FBI officials said in calls with members of Congress.
The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, used his phones to look for images of both Trump and Biden, as well as other public figures, according to The New York Times.
A person on conference calls with lawmakers told the paper the shooter also searched for the dates of Trump’s public events as well as for the Democratic National Convention.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Rally shooter’s phones held information about both Trump and Biden
Gunman searched for dates of Trump’s public events as well as for the Democratic National Convention, officials say
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 16:15 1721314557Reports say Pelosi and Schumer separately told Biden he can’t win and should step aside
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have apparently told President Joe Biden behind closed doors that he cannot win the 2024 presidential election and should step aside – a sign that internal support for Biden may be hitting a wall.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke with Biden face-to-face on Saturday and apparently made the case that it would be best if the president dropped out of the 2024 race, according to ABC News.
Ariana Baio has the story.
Pelosi and Schumer separately tell Biden he can’t win and should step aside: reports
More Democratic lawmakers are expressing concern about the president remaining in the 2024 race
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 15:55 1721313957COMMENT: If Joe Biden won’t pass the torch now, then when?
Sean O’Grady says the patriotic and statesmanlike path is clear – make the right call, Mr President…
If Joe Biden won’t pass the torch now, then when?
An 81-year-old president who once promised to be a ‘bridge’ to a new generation of Democrats, but who finds himself trailing a wildly authoritarian opponent, ought to have bowed out gracefully by now. As a new bout of Covid leaves him unable to campaign, Sean O’Grady says the patriotic and statesmanlike path is clear – make the right call, Mr President…
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 15:45 1721312157Moment angry Republican lawmakers confront Secret Service boss
Republican senators got into a heated confrontation with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on the floor of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday as they demanded answers about the agency’s response to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
In a video posted to X by Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, a posse of GOP lawmakers are seen rounding on Cheatle and pursuing her through the Fiserv Forum while voicing their outrage over the shooting.
Joe Sommerlad reports.
Angry Republican lawmakers confront Secret Service boss at RNC over Trump shooting
Republican senators rounded on Kimberly Cheatle at the RNC in Milwaukee
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 15:15 1721311244First major poll since assassination attempt shows Trump leading Biden in seven swing states and nationally
More disastrous polling for the Democrats, both in key swing states and nationally, was published today by Emerson College.
In the first major poll since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, nationally, a survey of 2,000 registered voters on July 15-16 put the former president at 46 per cent and Joe Biden at 42 per cent, with 12 per cent undecided, representing a two per cent drop in support for the president since earlier in the month.
In seven key swing states, the survey consisting of 1,000 registered voters in each state conducted on the same dates, showed more bad news for the Biden team when third-party candidates are added in.
- Arizona: Trump 46%, Biden 36%, other candidates 8.2%
- Georgia: Trump 44%, Biden 39%, other candidates 9.3%
- Michigan: Trump 43%, Biden 40%, other candidates 8.3%
- Nevada: Trump 43%, Biden 40%, other candidates 9.2%
- North Carolina: Trump 47%, Biden 38%, other candidates 8.7%
- Pennsylvania: Trump 46%, Biden 40%, other candidates 6.3%
- Wisconsin: Trump 46%, Biden 43%, other candidates 6.5%
However, a “qualified Democratic candidate younger than Biden” leads former President Trump in all seven swing states by a margin of 7.4 percentage points – 53.7 per cent to 46.3 per cent.
Nationally, with third-party candidates, the poll results were Trump 44 per cent, Biden 38 per cent, and other candidates 8.4 per cent.
Since March, Trump has gained a point in five of the states, while gaining two points in Arizona and losing a point in Michigan.
For Biden over the same period, he has lost four points in North Carolina, two points in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and one point in Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said: “Recent polling shows Biden losing support more significantly than Trump gaining it since the attempted assassination. This raises questions about whether Biden’s decline is still influenced by the debate or if Trump has reached his support ceiling.”
When asked if President Biden should withdraw from the race, 52 per cent nationally think he should and 48 per cent think he should not. Regarding whether former President Trump should withdraw, 56 per cent think he should not, and 44 per cent think he should.
Across the seven swing states, clear majorities believe Biden should withdraw, compared to those who think Trump should:
- Arizona: Biden 52%, Trump 45%
- Georgia: Biden 51%, Trump 45%
- Michigan: Biden 55% , Trump 45%
- Nevada: Biden 51%, Trump 47%
- North Carolina: Biden 57%, Trump 41%
- Pennsylvania: Biden 51%, Trump 44%
- Wisconsin: Biden 53%, Trump 45%
The poll was sponsored by Democrats for the Next Generation.
Oliver O'Connell18 July 2024 15:00 Newer1 / 7OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
