July 8, 2024 | What A Day Newsletter

What A Day: Joe ye of little faith

President Joe Biden looks towards reporters shouting questions as he walks towards the White House after landing in Marine One on July 7, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The President and First Lady are returning to the White House after campaign events in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

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CRASHING THE PARTY?

President Biden faces rising calls from Democrats to step aside as the party’s nominee — a move he keeps insisting won’t happen.

President Biden spent the July 4th weekend scrambling to calm Democrats’ anxieties about his dismal debate performance and his lackluster swing-state poll numbers. So far, nothing’s worked. In a much-hyped interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopolous, Biden declared he’d only drop out if “the Lord Almighty” told him to go — a message he repeated in a letter to Democrats, and an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Nearly a dozen House Democrats have called for Biden to step aside. Others have publicly raised questions about Biden’s fitness, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and longtime Biden ally Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC). But, notably, the top Democratic leaders — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — still have Biden’s back.

The atmosphere on Capitol Hill was tense and restless on Monday evening when Dems returned from the long holiday weekend. Several Democratic senators approached by What A Day in the hallways hedged with noncommittal statements when asked what they think should happen. “It was a very rough debate night,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) told reporters. “If you elect Donald Trump, there’ll be four years of very rough nights.” But asked whether that meant he was standing with Biden, Wyden replied: “The president is going to win. He made it clear again today, he’s running.” Which didn’t quite answer the question. Others were similarly vague, giving answers that suggested an unwillingness to be clearly pinned down in a dynamic situation. Judge for yourself, below.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT): “I think Joe Biden can win. I think his best chance of winning is by answering the questions that voters have.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA): “Joe Biden has given nobody any reason to doubt that he’s going to put country first.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ): “Joe Biden’s our nominee. And we’ve got an election coming up in November. And the contrast between Joe Biden and Donald Trump could not be more clear.”

A tense exchange broke out at the other end of D.C.’s Pennsylvania Avenue, in the White House briefing room.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre batted down aggressive questions about a New York Times report, citing visitors’ logs, that an expert on Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders had visited the White House eight times in less than a year. Jean-Pierre insisted Biden has been seen by a neurologist only three times during his presidency in connection with annual physical exams. The White House added Biden has shown no signs of having Parkinson’s and isn’t getting treatment, but didn’t get into further details.

Meanwhile, anxiety over what to do continues rippling through the Democratic Party. One Democratic strategist, in an interview with What A Day, lamented “the flaw in the logic” of Bidenworld and questioned whether the president might be in a “delusional state” about his political standing. This person said: “There’s no single interview that’s going to make this better.”

The strategist fretted that if Biden stays in the race, the issue of his mental fitness simply won’t go away before election day.

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-Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, referring to Trump, the man with more felony convictions than Baskin Robbins’ 31 flavors.

NEWS NEWS NEWS

Trump may announce his running mate anytime this week, or even right before the Republican National Convention kicks off Monday morning, one of his advisors told FOX News.

Political parties on the right got walloped in elections held in two of the world’s biggest democracies, France and Britain. Thursday’s victory for Britain’s center-left Labour Party was expected. But the defeat of France’s far-right National Rally on Sunday was a surprise. France’s left-leaning alliance, the New Popular Front, took a plurality of seats in a victory that generated split-screen video footage of French lefties dancing in the streets, while expectant smiles faded from the faces of French right-wingers.

Closing arguments began Monday afternoon in the corruption trial of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). He’s accused of selling out his public office for bribes in cash and gold bars, and has pleaded not guilty.

The Republican convention platform committee watered down its language on abortion restrictions at the behest of Trump, who has openly worried that the party’s draconian stance could hurt Republicans’ chances in November.

Gov. Gretchen Witmer (D-MI) has attempted to quell any talk that she might replace Biden on the ticket, saying she won’t run even if he steps aside. But she’s also releasing a glossy new memoir, the kind that politicians typically do before big campaigns, which will hardly stop all the chatter.

The 75th NATO summit kicks off in Washington D.C. this week, and runs from Tuesday to Thursday. Leaders of the 32 member states of the western military alliance will talk about their support for Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion, against a backdrop of anxiety about whether Trump, who often criticizes NATO, could win the election.

Boeing agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges relating to two 737 Max jetliner crashes that killed 346 people in the Java Sea in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019.

Hurricane Beryl has left at least four dead and three million without power after it made landfall along the eastern coast of Texas early Monday and was elevated to a Category 1 storm.

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