Live updates: Biden wraps Stephanopoulos interview after week of mounting pressure

President Biden spoke with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Friday in a much anticipated primetime interview amid turmoil in his campaign after last week's debate, in which Biden spoke haltingly and seemed to lose his train of thought at times.

Stephanopoulos interviewed Biden for 22 minutes, mostly asking about Biden's mental fitness and whether he was capable of being president of the United States.

The interview occurred in Wisconsin, where Biden, 81, had held a campaign rally earlier in the day insisting he would not bow down to public pressure from fellow Democrats who are demanding he exit the race so a younger nominee can take on Trump.

"Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m the sitting president of the United States," Biden said at the rally, reading off a teleprompter. "I’m the nominee of the Democratic Party. I’m staying in the race."

During the ABC interview, Biden admitted he had a "bad night" in the debate against Trump, but insisted that he could serve as president for another four years. He touted his record on foreign and economic policy while blasting Trump for being a "pathological liar."

“I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” Biden said.

The president also said he was suffering from a cold, tired from travel and didn't prepare well for the showdown with Trump.

The Biden campaign also recently unveiled a campaign travel schedule for the upcoming month and a $50 million ad buy, hoping to signal to its skeptics that it is fully committed the race.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER43 updates
  • 6 takeaways from from Biden’s high-stakes interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos

    In a Friday interview with ABC News, Biden acknowledged his “bad” debate against Trump, blaming it on a cold, and reiterated that he has no plans to drop out of the presidential race.

    Here are the key takeaways:

    • Biden writes off debate performance as ‘bad episode’ caused by being sick

    • Biden continues to resist calls from Democrats to step aside

    • Biden says: ‘I’m still in good shape’

    • Biden didn’t commit to taking cognitive test

    • Did Biden go back and watch the debate?

    • Biden still confident he can beat Trump

    Read the full article at Yahoo News.

  • ABC News releases full interview transcript

  • Biden dismisses low approval ratings: 'That's not what our polls show'

    Recent polls have indicated that Biden has a low approval rating among the American public — but Biden said he doesn't believe those polls.

    "Mr. President, I've never seen a president at 36% approval get reelected," Stephanopoulos pressed.

    "Well I don't believe that's my approval rating. That's not what our polls show," Biden responded.

    In a poll conducted by Yahoo News/YouGov after last week's debate, 60% of Americans said that Biden was not "fit to serve another term as president" — while 24% say he is fit.

    The president’s fitness rating has only been that low once before, in November 2023, and it has never been worse.

    Read more about Yahoo News' latest polling here.

  • Biden says he might step down 'if the Lord Almighty' told him to

    George Stephanopoulos asked President Biden if there was anything that would get him to step down from running against Trump.

    “If the Lord Almighty came down and said ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” Biden said. However, he added, "the Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”

    Stephanopoulos agreed — that "the Lord Almighty is not going to come down."

    "But if you are told reliably from your allies, and your friends and supporters in the Democratic Party, in the House, in the Senate that they’re concerned you’re going to lose the House and the Senate if you stay in, what will you do?” Stephanopoulos asked.

    "It's not going to happen," Biden replied.

  • Is Biden being 'honest with himself' about his mental capacity to be president? He says yes.

    When asked by Stephanopoulos if he was being honest about whether he's truly a good fit to run as the Democratic nominee in the presidential election, Biden said he was.

    "Are you sure you're being honest with yourself when you say you have the mental and physical capacity to serve another four years?" the ABC journalist asked.

    "Yes, I am," he said.

    "But are you being honest with yourself as well about your ability to defeat Donald Trump right now?" Stephanopoulos asked.

    "Yes. Yes, yes, yes," Biden responded.

  • In ABC interview, Biden touts record and insists he is capable of being president

    Stephanopoulos interviewed Biden for 22 minutes, mostly asking about Biden's mental fitness and whether he was capable of being president of the United States.

    Biden insisted he was the right man for the job. He repeated talking points he's said at recent rallies and other events, touting his record on foreign policy, job creation and how Trump "is a pathological liar."

    “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” Biden said, downplaying worry from members of the Democratic Party.

    Stephanopoulos said ABC News also invited Trump to be interviewed for a one-on-one interview after the debate but the former president declined.

  • Stephanopoulos to Biden: Will you take a neurological test and release the results?

    Biden repeatedly ducked Stephanopoulos's attempts to get the president to commit to taking an independent neurological test.

    "Have you had a full neurological and cognitive evaluation?" Stephanopoulos asked after inquiring about Biden's physical health.

    Biden responded that he has a full evaluation as part of his regular health checkups.

    "Have you had a neurologist, a specialist, do an examination?" Stephanopoulos asked again.

    "No. No one said I had to. They said I'm good," Biden said.

    "Would you be willing to undergo an independent medical evaluation that included neurological and cognitive tests and release the results to the American people?" Stephanopoulos asked again.

    Biden dismissed the question by touting his work as commander in chief.

    "Look, I have a cognitive test every day. Every day I have had tests. Everything I do. Not only am I campaigning, but I am running the world. Now that sounds like hyperbole. But we are the essential nation in the world. ... For example, today before I came out here, I'm on the phone with the prime minister — anyway I shouldn't get into the detail — but with Netanyahu. I'm on the phone with the new prime minister of England."

    Stephanopoulos asked Biden one final time, noting that some Americans still have concerns about Biden's health. "To reassure them, would you be willing to have the independent medical evaluation?"

    Biden just said they should watch him during the campaign.

  • Biden rejects notion that he's staying in the race because he's 'out for himself'

    Stephanopoulos asked Biden how he responds to those who say he's staying in the 2024 presidential race mainly because he's out for himself — a criticism often lobbed at Donald Trump.

    "I don't think those critics know what they're talking about," Biden said. "They're just wrong."

  • Biden: 'It's about the character of the president'

    President Biden, being interviewed on ABC News Friday by George Stephanopoulos, said that his 2024 race against former president Donald Trump amounted to more than politics.

    "It's about the character of the president," Biden said, comparing himself to his rival.

  • Biden says he wouldn't run for president if he didn't think he was capable

    In an interview with ABC News on Friday, George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if he was the same man he was in 2020 when he was elected president.

    Biden said that "in terms of successes, yes." He then went on to list things he's done while in office, including expanding NATO, improving the economy and creating jobs.

    When asked what the job has cost him mentally, physically and emotionally, Biden referred to the debate: "Well, I just think it cost me a really bad night. Bad run."

    Biden said he wouldn't run if he didn't think he could be president for another four years.

  • How to access Biden's interview on ABC News

    President Biden is being interviewed on ABC News by George Stephanopoulos, his first following his highly criticized debate. Here's where to fin it.

  • Rep. Quigley of Illinois is latest Democrat to call on Biden to step aside

    Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois is the fourth Democratic representative to call on President Biden to drop his reelection bid in the wake of his debate performance last week.

    "Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this," Quigley said on "All In with Chris Hayes" Friday.

    Here's a rundown of Democrats who have called on Biden to step aside or voiced concern over his candidacy.

  • Report: Jeffries to meet with top House Democrats to discuss Biden's candidacy

    House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will convene a meeting with top House Democrats at which they will discuss Biden's candidacy, Axios reported Friday.

    Asked by reporters on Friday whether he had been made aware of the Washington Post reporting that Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia was contacting other senators to have them call on Biden to drop out of the race, the president portrayed Warner as an outlier.

    "Mark Warner, my understanding, is the only one considering that," Biden said.

    Three House Democrats have already gone public with calls for Biden to withdraw from the race following his much-criticized debate performance last week.

  • Biden writes off debate performance as 'bad episode'

    During Biden’s interview on Friday with ABC News, journalist George Stephanopoulos asked the president whether the halting performance the nation witnessed during last week’s debate was “a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition?”

    “It was a bad episode,” Biden said. “No indication of any serious condition. ... I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. It was a bad night.”

    “You came home from Europe about 11 or 12 days before the debate,” Stephanopoulos continued. “You spent six days in Camp David. Why wasn’t that enough rest time, enough recovery time?”

    “Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible,” Biden responded. “Matter of fact, the docs with me, I asked if they did a COVID test because they were trying to figure out what’s wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus. I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold.”

    Asked if he had rewatched the debate or if he realized how badly it was going as the event unfolded, Biden’s answer was hard to follow.

    “The whole way I prepared, nobody’s fault, mine, nobody’s fault but mine, I, uh, I prepared what I usually would do, sitting down as I did come back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council for explicit detail and I realized about partway through that, you know, all the — I get quoted from — the New York Times had me down 10 points before the debate, 9 now or whatever the hell it is,” Biden said. “The fact of the matter is that what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times. I couldn’t, I mean the way that the debate ran, not — my fault, no one else’s fault...”

  • Biden tells reporters he has completely ruled out exiting presidential race

    President Joe Biden
    Biden faces the media on Friday. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)

    Following a campaign rally in Madison, Wis., and his interview with ABC News, Biden was asked by members of the media if he was considering dropping out of the race.

    "I'm completely ruling that out," Biden responded.

    Reporters pressed Biden on why he was convinced he was still the best candidate to beat Trump, even after his much-criticized debate performance against him last week.

    "Because I've beaten him before, and I've gotten more than any president has," Biden responded.

    Biden said he had spoken to at least 20 members of Congress who he said have told him to stay in the race.

    The president was also asked about a report that Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia was contacting other senators to have them call on Biden to drop out of the race.

    "Mark Warner, my understanding, is the only one considering that," he said.

    Three House Democrats have already urged Biden to drop out.

  • Photo: Biden's ABC interview

  • These top Democratic donors have halted support for Biden

    Some of the Democratic Party's wealthiest donors have publicly withdrawn their support for Biden's reelection campaign after his debate against Trump. The Hollywood Reporter also reported that some celebrities who are staunch Democrats, like Steven Spielberg, George Clooney and Jimmy Kimmel, have remained silent.

    Here are a few of what the Hollywood Reporter has called some of Biden's most "deep-pocketed supporters" who are halting their donations:

    • Reed Hastings, the Netflix co-founder and CEO, who has reportedly donated more than $20 million to the party over the past few years.

    • Ari Emanuel, the Endeavor CEO described as a "prolific Democratic donor."

    • Abigail Disney, a filmmaker, philanthropist and granddaughter of Roy Disney, the co-founder of the Walt Disney Co., who has helped fund the party for years, including making a $50,000 donation to a climate change PAC in April 2024.

    • Damon Lindelof, a Hollywood screenwriter and "lifelong Democrat."

    • Barry Diller, the IAC and Expedia Group chairman and executive who reportedly donated $100,000 to Biden and the party's super-PAC in 2023.

    Per the Hollywood Reporter:

    A couple donors are even taking the position that they’re halting support to all Democratic candidates to boost pressure on Biden to drop out of the race. After all, it’s not just the presidency at stake in November but down-ballot races for the House and Senate. The drama is perhaps unlike any in modern political history, with longtime ride-or-die party loyalists giving the president of the United States a “get out or else” ultimatum just four months before a high-stakes general election.

  • Biden gives fewer TV interviews than his predecessors

    Biden's Friday interview with ABC News will be just the second of his presidency with host George Stephanopoulos, and his total number of televised interviews lags behind those of other modern presidents. According to USA Today, Biden "currently holds the record for the fewest press conferences and media interviews held by presidents in over 40 years."

  • Biden heads to ABC News interview

    After the rally in Madison, Biden headed to the event's overflow room, where he told supporters and others that he had to leave to meet with news anchor George Stephanopoulos.

    The interview is set to air at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. A clip from the sit-down will first appear on World News Tonight in the 6:30 p.m. ET hour.

    The high-stakes sit-down will be an opportunity for Biden, 81, to present a sharper image than he did during the debate, when Biden spoke haltingly and appeared to lose his train of thought multiple times.

    Stephanopoulos — who interviewed Biden once before during his presidency — is expected to conduct an "intensive and probing" interview, according to the Associated Press.

    White House press secretary Karina Jean-Pierre said "millions of Americans" are expected to watch.

  • 'The Reintroduction of Kamala Harris'

    The New York Times reports on Kamala Harris's reintroduction to the public discussion as a potential Democratic nominee should Biden bow out of the race. Biden has insisted he's going nowhere, and he did so again on Friday at his Wisconsin campaign rally. But the president has been unable to quash discussions about who might replace him.

    Her allies emphasize that she has been taking on a bigger role for some time, notably after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago and during high-profile foreign assignments. But even before the questions about Biden’s age and acuity burst into the open, people close to her say, she was looking for more powerful ways to support the ticket.

    Now, the effort to reintroduce herself has reached its most critical moment, with Biden’s candidacy plunged into crisis after a devastating debate performance in Atlanta and Democrats seriously weighing the prospect that she could become the nominee.

    And while Harris, 59, has shown steadfast support for Biden in the frenzied week since the debate, her allies insist she is the only logical choice to lead the ticket if he steps aside.

    Click here to read the full article.

  • 'Pass the torch, Joe,' sign at Wisconsin rally reads

    Someone in the crowd of around 300 people at Biden's rally in Wisconsin held a sign that read: "Pass the torch, Joe."

    But speaking to the crowd on Friday afternoon, Biden insisted he was staying in the race. “I beat Donald Trump,” Biden said. “I will beat him again.”

    President Biden greets supporters at a campaign event in Madison, Wis., on Friday.
    Biden greets supporters at a campaign event in Madison, Wis. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
  • Report: Sen. Mark Warner attempting to assemble group of senators to convince Biden to drop out of 2024 race

    Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
    Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat who represents Virginia. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

    As President Biden was concluding a defiant speech in Madison, Wis., the Washington Post, citing two reliable sources, reported that Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, was attempting to put together a group of Democratic senators to convince Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.

  • Biden: 'I’m staying in the race'

    During his 17-minute campaign speech in Madison, Wis., on Friday, President Biden's central theme was that he would remain in the race despite his shaky performance in last week's debate.

    "Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m the sitting president of the United States," he said, reading off a teleprompter. "I’m the nominee of the Democratic party. I’m staying in the race."

    To reinforce that message his campaign tweeted out those same words as he spoke.

    As he finished his speech, the song "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty drove the message home.

  • Biden exits podium

    A defiant President Biden left the podium after delivering a 17-minute speech in which he vowed to stay in the race and beat Trump. Biden said he planned to continue his campaign stop in the overflow room after waving to the crowd.

  • Biden addresses age concerns

    Biden addressed widespread concerns about his age during the Wisconsin rally.

    "I know I look 40. I keep seeing all of those stories about I'm being too old," Biden said before he touted what he's accomplished since taking office, including creating millions of new jobs, insuring Americans under the Affordable Care Act, providing student debt relief and appointing the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.

  • Biden: 'I am running and going to win again'

    President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. (Morry Gash/AP)
    Biden speaks in Madison, Wis., on Friday. (Morry Gash/AP)

    Reading from a teleprompter, chiding his opponent and vowing he would "win Wisconsin" in 2024, Biden appeared relaxed, even while acknowledging that last week's debate was not his "best performance."

    Biden sought to assure Democrats that he will remain in the race.

    "I am running and going to win again," he said.

  • Biden's Madison supporters have his back

    The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talked to Biden's supporters in the crowd about calls for him to withdraw from the race:

    “I don’t even understand why this is a talking point,” Nancy Locante of Kenosha told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We’re all behind Joe.”

    Lynn Dahl, 66, attributed issues with Biden’s debate performance to former President Donald Trump’s long list of false claims. “When he was faced with lies, I think that's what set him off,” Dahl said. “It would confuse me if somebody came at me with that volume of lies as well.” Amber Cohen, 41, of Madison, said she would vote for the Democratic candidate no matter what, but said putting in anyone else is “a terrible idea this late in the race.”


    I've been a Democrat since I understood what a Democrat was, and I just feel like this is really important,” Cohen said. “I'm pretty tired of people just constantly questioning Biden's age as if that's the issue and not focusing on the utter barrage of lies he was faced with.”

    Click here to read the full article.

  • Biden takes the stage

    President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis. on Friday, July 5, 2024. (Morry Gash/AP)
    Biden addresses the crowd. (Morry Gash/AP)

    President Biden took the stage at his rally in Madison, Wis., at 3:30 p.m. ET. The crowd chanted, "Let's go, Joe!"

  • Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers warms up crowd for Biden

    Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks before Biden at a campaign rally in Madison, Wis. (Morry Gash/AP)
    Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks before Biden at a campaign rally in Madison, Wis. (Morry Gash/AP)

    Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers warmed up the crowd at Biden's rally in Madison on Friday.

    "I've been governor under both Joe Biden and Donald Trump and let me tell you the choice this November is absolutely clear. There's only one president who has consistently delivered for Wisconsin and his name is Joe Biden," Evers said.

  • Trump's attacks remain constant

    Donald Trump has embraced Biden's uncomfortable position, mocking him on social media and claiming from a golf course that he had already knocked his Democratic foe from the race. Business Insider reports on how Trump's attacks have remained constant through the end of the week:

    On the morning of July 5, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social 23 times in the span of 10 minutes. Though some have suggested that the former president is remaining strategically quiet in the wake of last week's debate, he's not staying silent on social media or in person.

    The flurry of activity — between 10:28 a.m. and 10:38 a.m. — included everything from polling graphics to pictures from the golf course. Trump's other posts over the past week have been similarly wide-ranging. Some days, he shares lengthy paragraphs about Biden's policy failures; on others, he shares campaign videos or an uncaptioned, zoomed-in, pixelated image of Joe Biden's face looking oddly tan.

    Read the full article here.

  • Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin will not attend Biden's rally there

    Tammy Baldwin
    Sen. Tammy Baldwin. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

    One notable absence from Biden's rally in Madison, Wis., on Friday will be Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

    Baldwin, who is up for reelection this year, will instead continue her campaign swing through several Wisconsin counties.

    "I’m so excited to kick off my 'Fired Up for Tammy' tour," Baldwin said in an announcement Tuesday, Fox News reported. "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."

    Read more from Fox News.

  • Project 2025 slammed at Biden rally: 'We are not going to let that thing happen'

    Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, slammed the controversial Project 2025, a proposed overhaul of the U.S. government drafted by longtime Trump allies.

    "Trump is in his castle rubbing his hands together thinking about how to rip away more freedoms from more people ... trying to come up with new ways to advance his Project 2025," Wikler said during the rally. "We are not going to let that thing happen."

    However, Trump has distanced himself from the proposed overhaul. The Associated Press reports:

    “I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump posted on his social media website. “I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”

    Project 2025 outlines a dramatic expansion of presidential power and a plan to fire as many as 50,000 government workers to replace them with Trump loyalists. President Joe Biden's reelection campaign has worked to draw more attention to the agenda, particularly as Biden tries to keep fellow Democrats on board after his disastrous debate.

    Trump has outlined his own plans to remake the government if he wins a second term, including staging the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and imposing tariffs on potentially all imports. His campaign has previously warned outside allies not to presume to speak for the former president and suggested their transition-in-waiting efforts were unhelpful.

    Read more from the AP.

  • Biden cancels Sunday union appearance after strike announcement

    Biden had been set to appear Sunday in Philadelphia before the National Education Association, the country's largest teachers' union. But after the NEA staff union announced it would be going on strike against NEA headquarters, Biden announced he would not be crossing its picket line, Reuters reports:

    Biden will still travel to Pennsylvania this weekend, with details to be released later, the campaign said.

    The National Education Association, with 3 million members, backed the Democratic president in his 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns.

    Biden, whose wife, Jill Biden, is a teacher and NEA member, calls himself the most pro-union president in history.

    Click here to read the full article.

  • Yahoo News answers reader questions about Biden and the 2024 election

    President Joe Biden
    President Biden speaks to active-duty military service members and their families during a Fourth of July celebration at the White House. (Susan Walsh/AP)

    This week, we asked readers to send in their questions about President Biden's future and the 2024 election. We received hundreds of responses and will continue to print them in installments. Here's the first, which includes a question from Robert of Oaks Bluff, Mass.

    Will the ABC News interview [with Biden] be edited?

    Biden’s high-stakes interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos will be aired unedited, in its entirety, the network says. This week, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “it is essential” for Biden to sit for “interviews with serious journalists” in order to reassure voters disturbed by his faltering debate performance. Yahoo News will live blog Friday’s interview.

    Read the full article here.

  • Can a new presidential candidate still get on state ballots?

    When it comes to the Democratic and Republican parties, their summer conventions provide an opportunity to select a candidate who will be set to automatically make it onto the ballot i n all 50 states, USA Today reports:

    According to the National Association of Secretaries of State, a presidential candidate nominated by a political party that reaches certain criteria, usually based on the number of votes cast at a recent election, is placed on the general election ballot. The Democratic and Republican Parties easily reached the criteria in each state earlier this year.

    This means that if Biden or Trump are nominated by their respective parties, their names will appear on the general election ballot in each state.

    But if one of them were to drop out and/or a different candidate was nominated at the convention, that person instead would be placed on the general election ballot.

    Click here to read the full article.

  • New Yahoo News/YouGov poll: 60% of Americans say Biden is not fit for another term as president

    A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll confirmed what most viewers sensed after last Thursday’s presidential debate: that it was a disastrous night for the 81-year-old Biden, who looked unsteady, sounded sick, stumbled over his words and, at one point, lost his train of thought entirely.

    A full 60% of Americans now say Biden is not “fit to serve another term as president.” Just 24% say he is fit. The president’s fitness rating has been that low only once before, in November 2023, and it has never been worse.

    Yet the survey of 1,754 U.S. adults, which was conducted from June 28 to July 1, also shows that Biden (43%) remains statistically tied with Trump (45%), in a head-to-head matchup among registered voters — even after a performance that seemed to substantiate long-standing concerns about the president’s age and competence going forward.

  • Biden's ABC interview may be 'watershed moment'

    The Associated Press reports on how much of Biden's reelection campaign may be resting on his performance during Friday's ABC News interview:

    It could be a watershed moment for Biden, who is under pressure to bow out of the campaign after his disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump ignited concern that the 81-year-old Democrat is not up for the job for another four years.

    The interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, being taped after a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to be intensive and probing, and two people familiar with the president's efforts said he had been preparing aggressively. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.

    There was broad agreement that Biden cannot afford to have another “bad day,” which is how he wrote off his debate flop. It was not clear that even a so-so performance would be enough to satisfy concerns about his fitness to serve.

    Click here to read the full article.

  • Biden contradicts earlier White House claim on seeing doctor after debate

    NBC News reported on the White House's evolving statement as to whether Biden saw a doctor after last week's debate:

    President Joe Biden told Democratic governors Wednesday that he’d been cleared by a doctor after last week’s debate, contradicting earlier statements from the White House about his medical care.

    ...

    Asked whether he’d received medical care after the debate, he told the assembled governors he was checked out by a doctor and that everything was fine, according to two sources familiar with the exchange. A few hours earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden hadn’t undergone any medical exams since February when he last received a thorough physical and took several tests.

    Click here to read the full article.

  • Biden campaign drops $50 million July ad buy

    The Biden campaign is rolling out a July campaign schedule and advertising blitz in an attempt to show it is still very much in the race and committed to battling Donald Trump. Politico has more:

    The president’s team announced on Friday that it would be layering more spending on top of the $50 million it has already spent on ads in June. The campaign also rolled out more details on its canvassing program, as they plan to knock on 3 million doors over the next two months. They also said Biden will headline NAACP and UnidosUS conferences in Las Vegas, which will serve as his counter-programming during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in mid-July.

    ...

    The memo, released on Friday morning, pledged that Biden is “expected to engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments over the course of the month, as he has consistently throughout this campaign.” These unscripted moments have taken on even more importance, since the president often relies heavily on teleprompters during his events, both public and private.

    Click here to read the full article.

  • What is an open convention?

    USA Today answers several questions about how a so-called open convention would play out at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

    An open convention happens when there is no pre-determined nominee to award the title, and the nominating process to find one would take place at the convention where delegates, once bound to Biden, would be able to cast their votes for whichever new candidate that emerged they wanted.

    The Democratic party hasn't had an open convention since 1968 during disputes over the Vietnam War.

    Click here to read the full article.

  • If Biden steps aside, who could replace him?

    Pressure is mounting on Biden following his disastrous performance in last week’s debate as questions swirl over his viability as a candidate in the 2024 presidential race.

    The president, for his part, has shown no outward signs that he plans to step aside. He reportedly assured staffers on a campaign call Wednesday that “I am running,” adding, “no one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end, and we’re going to win.”

    Here’s the not-so-short shortlist of hypothetical Biden replacements. click here to read more about who they are and how they rank among voters in a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted after the debate.

    • Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States

    • Gavin Newsom, governor of California

    • Pete Buttigieg, U.S. secretary of transportation

    • Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan

    • Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania

    • J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois

    • Wes Moore, governor of Maryland

    • Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky

    • Raphael Warnock, senator from Georgia

    • Michelle Obama, former first lady

    Click here to read the full article from Yahoo News.

  • Biden departs for Wisconsin

    President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as he leaves for a campaign trip to Madison, Wis., on Friday.
    President Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Friday. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

    Biden departed Joint Base Andrews for Madison, Wis., just before 12:30 p.m. ET.

    When asked by a reporter if he could still beat Trump in the 2024 race, Biden replied "yes" before walking up the steps to board his plane.

  • 'Polite but probing' Stephanopoulos to interview Biden

    Agence France-Presse profiled George Stephanopoulos, the former Bill Clinton adviser turned ABC News host who will be conducting President Biden's high-stakes Friday interview.

    Known for his polite but probing style, Stephanopoulos, 63, has interviewed many heads of state including Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    The focus of the interview will undoubtedly be Biden's health after the president's debate against Donald Trump, in which Biden lost his train of thought several times, stumbled over words and syntax and spoke incoherently.

    Born to a Greek family in Massachusetts, Stephanopoulos grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where both of his parents worked in the American Greek Orthodox Church.

    After graduating near the top of his class with a degree in political science from Columbia University in New York, Stephanopoulos moved to Washington to work as a congressional aide.

    Click here to read the full article.