Joe Biden and Dr. Kevin O'Connor (David Lienemann)
President Joe Biden, perhaps feeling defensive as Democrats call for him to withdraw from his re-election campaign in the wake of a debate debacle against Donald Trump, took off his gloves and started punching back . . . figuratively. What did Biden do literally? The New York Times provides details at The Morning newsletter.
Under the headline "Biden Aggressively Pushes Back on Notion of Dropping Out; President Biden made clear he would not step aside from the presidential race and sought to reassure his top donors and fund-raisers, a day after some House members privately said he should drop out," multiple Times reporters write:
Facing what could be the most crucial week of his candidacy, President Biden on Monday made an aggressive attempt to dispel the concerns that a broad range of Democrats have expressed about his re-election campaign.
By the afternoon, he had called into MSNBC’s widely watched Morning Joe program, sent a defiant letter to Democratic members of Congress and previewed his plan to attack former President Donald J. Trump during a call with his top fund-raisers.
“If any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me,” Mr. Biden said on Morning Joe, hitting back at his critics. “Go ahead, announce for president. Challenge me at the convention.”
The offensive came as Mr. Biden contends with crumbling support from Democratic lawmakers and mounting fears of a rout by Mr. Trump and his followers in November’s races for the White House and Congress.
On his call with donors, the president suggested that Democrats needed to turn their attention back to Mr. Trump. And he previewed a strategic pivot for his campaign before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week, saying he planned to “attack, attack, attack, attack.”
That was not the only news confronting the White House yesterday, as The Times reports:
A Parkinson’s disease expert repeatedly visited the White House. Dr. Kevin Cannard visited the White House eight times in eight months from last summer through this spring, including at least once for a meeting with Mr. Biden’s physician, according to official visitor logs. It was unclear whether Dr. Cannard was at the White House to consult specifically about the president, and the White House press secretary on Monday declined to address the purpose of the visits. The White House has said that Mr. Biden has no signs of the disease.
An array of neurologists who have not personally examined Mr. Biden said they observed symptoms in his public appearances that were consistent with Parkinson’s or a related disease, such as hypophonic speech, forward flexed posture, a shuffling gait, masked face and irregular speech pattern. But they emphasized that a specific diagnosis could not be given without firsthand examination.
The NATO summit. Many Democrats are demanding a ramped-up campaign for Mr. Biden to prove his viability, but he will be busy this week hosting the 75th NATO summit in Washington. The long-planned three-day meeting, beginning Tuesday, arrives at an inopportune moment for Mr. Biden. Aides have promised an aggressive campaign schedule the week of July 15.
A rare news conference. Mr. Biden and his advisers have said he will hold a solo news conference with White House reporters, most likely on Thursday, at the end of the NATO summit. While those were routine for previous presidents, Mr. Biden has not kept that tradition. His performance will be scrutinized by Democrats who are eager to assess whether he can handle the off-the-cuff pressure.
Whitmer shuts down notion of running. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, whose name has been raised as a possible contender for the Democratic nomination if Mr. Biden were to end his campaign, said she wouldn’t run even if he did drop out, according to The Associated Press.
More defections. Representative Adam Smith, Democrat of Washington, became the latest elected Democrat to publicly call on Mr. Biden to step aside. His statement came after he and several other high-ranking House Democrats said in a private meeting on Sunday that Mr. Biden should end his campaign, continuing a trickle of defections that shows no signs of stopping. The other representatives included Jerrold Nadler of New York, Mark Takano of California and Joseph D. Morelle of New York. Read what Democratic politicians have said about Mr. Biden so far.
The veepstakes. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, a candidate to be Mr. Trump’s running mate, told NBC News on Sunday that he supported Mr. Trump’s vow if elected again to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Mr. Biden. Another running-mate contender, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, appeared on CNN and denied that Mr. Trump had called for weaponizing the Justice Department against his political opponents.
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