Biden ‘soul searching’ about re-election bid – report
Joanna Walters
Joe Biden is taking calls to step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate seriously and multiple Democratic officials think an exit is a matter of time, according to sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reports.
His soul searching is actually happening, I know that for a fact. He’s thinking about this very seriously,” said one of the sources, who requested anonymity.
That’s the report so far. We’ll bring you more of what the news wire comes up with when it happens.
Key events
Joanna Walters
There was a rumor that Elon Musk was going to speak at the Republican national convention today, the last day of the gathering in Milwaukee.
The rumor popped up on X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform Musk owns.
It took Musk eight minutes to post back a version of “nope”.
I’m not speaking at the RNC
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2024
Three days ago a report emerged that he plans to give $45m a month to a Super Pac focused on electing Donald Trump, which Musk later denied.
Summary of the day so far
With Donald Trump expected to take center stage tonight for his widely anticipated speech at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee this evening, here’s a look at where things stand:
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March for Our Lives, the student-led gun control organization, has issued a statement condemning Donald Trump over his lax gun policies ahead of his address tonight. In a statement issued on Thursday, the organization, which emerged from the 2017 Parkland high school shooting in Florida where 17 people were killed, said: “It’s simple: Trump can’t just call for ‘unity’ only when it serves him and only after he’s targeted by the kind of violence he’s repeatedly incited.”
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Chris LaCivita, co-campaign manager and senior strategist for Donald Trump, has accused Democrats of staging a “coup” against Joe Biden. LaCivita was responding to reports that senior Democrats are pressuring the 81-year-old to exit the US presidential race as opinion polls show the party facing a wipeout in the White House, House and Senate. “This is nothing more than an attempted coup by the Democratic party,” LaCivita told a CNN-Politico Grill event on the sidelines of the RNC.
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Joe Biden is “still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms associated with his recent Covid-19 infection”, according to his physician. Kevin C O’Connor, in a letter addressed to the White House’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, wrote that the president “continues to receive Paxlovid”.
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A spokesperson for the former House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, did not deny that she shared data with Joe Biden during a recent conversation that showed he could not win if he chose to carry on. According to CNN, Pelosi told Biden that polls show he cannot beat Donald Trump and that he could wreck the Democrats’ chances of recapturing the chamber in November. “Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of her meetings and conversations with the president of the United States,” the spokesperson said.
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Hundreds of people who gathered to remember the former fire chief fatally shot at a weekend rally for former president Donald Trump were urged to find “unity” as the area in rural Pennsylvania sought to recover from the assassination attempt. Wednesday’s public event was the first of two to memorialize and celebrate Corey Comperatore’s life. The second, a visitation for friends, was planned for Thursday at Laube Hall in Freeport.
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Joe Scarborough, the host of the MSNBC show Morning Joe and an ally of Joe Biden, has called on the president’s aides to “help the man they love and do the right thing” by helping him leave the presidential race. Scarborough, speaking on Thursday’s show, said, “It’s really incumbent on people that are around Joe Biden to step up at this point and help the president. Help the man they love and do the right thing. This is not going to end well if it continues to drag out.”
March for Our Lives: ‘Trump can’t just call for unity only when it serves him’
March for Our Lives, the student-led gun control organization, has issued a statement condemning Donald Trump over his lax gun policies ahead of his widely anticipated address tonight at the RNC.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the organization, which emerged from the 2017 Parkland high school shooting in Florida where 17 people were killed, said:
“It’s simple: Trump can’t just call for “unity” only when it serves him and only after he’s targeted by the kind of violence he’s repeatedly incited.
GOP party leaders taking the stage have mocked victims of gun violence and propagated conspiracy theories about mass shootings for years. That is unacceptable. We continue to call for an end to all forms of gun violence, including particularly dangerous political violence. But we won’t hold our breath to see if Trump will genuinely join us in lowering the temperature.”
Meghan McCain, daughter of late Arizona senator and former Republican presidential nominee John McCain, has weighed in on the ongoing presidential race, writing on X:
“This is the most insane, intense, dramatic election cycle of my life and my Dad picked Sarah Palin as his VP without the campaign knowing her teenage daughter was pregnant …”
This is the most insane, intense, dramatic election cycle of my life and my Dad picked Sarah Palin as his VP without the campaign knowing her teenage daughter was pregnant…
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 17, 2024
Some progressives remain behind Joe Biden as he continues pushing policies for working-class communities.
Robert Tait reports for the Guardian:
Joe Biden, who so far has defied calls to quit the presidential race from Democrats worried about his ability to beat Donald Trump, this week rolled out a catalogue of left-leaning campaign promises aimed at working-class and middle-class Americans. His renewed emphasis on core progressive priorities comes after leading Washington progressives, Senator Bernie Sanders and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threw their weight behind his beleaguered candidacy.
The moves reframe Biden’s campaign to focus on a suite of issues from US supreme court reform to ending medical debt. They come as Biden is reportedly more open to calls for him to step aside, but still has not left the race.
For the full story, click here:
Marjorie Taylor Greene blames British reporter for Trump assassination attempt in bizarre interview
In a bizarre interview, Marjorie Taylor Greene has accused a British news reporter of being responsible for Donald Trump assassination attempt.
Speaking to the Times of London reporter Jo Crawford earlier this week, the Georgia Republican representative spoke of her support for JD Vance as Trump’s running mate before descending into a tirade against Crawford and the press.
Asking Greene about Vance’s suggestion that the UK may be the first “truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon” following the Labor party’s recent victory, Crawford said: “Doesn’t that paint a sour picture for relations with the UK?”
In response, Greene said:
“Well, let’s talk about the words of the Democrats … demonizing him [Trump] so much that a young man, a 20-year-old, which is hard to imagine, actually climbed on to a roof and tried to murder President Trump.”
Pointing a finger at Crawford, Greene went on to say:
“Let’s talk about people like you, who have demonized people like me [and] President Trump. You know, I have some of the most highest amount of death threats because of people like you … You’re the problem.”
Greene then proceeds to ask, “Where is this woman from?” to which someone who appeared to be an aide said, “The Times”.
Greene then says:
“You’re from the Times? OK. You’re ridiculous. And you’re the problem in our country. You lie about people like me; this is the first time you’ve ever talked to me … We have to put up with the most unreal amount of bullshit because of little liars like you that take your job and turn it into political activism …
You don’t get to ask any more questions. I’m done with you, because you’re the cause of … our country being divided. You’re the cause of president Trump almost being assassinated; you’re the cause of everything wrong in America.”
Trump campaign manager accuses Democrats of staging ‘coup’ against Biden
David Smith
Chris LaCivita, co-campaign manager and senior strategist for Donald Trump, has accused Democrats of staging a “coup” against Joe Biden.
LaCivita was responding to reports that senior Democrats are pressuring the 81-year-old to exit the US presidential race as opinion polls show the party facing a wipeout in the White House, House and Senate.
“This is nothing more than an attempted coup by the Democratic party,” LaCivita told a CNN-Politico Grill event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
They are actively engaged in an attempt – in my view and a lot of people share this view – in deposing the president of the United States.
Everything that they accuse Republicans of they’re actually doing it on national TV every single day. Look, you can’t step down as a candidate for president because you’re cognitively impaired, while still being the president. The two are linked.
LaCivita would “love” Vice-President Kamala Harris to be the nominee, he added, describing her as “gas-lighter-in-chief” for saying about Biden “Oh, he’s fine, he’s in great shape”.
LaCivita, who has been adding discipline to Trump’s election campaign, also sought to distance the former president from Project 2025, a radical manifesto drawn up by the Heritage Foundation thinktank that includes several former Trump administration officials.
“These people do not speak for him,” he said.
They do not speak for the campaign. The issues that are going to win us this campaign are not the issues they want to talk about.
He insisted that it is “complete and utter bullshit” for any reporter to suggest these individuals or policies will be appointed or adopted in a second Trump administration. “They’re a pain in the ass,” he said of Project 2025.
Biden experiencing ‘mild upper respiratory symptoms’, says doctor
Joe Biden is “still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms associated with his recent Covid-19 infection,” according to his physician.
Kevin C O’Connor, in a letter addressed to the White House’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, wrote that the president “continues to receive Paxlovid”. The letter continues:
He does not have a fever and his vital signs remain normal. He will continue to conduct the business of the American people.
Donald Trump’s running mate and Ohio senator JD Vance’s account for the money transferring app Venmo reveals an extensive network of connections including the architects of the conservative project Project 2025, according to a report.
An analysis by Wired shows among the people who appear on Vance’s Venmo “friends” list are Amalia Halikias, government relations director at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, an assistant US attorney for the southern district of New York as well as many lawyers for the Department of Justice, the famously anti-Trump former Arizona senator Jeff Flake, and the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The Wired report says:
Despite his anti-elite stance, Vance’s connections reveal a more complex relationship with establishment figures. At the same time, as the former president distances himself from Project 2025—a right-wing policy roadmap aiming to purge the federal government and reshape the executive branch and turn the US into what critics characterize as a Christian nationalist autocratic state—Vance’s Venmo network reveals his ties not just to Halikias but to others associated with a maximalist interpretation of MAGA. Gladden Pappin, for instance—president of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and a figure with close ties to the intellectual wing of the far right—shows up as one of Vance’s friends.
Biden taking remote meetings and campaign calls while isolating, campaign says
Joe Biden is feeling “fine” and working while isolating in Delaware as he recovers from Covid-19, according to his campaign.
Biden is “continuing to make calls and do work. He has official meetings today, a lot of campaign calls that he’s getting through, and I think some Zoom calls that he’s hoping on potentially,” Quentin Fulks, the Biden campaign deputy manager, told reporters on the sidelines of the Republican national convention in Milwaukee.
