WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden faces a pivotal day as he works to stem the tide of Democrats urging him to bow out of the 2024 race and holds his first press conference since a disastrous debate against former President Donald Trump two weeks ago.
The press conference, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., will take place on the closing day of a NATO summit Biden is hosting in Washington amid growing pressure on the president to stand aside.
“These are big, big stakes,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant in New York. “If he looks like he’s not in control, more people will be lining up to push him out the door.”
“If he is in control, it will be much harder to get rid of him.”
More:Beards? OK. Another Florida man? More challenging. Trump dishes on imminent VP pick
Earlier in the week, Biden seemed to coalesce the vast majority of Democratic members of Congress around his embattled reelection bid since he struggled to finish sentences and complete thoughts during the June 27 debate.
But new Biden detractors − sensing that time is running out if the party wants a change at the top of the ticket − emerged Tuesday night and spilled into Wednesday, suggesting Biden’s fight to hold on to his 50-year political career isn’t over.
Keep up with the USA TODAY Network’s live coverage.
Biden campaign says ‘no indication’ any other Democrat could do better against Trump
Pushing back at Democratic detractors, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign said Thursday there is “no indication” any other potential Democratic nominee would perform better than Biden in the election against former President Donald Trump.
In a memo titled “The Path Ahead,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Rodriguez Chavez sought to reassure Democrats increasingly concerned Biden can’t beat Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
“In addition to what we believe is a clear pathway ahead for us, there is also no indication that anyone else would outperform the president vs. Trump,” O’Malley Dillon and Rodriguez Chavez wrote.
More:Trump’s team gearing up in case Joe Biden bails on 2024 and Kamala Harris takes over
An ABC News/Washington Post poll released Thursday found Vice President Kamala Harris beating Trump 49%-47% nationally among registered voters in a hypothetical matchup – outperforming Biden, who the poll found tied with Trump at 46% apiece.
But O’Malley Dillon and Rodriguez Chavez disputed the reliability of such hypothetical polling.
“Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter,” they wrote. “The only Democratic candidate for whom this is already baked in is President Biden.”
−Joey Garrison
11th House Democrat goes public against Biden
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., called for Biden to step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee on Thursday, the 11th House Democrat to publicly come out against the president.
“I love President Biden. I am forever grateful for his leadership and service to our nation. The time has come, however, for President Biden to heroically pass the torch to a new generation of leadership to guide us to the future he has enabled and empowered us to pursue,” he said in a statement.
Schneider is a vice chair of the New Democrat Coalition, an influential group of roughly 100 centrist House Democrats. Leaders from the group met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Wednesday to discuss Biden’s campaign.
− Ken Tran
For Biden donors, ‘There’s a lot of worry and concern’
Campaign donors will be watching President Joe Biden’s press conference this evening closely, said Betty Cotton of New York, who has donated more than $30,000 to his reelection campaign.
“Everybody wants to beat Trump,” Cotton told USA TODAY. “A lot of donors are concerned that Biden can’t do it. People are very worried about his vigor, strength, capacity − everything.”
“They’re worried.”
More:New poll finds that most Democratic voters want Biden to drop out of the race
Biden’s disastrous debate performance – and his subsequent interview with George Stephanopoulos − left her and other donors “even more concerned,” she said.
Cotton homed in on a moment when the ABC host asked Biden if he’d watched a recording of the debate and he replied, “I don’t think I did. No.”
“How would you not know if you watched the debate or not?” she said. “The bottom line is that everybody is interested in hearing how this press conference goes. It’s a chance for people to hear him without a teleprompter.”
−Swapna Venugopal
When is Joe Biden’s press conference?
President Joe Biden is scheduled to participate in a press conference Thursday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center as part of this year’s NATO Summit. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. EST and will be livestreamed by USA TODAY.
–Gabe Hauari
More:‘It’s up to the president to decide’: Pelosi says of calls for Biden to abandon reelection
Michigan Rep. Hillary Scholten becomes the 10th House member to call for Biden to step aside
Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., is the 10th House member to publicly call for President Joe Biden to leave the presidential race, adding to the drip of lawmakers pushing for change.
She is the first member to do so that is considered a “frontliner” — a member who represents such a politically mixed district that she faces a tough re-election campaign of her own this fall.
Biden had “an incredible legacy” of public service, she said in a statement. But “For the good of our democracy, I believe it is time for him to step aside from the presidential race and allow a new leader to step up.”
−Riley Beggin
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Rep. Adam Smith frustrated with Democrats
Two days after Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., called for President Joe Biden to step aside in the 2024 race, he expressed frustration with Democrats who are backing Biden publicly but questioning his candidacy in private.
“Too many people in our party right now are saying ‘We are deeply concerned but what are you going to do about it?’” Smith said in an appearance on MSNBC. “You’re either all in or you’re deeply concerned. You can’t be both.”
He disputed the president’s campaign messaging that he is the best candidate to beat former President Donald Trump, adding that he was not picked in 2020 because he was the only person that could win against Trump.
“He was picked because he was the only person that could beat Bernie Sanders,” Smith said.
—Rachel Barber
Gretchen Whitmer weighs in on Biden cognitive test
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a co-chair of Biden’s reelection campaign, did not express concern about the suggestion that the president take a cognitive test.
“I don’t think it would hurt,” Whitmer told CNN Wednesday.
Whitmer continued to defend Biden amid growing public doubt by fellow Democrats that he should continue as the party nominee.
− Savannah Kuchar
More:Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Biden cognitive test: ‘I don’t think it would hurt.’
New York Times editorial board says Trump is unfit for a second term
The New York Times editorial board in a new piece called on voters to reject a Donald Trump presidency, saying that the former president is unfit for a second term.
“Mr. Trump has shown a character unworthy of the responsibilities of the presidency. He has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people,” the Times editorial board, made up of opinion journalists, wrote in a piece published Thursday.
“Instead of a cogent vision for the country’s future, Mr. Trump is animated by a thirst for political power: to use the levers of government to advance his interests, satisfy his impulses and exact retribution against those who he thinks have wronged him,” they added.
They wrote that they “urge voters to see the dangers of a second Trump term clearly and to reject it.”
–Sudiksha Kochi
Democratic lawmakers to closely watch Biden’s press conference
Democratic lawmakers will be closely watching Biden’s press conference this afternoon as several of them privately harbor concerns about his reelection bid but have so far declined to publicly weigh in.
A number of House Democrats are sitting on public statements calling on the president to withdraw or to cast doubt on his chances of winning in anticipation of the press conference, according to one House Democrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss their conversations with colleagues.
– Ken Tran
Trump goes after Clooney: ‘Get out of politics’
Former President Donald Trump slammed George Clooney on Wednesday after the Oscar-winning actor called on President Joe Biden to step aside from the 2024 presidential race.
“So now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act. He’s turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Clooney should get out of politics and go back to television.”
Clooney, a self-described lifelong Democrat and public supporter of Biden, in an op-ed on Wednesday called on Democrats to choose a new nominee, writing “We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate.”
— Rebecca Morin
New poll finds that most Dems want Biden to drop out and Harris would beat Trump in head to head matchup
A new Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll, conducted between July 5 and July 9, found that 56% of Democratic U.S. adults surveyed want Biden to drop out of the 2024 race, while 42% think he should continue his campaign for president and 2% were skipped.
The poll also found that Harris would beat Trump in a head to head matchup.
Forty-nine percent of registered voters surveyed said if the election were held today, they’d choose Harris, while 47% said they’d choose Trump. Biden and Trump remain tied 46% in a head to head matchup.
The poll, conducted among 2,431 adults with 2,041 being registered voters, has a sampling error of plus or minus two percentage points.
—Sudiksha Kochi
Michael Douglas says Clooney makes a ‘valid point’ about Joe Biden
American actor Michael Douglas has joined the growing list of celebrities who have called for President Joe Biden to step down or questioned his ability to serve.
Douglas said on ABC’s The View that actor George Clooney’s op-ed calling for Biden to step out of the race makes a “valid point.”
“I mean, I’m deeply, deeply concerned. I mean, especially, it’s difficult because the Democrats have a big bench. I mean, they’ve got a lot of heavy-hitters… a lot of talent,” he said.
—Sudiksha Kochi
Who could replace Biden?
Several names have been floated as replacements for the Democratic incumbent. Vice President Kamala Harris would most likely be the top choice, according to Reuters, but cites Harris’ difficult start to the job and poor polling numbers as potential hurdles. Other names that have been mentioned include California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who are also seen as viable contenders. These possible replacements are currently Biden supporters working to re-elect the president.
Despite the mounting calls, Biden remains defiant. “I’m getting so frustrated by the elites … any of these guys that don’t think I should run, run against me. Announce for president, challenge me at the convention,” he told MSNBC earlier this week.
Ryan Ross and Jeremy Yurow
Which lawmakers have called for Biden to bow out?
For nearly two weeks, President Joe Biden has been trying to downplay concerns by Democratic lawmakers worried he might lose to his Republican rival, Donald Trump, following his shaky debate performance last month.
But a wave of dissent on Capitol Hill has revealed that ten Democratic lawmakers are now publicly calling for President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race.
Nine House Democrats, including Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Mike Quigley of Illinois, Angie Craig of Minnesota, Adam Smith of Washington, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Pat Ryan of New York and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon are urging Biden to step aside for a new generation of leaders.And on Wednesday evening, Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to publicly call on Biden to drop his bid for the White House.In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Welch wrote, “For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race.”
Despite these calls, prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) continue to support him.
–Jeremy Yurow
Pelosi, Clooney raise doubts about Biden as Democratic nominee
Just when it looked like Biden had united most congressional Democrats around his candidacy, the dam has started to crack.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said in a Tuesday night interview on CNN that he fears Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, will defeat Biden in a “landslide,” and Democrats will lose the Senate and House. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was noncommittal Wednesday on whether Biden should be the party’s nominee.
Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y, who represents a swing congressional district, became the 8th House Democrat to call for Biden to withdraw from the race.
Adding to Biden’s woes, Hollywood actor and Democratic donor George Clooney, who hosted a Biden fundraiser just last month, called for Democrats to choose a different nominee. As did actor and director Rob Reiner, another major fundraiser.
— Joey Garrison
Biden aides to make case to Democratic senators
Aiming to shore up support, Biden’s campaign is making another effort Thursday by sending three senior campaign advisors to meet with Senate Democrats.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has been holding several meetings with Democratic lawmakers throughout the week to discuss Biden’s candidacy and fitness to serve. Jeffries has told his members in those private discussions he will bring their concerns back to Biden, according to a House Democrat familiar with the meetings.
— Joey Garrison and Ken Tran
