© AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin |
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The drama over President Biden’s future consumed Capitol Hill on Wednesday as new election forecasts pointed toward big gains for the GOP.
Democrats briefly appeared to come to terms with Biden’s candidacy after a meeting at the House Democratic campaign headquarters Tuesday.
That went out the window after Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opened the door for Biden to step aside in a Wednesday morning MSNBC appearance. “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short…Let’s just hold off. Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week,” she said. Biden has repeatedly insisted he has no plans of leaving the race, including in a letter to Pelosi and other Congressional Democrats. Pelosi later sought to soften her remarks, but the alliance to move forward with Biden appears to be cracking: -
Rep. Pat Ryan (N.Y.), a frontline Democrat running in a swing district, became the 8th House Democrat to call on Biden to drop out.
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George Clooney, who raised tens of millions of dollars for Biden at a recent fundraiser, said it’s time for him to step aside.
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Centrist Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said former President Trump is on course to win “by a landslide” and that Republicans could hold the House and take back the Senate. Other senators have voiced this view in private, Alexander Bolton reports.
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Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who previously stood by Biden’s candidacy, released a statement saying “there must be a serious reckoning with the down-ballot effect of whomever we nominate.” Those remarks came after a Politico story about Biden’s support cratering in deep blue New York.
- Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told NewsNation: “I have complete confidence that Joe Biden will do the patriotic thing for the country. And he’s going to make that decision. He’s never disappointed me.”
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters: “I am deeply concerned about Joe Biden winning this November because it is an existential threat to the country if Donald Trump wins. So I think we have to reach a conclusion as soon as possible.”
Actor and Biden support George Clooney’s op-ed was particularly remarkable, as he personally interacted with Biden at a fundraiser a few weeks ago with former President Obama:
“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate. Our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign,” Clooney wrote.
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The Clooney op-ed comes as the White House changed its story about Biden seeing a neurologist earlier this year.
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ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, who interviewed Biden last week, was caught on camera saying “he can’t serve four more years.”
Senior Biden advisers will meet with panicked Senate Democrats Thursday. For now, the plan seems to be to see how Biden does at the post-NATO press conference Thursday in front of a press corps that has turned hostile. Biden has also scheduled a one-on-one interview with NBC’s Lester Holt for Monday. If Biden performs disastrously in front of the cameras again, it could open the floodgates on calls for him to step aside.
Perspectives: - Nate Silver: Biden has a weak hand but Dems don’t know how to call a bluff.
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Bloomberg: Biden needs to accept that it’s time to step aside.
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The Guardian: The media has been breathlessly attacking Biden. What about Trump?
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Intelligencer: Why is the Squad backing Biden?
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The New Yorker: This is what the 25th Amendment was designed for.
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Josh Barro: Like Biden’s dog, the age story will never stop biting.
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Ocasio-Cortez files impeachment articles against Thomas, Alito
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) filed articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on Wednesday.
The filing cites a “pattern of refusal to recuse” from cases where conflicts of interest exist, and the “failure to disclose” millions of dollars in gifts, including from patrons who have had business in front of the court.
“The unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court has now spiraled into a Constitutional crisis threatening American democracy writ large,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement.
Thomas has been the subject of extensive reporting on the lavish gifts he’s received from wealthy conservative donors.
Alito has faced calls to recuse himself from cases pertaining to Jan. 6 after reports he flew controversial flags associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement at his homes. Takeaway: Impeachment is extremely unlikely. It would require a majority vote in the GOP-controlled House. If impeachment went to trial, conviction would require a two-thirds majority by the Senate, where Democrats have only a slim 51-49 advantage.
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Forecasters see dark days ahead for Democrats |
Election forecasters have soured on Democratic prospects in November. A sampling:
Cook political analyst Dave Wasserman, whose election night calls have become a gold standard, had this to say on X:
“The notion that the presidential is a Toss Up was a stretch even before the debate. Today, Trump has a clear advantage over Biden and a much more plausible path to 270 Electoral votes… Trump’s current 47%-44% lead is the most drastic shift in the race all year….Bottom line: Biden’s current numbers w/ Black (71%-21%), Hispanic (48%-41%) and young (46%-41%) voters are incompatible w/ any plausible Dem win scenario.” The Biden campaign still maintains he’s the Democrats’ best shot to win in November.
Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s former communications director who has defended him from her perch on CNN, called on his campaign to release their internal polling numbers: “…when the battle over the public data is so overwhelmingly negative, it’s a good moment to put forward your theory of the case. If they have data that supports the path to victory that they see, they should put it out there now and help people who badly want to beat Trump rally around it. People want to see the path.”
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The U.S. will send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday. -
Blinken said the advanced fighter jets will be defending Ukrainian skies as early as this summer.
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This follows President Biden’s announcement on Tuesday that allies will also provide five more air defense systems.
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Biden said NATO has grown stronger under his administration and that Russia was “failing” in its war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington for the NATO summit.
Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute on Tuesday night, Zelensky nodded to the uncertainty about U.S. support for Ukraine if former President Trump wins the November election. “I don’t know [Trump] very well,” Zelensky said. “I had meetings with him, we had good meetings when he was president. We didn’t [go] through the war with him. And only during the war can you understand, can you count on somebody or not.”
Trump said during the debate last month that he could find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict before taking office in January. -
Trump railed against NATO funding in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, saying NATO members are “delinquent” on dues and that the alliance wouldn’t exist without him.
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Ukraine remains on the outside looking in on the NATO alliance, as leaders have not provided a path for Ukraine to membership.
What’s an international summit without social media buzz? Perspectives:
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Trump takes aim at new target
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Former President Trump swiped at Vice President Harris at a rally on Tuesday amid swirling speculation she could replace President Biden at the top of the ticket. “If Joe had picked someone even halfway competent they would have bounced him from office years ago, but they can’t because she’s gotta be their second choice.” The Hill’s Emily Brooks reports that Republicans are sitting back and enjoying the Democratic infighting over Biden, believing it will boost their chances at a complete takeover in November.
One snag: The Hill’s Niall Stanage notes that the GOP convention next week could help Biden by shifting focus away from his intraparty struggles.
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CNN will undergo layoffs as it prepares to revamp its digital efforts. A subscription product will launch later this year, and the news outlet is considering “a strategic push into AI.“
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CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews will step down this month after less than a year on the job.
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Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav says he doesn’t care who wins the November election as long as they’re business friendly: “We just need an opportunity for deregulation, so companies can consolidate and do what we need to to be even better.”
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“History shows swapping candidates is a losing game for Democrats,” by J.T. Young for The Hill.
“A scheme for Biden to preserve his dignity,” by Graeme Wood for The Atlantic. “Democrats stick with Biden knowing he’s unfit to serve,” by Derek Hunter for The Hill. “Biden’s age isn’t the only Dem liability,” by David Scharfenberg for The Boston Globe. |
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5 days until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. 40 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 62 days until the second presidential debate.
118 days until the 2024 general election. 194 days until Inauguration Day 2025. |
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Wednesday - Biden holds a bilateral meeting at the White House with new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 5:30 p.m. Biden and first lady Jill Biden will host NATO allies and partners for dinner at 8 p.m.
Thursday - Biden holds a press conference after the NATO summit concludes.
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