memeorandum: How Biden Is Leveraging His Defiance to Try to Stem Democratic Defections (Shane Goldmacher/New York Times)

2:05 PM ET, July 9, 2024

Top Items:

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:

Poll finds Biden damaged by debate; with Harris and Clinton best positioned to win — Vice President Kamala Harris is now running ahead of Trump, 42 percent to 41 percent, the survey found. — A top Democratic pollster has a new survey showing President Joe Biden still in contention against Donald Trump …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Mediaite, Twitchy, RedState and Althouse

New York Times:

The Democratic Party Must Speak the Plain Truth to the President — For voters who held out hope that President Biden's failure to communicate during last month's debate was an aberration, the intervening days have offered little comfort. — Donald Trump's candidacy for a second term poses a grave threat to American democracy.

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, The Federalist, Raw Story, Newsweek, New York Post, New York Daily News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, IJR, Fox News, Hartford Courant, Mediaite, NationofChange, The Guardian, SWAMY WORLD, Florida Politics and Digby's Hullabaloo

Francesca Chambers / USA Today:

Kamala Harris beats Donald Trump, new poll shows, performs better than Joe Biden — WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris could narrowly beat Donald Trump in November, according to a new national poll from a Democratic pollster. — Harris is ahead by 1 point in the poll conducted …

Discussion: New York Post and Washington Post

Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
July 2024 National Poll: Trump 46%, Biden 43%

Discussion: The Hill

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
How Biden Is Leveraging His Defiance to Try to Stem Democratic Defections

Politico:
Playbook: The Democratic split to watch

Discussion: RedState, Punchbowl News, NOTUS and The Universe As A Causal Set

New York Times:
For Kamala Harris, the Challenge of Getting Ready Without Getting Ready

Discussion: Business Insider, The Atlantic, RedState, The Japan Times and NPR

Ian Hanchett / Breitbart:
Jon Stewart: Democrats Saying ‘Get on Board or Shut the F**k Up’ Doesn't Fix Voters' Concerns About Biden

Eboni Boykin-Patterson / The Daily Beast:
Whoopi Says She'd Vote for Biden Even if He ‘Pooped His Pants’

Discussion: Business Insider, Breitbart, Entertainment Weekly, Newsbusters, RedState, Fox News, Twitchy, The Wrap, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, IJR and Mediaite

Marc A. Caputo / The Bulwark:

J.D. Vance Has a Problem on His Face — J.D. VANCE IS THE BEST BET on the predictive markets to be Donald Trump's running mate. But an only-in-MAGAville issue might stand in the Ohio Republican's way: facial hair. — “J.D. has a beard. But Trump is a clean-shaven guy.

Discussion: The Guardian, Alternet.org, Raw Story and New York Post

Garrett Ross / Politico:

Playbook PM: Haley releases delegates to Trump — THE CATCH-UP — SCOOP: HALEY RELEASES DELEGATES — Former South Carolina Gov. NIKKI HALEY is releasing all of her 97 delegates and urging them to vote for DONALD TRUMP at next week's Republican National Convention, our colleague Meridith McGraw reports.

Discussion: Mediaite and Washington Post

Politico:

House Dems' ‘sad’ venting session yields no clear path forward on Biden's future — In a private Tuesday meeting, multiple House Democrats made the case for replacing the president at the top of the ticket, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries advised members to stay unified.

Discussion: Axios and CBS News

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Democrats hold pivotal meetings on Biden, as divisions deepen after Trump debate

Discussion: NBC News, freebeacon.com, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Mediaite and Missouri Independent

Washington Post:
Black House Democrats embrace Biden at another critical juncture

Discussion: The Bulwark, New York Post, Fox News, Politico, Axios, Daily Kos, CBS News, CNN, Semafor, Washington Examiner, Althouse, Business Insider and NBC News

Bloomberg:
Biden Gets Unexpected Boost From ‘Squad’ Members He Once Battled

Discussion: The Guardian, Axios, Breitbart, New York Post, Washington Examiner and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Associated Press:
Read the letter President Biden sent to House Democrats telling them to support him in the election

Politico:
Hill Dems brace for party reckoning over Biden

Discussion: NBC News, CBS News, Semafor, City Journal, USA Today, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Daily Press and Washington Post

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

The Biden-Parkinson's mini-controversy, explained — One effect of Biden's poor debate performance? New eagerness to uncover evidence of Biden's physical failings. — For some time, there had been little question that the White House was taking steps to protect President Biden from scrutiny.

Wall Street Journal:

How Biden's Inner Circle Worked to Keep Signs of Aging Under Wraps — Aides kept a tight rein on the president's travel plans, news conferences, public appearances and meetings with donors while Biden's stumbles became increasingly obvious

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Breitbart, New York Post, Wake Up To Politics, The Federalist, RedState, Power Line, HotAir, PJ Media and Instapundit

Mary Bruce / ABC News:
White House doctor offers explanation for Parkinson's expert's visits

Discussion: Axios, New York Post, acecomments.mu.nu, Mediaite, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, American Greatness, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times, Forbes, Breitbart, NBC News, emptywheel and IJR

Margaret Sullivan / The Guardian:

The media has been breathlessly attacking Biden. What about Trump? — The bigger story is Donald Trump's appalling unfitness for office. He tried to overturn a legitimate election and is a felon — It's possible for two conflicting ideas to be true at once.

Discussion: Thinking about

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
The Double Standard in Trump-Biden Coverage

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

CBS News:

Navy sailor tried to access Biden's medical records multiple times — A junior Navy sailor attempted to access the medical records of President Biden from a military medical database three times in February but was unable to do so, the U.S. Navy confirms to CBS News.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and abc7NY

Stuart Lau / Politico:

China's army shows up on NATO's border — with PHELIM KINE — HELLO CHINA WATCHERS. For once your Europe-China correspondent Stuart Lau is also in (a very hot) Washington, covering the NATO summit which is set to begin today. Phelim Kine will write to you from the very same city on Thursday.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, Xinhua, Sputnik News and Voice of America

Owen Lavine / The Daily Beast:

Marla Maples Is Reportedly Ready to Throw Her Hat in the Trump VP Ring — ALL IS FORGIVEN — The former president's second wife opened up on her relationship with Trump and 2024 in a new interview, and sources tell the Evening Standard she's ready to join the veepstakes.

Discussion: London Evening Standard and Raw Story

Dan Rather / Steady:

A Dangerous Double Standard — All our energies must go to defeating Trump — What a weekend. You know I have seen some things in my seven decades covering American politics. I have never seen anything quite like the wrangling, hand-wringing, and behind-the-scenes gamesmanship currently swirling around President Biden.

Discussion: Raw Story and HuffPost

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

The alarming new power Trump will claim in a second term — Donald Trump says that if he returns to the White House in 2025, he will have the power to effectively cancel any federal program — or even an entire agency — by refusing to spend money appropriated by Congress.

Discussion: Media Matters for America

John Paul Tasker / CBC News:

Conservative MP attacked online after praising police for arrest in alleged homophobic crime — Michelle Ferreri applauded arrest of man after Pride flag was torched — Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri is praising the Peterborough Police Service for arresting a man accused of hurling homophobic slurs …