memeorandum: White House guests recount concerns after seeing Biden weeks before debate: ‘What we witnessed was troubling’ (ABC News)

5:10 AM ET, July 12, 2024

Top Items:

‘No one involved in the effort thinks he has a path’: Biden insiders say the writing is on the wall — The set of Democrats who think he should reconsider his decision to stay in the race has grown to include aides, operatives and officials tasked with guiding his campaign to victory.

CNN:

Angry and stunned Democrats blame Biden's closest advisers for shielding public from full extent of president's decline — At a star-studded fundraiser for President Joe Biden in Los Angeles last month, George Clooney wasn't the only one who came away concerned about the president.

Discussion: Townhall, Las Vegas Review-Journal, The Gateway Pundit, HotAir, RedState, acecomments.mu.nu, Instapundit, Fox News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Alternet.org, Mediaite and New York Post

Margaret Brennan / CBS News:

Potentially dozens of Democrats expected to call on Biden to step aside after NATO conference — Four Democratic sources with knowledge tell CBS News that they expect dozens of Democratic lawmakers over the next 48 hours to issue statements calling for President Biden to step out of the race.

Discussion: Breitbart and Vox

ABC News:

White House guests recount concerns after seeing Biden weeks before debate: ‘What we witnessed was troubling’ — Some guests at a White House concert in June say they had concerns about Biden. — President Joe Biden, center, during a Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House, June 10, 2024.

Discussion: RedState and Twitchy

Mary Ann Akers / The Daily Beast:

Joe Biden Calls Kamala Harris ‘Vice President Trump’ at Crucial Press Conference — OH JOE — The president's make-or-break press conference started with a mix-up after he called Ukrainian President Zelensky “Putin.” — Deputy Washington Bureau Chief — Joe Biden started …

Discussion: CNBC, Metro.co.uk, The Guardian, USA Today, One America News Network, Boston Herald, Washington Examiner, San Diego Union-Tribune, Forbes, The Spectator World, The Daily Signal, The Gateway Pundit, al.com, Northeastern Global News, SWAMY WORLD, Diane Ravitch's blog and New Republic

Politico:

Biden does some damage control with House Dems — but not enough — President Joe Biden delivered a steady performance at a high-stakes press conference Thursday but still fell short of assuring jittery Democrats concerned about his future, prolonging painful questions across the party.

Discussion: New York Post, The Journal News, Iowa Capital Dispatch, The Daily Beast, NOTUS, Semafor, Washington Examiner, Forbes, Washington Times, The Dispatch, The Guardian, Oregonian and New York Magazine

Jonathan Nicholson / HuffPost:

GOP Push To Fine Merrick Garland $10,000 A Day Over Biden Audio Fails — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who pushed for the penalty, said she would try again when Congress returns. — LOADING — Some Republicans' effort to punish Attorney General Merrick Garland for withholding audio …

CNN:

Obama, Pelosi privately expressed concerns over Biden — Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi have spoken privately about Joe Biden and the future of his 2024 campaign. Both the former president and ex-speaker expressed concerns about how much harder they think it's become for the president to beat Donald Trump.

Discussion: The Sun, Mediaite, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and Politico

KGW-TV:

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez suggests Biden should resign and drop out of presidential race — U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Adam Smith have also called for Biden to drop out, though not to resign. Other Oregon and Washington Democrats have been noncommittal.

Discussion: Roll Call, Mediaite, UPI, Forbes, NOTUS and Semafor

Politico:

Biden faces his lowest point since the debate — Two weeks after debate, Biden allies struggle to quell unrest. — As Joe Biden struggles to contain the fallout from his poor debate performance, a gulf is widening between how the president's most inner circle and the rest of the Democratic Party …

Discussion: RedState, Washington Times, New York Times and NOTUS

Andrew Solender / Axios:

Scoop: Biden poised to face “deluge” of fresh calls to drop out … - Others are “getting closer” to that decision, the lawmaker added. — Another House Democrat told Axios: “This whole discussion isn't over — just because of the way the election is turning away from us.”

Discussion: Forbes, New York Post, Mediaite, Arizona Mirror, IJR, freebeacon.com and RedState

New York Times:
Trump's Team Plans to Go After Kamala Harris at Republican Convention

Discussion: NPR, Must Read Alaska, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy, New York Post, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Bloomberg, Fox News, Washington Post, Mediaite and CBS News

New York Times:
The Embattled Biden Campaign Tests Kamala Harris's Strength vs. Trump

Discussion: Business Insider, Newsmax, RedState, The Daily Beast, HotAir, al.com, The i Paper, The Texas Tribune, New Republic, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, freebeacon.com, New York Post, The Atlantic, The Hill, The Guardian and Axios

New York Times:
Biden Advisers Weigh How to Convince Him to End His Campaign

Discussion: Axios, Politico, PJ Media, So What, USA Today, Washington Post, NOTUS, Fox News, The Hill, RedState, Business Insider, HotAir, The Guardian, WPRI.com, Breitbart, The Times of Israel and New York Magazine

Politico:
House Dems prepare to break with Biden if he tanks NATO press conference

Discussion: New York Times, Slate, Rolling Stone, Axios, Semafor, USA Today, Daily Kos, Fox News, Twitchy, CNBC, Mediaite, HuffPost, CBS News, New York Post, WCAX-TV and Washington Examiner

Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Biden won't drop out of election against Trump unless polls say 'there's no way you can win'

Discussion: USA Today, RedState, The Guardian and Fox News

HuffPost:
Joe Biden Is Facing Questions About His Age And Mental Acuity. What About Donald Trump?

Discussion: NPR, Republikkkan Orcs, Alternet.org and The Hill

Pew Research Center:
Amid Doubts About Biden's Mental Sharpness, Trump Leads Presidential Race

Discussion: New York Post, Bangor Daily News, Mediaite, The Hill, Florida's Voice, Washington Examiner, Axios, Semafor, New Republic, Twitchy, Political Wire and PoliticusUSA

Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
Trump widely unpopular among Black and Latino voters, poll analysis shows

Discussion: New York Post and Associated Press

Gary Langer / ABC News:
Biden and Trump tied despite debate, as 67% call for president to drop out: POLL

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, Forbes, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, NPR, Axios, The Hill, Washington Post, The Federalist, The Hollywood Reporter, al.com and Raw Story

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
This Is How You Know Trump Smells Victory

Discussion: Raw Story

Elizabeth Elkind / Fox News:
House Democrat suggests Biden should resign, says presidency ‘must come to an end’

Discussion: acecomments.mu.nu

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
Biden's press conference will be a key test for him. But he's no master of the big rhetorical moment

emptywheel:
NYTimes Launders Its Own Agency

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, New York Times, The Guardian, TMZ.com and Deadline

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Ossoff votes with Republicans to block controversial Biden nominee

Discussion: RedState

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Republicans: No Fair Nominating Somebody Else!

Discussion: Metro.co.uk, The Atlantic and Fox News

Sage Weil / Civic Media:

Civic Media — Statement regarding edits to the July 4th interview with President Biden — The Earl Ingram Show was one of two radio programs contacted by the Biden campaign following the June 27th debate to speak with President Biden. The interview was recorded on July 3rd and aired …

Discussion: NBC News, New York Times, Axios, The Daily Caller, CNBC, The Wrap, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, IJR and The Hill

Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee radio station says it agreed to edit interview with Joe Biden — Jessie Opoien Molly BeckMilwaukee Journal Sentinel — MADISON — Civic Media, a Wisconsin-based progressive talk-radio network, said Thursday it had agreed to make two edits to an interview with President Joe Biden …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Spectator World, New York Post, Mediaite, Newsbusters, The Daily Beast, Fox News, RedState and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

Ken Bensinger / New York Times: Biden Campaign Has Long Fed Softball Questions to Friendly Interviewers

Andrew Leahey / Forbes:

IRS Collects $1 Billion In Back Taxes From Millionaires — In a press release, the IRS announced the collection of $1 billion in past-due taxes from millionaires since 2023. That year, the agency launched an initiative to pursue high-income, high-wealth individuals who have failed to pay their recognized tax debt.

Discussion: Salon, CBS News, CNBC, UPI, U.S. Department … and Washington Examiner

Internal Revenue Service:
IRS tops $1 billion in past-due taxes collected from millionaires; compliance efforts continue involving high-wealth groups, corporations, partnerships

Discussion: CNN, PoliticusUSA, The Moderate Voice, New York Post, Reason, Quartz, Voice of America, CBS News, Fortune, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Crooks and Liars and Daily Kos

John Whitehouse / Media Matters for America:

Project 2025's plan to upend Medicare should set off alarm bells — Project 2025 is a comprehensive transition plan organized by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to guide the next GOP presidential administration. Its lengthy guidebook, Mandate For Leadership …

Discussion: MSNBC, Las Vegas Review-Journal and al.com

Mark Sumner / Daily Kos:

Donald Trump is dangerous. The media is finally talking about it — On Thursday, The New York Times published an editorial accurately noting that Donald Trump is “dangerous” and “unqualified” to be president. — “[Trump] has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution …

Discussion: The American Spectator, CBS News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, HotAir, USA Today, CNBC, RedState, New York Times, Mediaite and The Wrap

Rob Wile / NBC News:
Inflation continues to slow in the U.S., opening door to Fed rate cut

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Cointelegraph, Fox Business, Los Angeles Times, Politico, CBS News, ABC7, City A.M., USA Today, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Axios, New York Times, NPR, Semafor, CNBC and Reuters

The Big Picture:

Breaking Down Project 2025 — Recently, it's been encouraging to see so many Americans waking up to the danger of Project 2025. Celebrities such as Taraji P. Henson, who spoke repeatedly about it during the recent Black Entertainment Television awards, as well as a grassroots effort …