memeorandum: Election Countdown, 108 Days to Go: Trump's Disastrous Speech Follows Biden's Disastrous Debate. (James Fallows/Breaking the News)

2:10 PM ET, July 21, 2024

Top Items:

Live updates: President Joe Biden ends his 2024 bid — President Joe Biden says he's ready to return to the campaign trail, even as a growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers called for him to step aside. — Meanwhile, Donald Trump on Saturday held his first public campaign rally since …

Discussion: Axios, Associated Press, Washington Post, Forbes, New York Times, Politico, The Daily Beast, 6abc, NBC News and Washington Examiner

Todd Spangler / USA Today:

Trump's edge over Biden takes notable leap in Michigan, new battleground state poll shows — An exclusive new Free Press poll of likely Michigan voters shows former President Donald Trump has taken a notable 7-percentage-point lead over incumbent President Joe Biden in the state …

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite, Breitbart, DNyuz, New York Post and RedState

Aaron Sorkin / New York Times:

How I Would Script This Moment for Biden and the Democrats — The Paley Center for Media just opened an exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of “The West Wing,” the NBC series I wrote from 1999 to 2003. Some of the show's story points have become outdated in the last quarter-century …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Defector, Deadline, Fox News, The Hollywood Reporter, Tusk, OutsideTheBeltway, Mediaite, RedState and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ivan Pereira / ABC News:

Trump favorability rises following shooting, majority of Americans want Biden to end campaign: POLL — More Americans also blame Trump for rise in political violence. — Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, RedState, Mediaite, Times Now and Axios

NBC News:

Election 2024 live updates: Biden says he will end his re-election bid — President Joe Biden said he is stepping aside from the presidential race in a letter posted to X. “It has been the greatest honor of my lift to serve as your president,” he wrote. “And while it has been my intention …

Discussion: ABC News, Reuters, The Guardian, CBS News and Times Now

David Cohen / Politico:

Republicans could file challenges if Biden replaced, Speaker Johnson says — “Every state has its own system,” he said of election laws. — House Speaker Mike Johnson reiterated Sunday that any attempt by Democrats to sub in a new candidate in place of President Joe Biden is likely to be met by legal challenges.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, Fox News and Raw Story

Peter Baker / New York Times:

For Biden, a Decision to Step Aside Would Raise Another Question — As President Biden grapples with the possibility of dropping his bid for re-election, a secondary question looms: Should he endorse his own vice president as the nominee? — President Biden has been saying some awfully nice things …

Discussion: Business Insider, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Politico, Forbes, The Japan Times, The Daily Beast and CNN

Joey Garrison / USA Today:
Democratic Party chairs in 7 battleground states reaffirm support for Biden

Discussion: The Daily Signal

Summer Concepcion / NBC News:
Sen. Joe Manchin joins calls for Biden to drop out of the presidential race

Discussion: NOTUS, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Politico, CBS News, CNBC, Business Insider, Washington Examiner, ABC News, Bloomberg, Semafor, PoliticusUSA, RedState, Associated Press, CNN, Washington Times and USA Today

NBC News:
Biden allies say ‘elites’ are disenfranchising voters who want the president to stay in

Discussion: New York Times and Washington Post

Washington Post:
How Democrats would pick a new candidate if Biden drops out, step by step

Discussion: The Message Box, New York Magazine and Election Law Blog

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 7-21-24: House Speaker Mike Johnson & Sen. Joe Manchin

Discussion: The Guardian, Axios, New York Post, Forbes and ABC7

Zeeshan Aleem / MSNBC:
The Democrats' discord is a sign of a healthy party

Discussion: Raw Story, Hartford Courant and NBC News

Pablo O'Hana / The Hill:
Ready for Round 2: Why we Need Hillary more than ever

Discussion: Breitbart, Fox News, RedState and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:
Republicans' June fundraising is party's strongest month in years

Discussion: Washington Examiner, New York Post and Fox News

Bloomberg:
Biden Plots to Salvage Campaign Many Allies Believe Is Over

Discussion: Breitbart

Stef W. Kight / Axios:
GOP builds new case for Biden resignation

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story and New York Times

Kelly McClure / Salon:

“It's not that complicated”: Pete Buttigieg on why a gay billionaire is backing JD Vance — When asked to weigh in on Peter Thiel's reasons for supporting Vance, Buttigieg broke it down plainly: Money — In a segment of “Real Time with Bill Maher” at the start of the weekend …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and HuffPost

The Daily Beast:

J.D. Vance Pounded Beers and Told Me Trump Threatens America: Comedian — IN VINO VERITAS? — Liberal redneck Trae Crowder says he spent time with J.D. Vance in 2016 “pounding beers” and lamenting how bad President Trump would be for America. — Self-professed “liberal redneck” …

Carole Cadwalladr / The Guardian:
Tech broligarchs are lining up to court Trump. And Vance is one more link in the chain

Discussion: TechCrunch

emptywheel:

Since Leaving Butler, Trump Has Foregone the Best Medical Care and Is Withholding CT Scan Results — Fresh off his stunt calls for Joe Biden to be drug tested during the debate, Ronny Jackson — the lapsed doctor who turned the White House into a pill mill and covered up Trump's near-lethal COVID …

Discussion: HotAir, The Gateway Pundit, The Mahablog, TMZ.com, Associated Press, Politico, New York Post, Breitbart, Washington Times, Axios, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Sun, STAT, Florida Politics and Washington Examiner

emptywheel: Will Peter Baker Exhibit the Same Tenacity about Medical Records on the Trump Shooting as He Did a Parkinson's Conspiracy Theory?

Washington Post:

Secret Service said to have denied requests for more security at Trump events — Top officials repeatedly rejected requests from Trump's security detail for more manpower and gear at events before attempted assassination, at times citing lack of resources, people familiar with the asks said.

Andrea Vacchiano / Fox News:
Trump tells Jesse Watters that he was not warned about gunman, despite reports

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, HotAir, New York Post, Lou Dobbs, TMZ.com, Times Now, DNyuz and RedState

Stephanie McCrummen / The Atlantic:

‘I Guess This Is Normal Politics Now’ — He had closed down the office of the Butler County Democrats and suspended local campaigning. And nearly every hour since a 20-year-old man had tried to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally on the edge of town, Phil Heasley, a party co-chair …

Alex Thompson / Axios:

Biden's Obama grudge drives 2024 resolve … - Many Obama advisers pressured Biden to not run in 2016 and Biden's resentment over that episode has diminished Obama's influence with Biden as the president contemplates his path forward. — If Obama directly pushed Biden to not to run this time …

Discussion: Instapundit, Raw Story and The Unz Review

Tim Adams / The Guardian:

Pulitzer-winning author Anne Applebaum: ‘Often, for autocrats, the second time in power is worse’ — The journalist tells of her fears for democracy's future, the dangers of another Trump presidency and how her husband became Poland's foreign minister — A couple of years ago …

James Fallows / Breaking the News:

Election Countdown, 108 Days to Go: Trump's Disastrous Speech Follows Biden's Disastrous Debate. — A simple proposal for the press: Give one of these disasters as much attention as you've given the other. — ∙ Paid — This post has one central point.

Discussion: Business Insider and Diane Ravitch's blog