Biden Plans Public Events Blitz as White House Pushes Back on Pressure to Leave the Race

President Joe Biden greets employees at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center after receiving a briefing on extreme weather a briefing from National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and Department of Labor officials on extreme weather throughout the United States, in Washington, DC, USA, 02 July 2024. (EPA)
President Joe Biden greets employees at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center after receiving a briefing on extreme weather a briefing from National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and Department of Labor officials on extreme weather throughout the United States, in Washington, DC, USA, 02 July 2024. (EPA)
TT

Biden Plans Public Events Blitz as White House Pushes Back on Pressure to Leave the Race

President Joe Biden greets employees at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center after receiving a briefing on extreme weather a briefing from National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and Department of Labor officials on extreme weather throughout the United States, in Washington, DC, USA, 02 July 2024. (EPA)
President Joe Biden greets employees at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center after receiving a briefing on extreme weather a briefing from National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and Department of Labor officials on extreme weather throughout the United States, in Washington, DC, USA, 02 July 2024. (EPA)

The White House announced Tuesday that President Joe Biden will meet with congressional leaders and Democratic governors, sit for a network TV interview and hold a press conference in the coming days, a blitz designed to push back against growing pressure for the 81-year-old president to step aside in the 2024 race after his disastrous performance in last week’s debate with Republican Donald Trump.

“We really want to turn the page on this,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the intensifying calls for Biden to bow out of the race. She added that the president had no intention of stepping aside, characterizing his debate failings as simply evidence of “a bad night” when he had a cold.

But Democratic leaders were increasingly signaling that they were not buying White House attempts to brush off Biden's performance in the face-off as a momentary lapse, after he gave halting and nonsensical answers and trailed off at times.

There's growing anxiety among donors and on Capitol Hill about the president's ability to win come November, according to people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations. And it's not helping that Biden has yet to reach out to legislators, who are growing increasingly frustrated that the White House has not satisfactorily explained how such a seasoned politician could have performed so badly.

Questions swirled about whether this was an isolated incident or part of a pattern. Two people who spend time with Biden behind closed doors described him similarly: He was often very sharp and focused. But he also had moments, particularly later in the evening, when his thoughts seemed jumbled and he'd trail off mid-sentence or seem confused. Those people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the president's interactions behind closed doors.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC that she believes “it is a legitimate question” whether Biden’s performance was just “an episode or is this a condition.”

“When people ask that question, it’s legitimate — of both candidates,” Pelosi said.

But she did not go so far as to ask him to step aside. Pelosi said she had not spoken with Biden since the debate, but she emphasized that the president is on “top of his game, in terms of knowing the issues and what is at stake.” And a spokesperson later said Pelosi had full confidence in Biden and "looks forward to attending his inauguration on January 20, 2025.”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democratic member of Congress to publicly call for Biden to step down. Doggett, who is 77 and has been a fixture on Capitol Hill since the mid-1990s, said Biden should “make the painful and difficult decision” to withdraw, citing the president's inability to “effectively defend his many accomplishments” in the debate.

Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate Democrat from Maine, said in a local newspaper column Tuesday that the debate “didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”

Biden has acknowledged that he had performed poorly, telling supporters he was not as young as he once was, but that he knew how to deliver doing the job. But allies worry that the next inevitable misstep by Biden — even if it’s not at the magnitude of his debate disaster — will resurrect voter concerns about the president’s fitness for office.

The president has been encouraged by his family to stay in the race. The two people who carry the most weight — first lady Jill Biden and his son Hunter — have said he should keep fighting. Hunter Biden is in Washington to celebrate the July 4th holiday and stopped by at least one meeting with his father briefly, according to two people with direct knowledge of the events who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

Jean-Pierre said Biden, who has not taken questions from reporters since Thursday night’s debate, would meet with top congressional leaders, and on Wednesday would host a meeting with Democratic governors. White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zeints was set to speak again with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday afternoon, one of the people said.

Biden also agreed to sit for an interview Friday with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that will air at least in part later that day. He has planned trips to Wisconsin on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday. And he will hold a press conference during the NATO summit in Washington next week.

The White House was also holding an all-staff meeting on Wednesday, billed as a morale-booster following the debate and a chance for the senior team to keep the staff focused around governing, according to three people familiar with the details who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

The president's stepped-up schedule comes after a private discussion within Biden’s campaign about what can be done to counteract the damaging impression left by last week’s debate. On Monday, Biden met with emergency management workers in Washington, jauntily walking the room and smiling and joking as he thanked the teams for their work.

“We’re going to get out there, across the country. Americans are going to see him for themselves,” Jean-Pierre said at a White House briefing, rejecting any suggestion that the president undergo cognitive testing or provide additional information on his medical condition.

When asked whether the president had a degenerative illness or dementia, Jean-Pierre said: “No. And I hope you’re asking the other guy the same question,” she said, referring to Trump, who is 78 and once challenged Biden to a cognitive test, only to confuse who administered the test to him in the next sentence.

Biden is trying to keep the focus on Trump, as he has throughout the campaign. In remarks Monday, he drew a sharp contrast with the presumptive Republican nominee on obeying the rule of law. He said the Supreme Court ruling that granted Trump and other presidents broad immunity would make an unchecked Trump “more emboldened to do whatever he wants” if he regains the White House.

Part of the anxiety for Democrats right now, some of the people said, is that with the focus so squarely on Biden, there has been less attention paid to Trump, whose debate performance was riddled with falsehoods about the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Democrats’ views on abortion rights and a 2017 neo-Nazi rally in which he said: “You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”



Putin, Xi Advance Anti-West Alliance At Central Asian Summit

Putin and Xi regularly meet under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) alliance - AFP
Putin and Xi regularly meet under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) alliance - AFP
TT

Putin, Xi Advance Anti-West Alliance At Central Asian Summit

Putin and Xi regularly meet under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) alliance - AFP
Putin and Xi regularly meet under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) alliance - AFP

The leaders of China and Russia on Thursday urged their allies and partners to resist malign external influence, advancing their shared anti-Western agenda at a regional summit in Central Asia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were in the Kazakh capital of Astana for a gathering of leaders from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional bloc that Moscow and Beijing see as a counterweight to US "hegemony" on the world stage.

Xi called on the countries to "resist external interference" while Putin claimed "new centers" of political and economic might were on the rise.

"We should join hands to resist external interference, firmly support each other, take care of each other's concerns... and firmly control the future and destiny of our countries and regional peace and development in our own hands," Xi told the summit.

"It is of vital importance to the world that the SCO be on the right side of history and on the side of fairness and justice," he added, AFP reported.

In a joint declaration, published by the Kremlin, the group noted "tectonic shifts in global politics" and called for the bloc to play an enhanced role in global and regional security.

"The use of force is increasing, the norms of international law are systemically being violated, geopolitical confrontation and conflicts are growing, and risks to stability in the world and the SCO region are multiplying," it stated.

"The multipolar world has become a reality," Putin said in remarks at the summit.

He also hailed the accession of Russia's close ally Belarus to the bloc, becoming its tenth member.

"The circle of states that stand for a just world order and are ready to resolutely defend their legitimate rights and protect traditional values is expanding," Putin said.

"New centers of power and economic growth are strengthening," he added.

Western-sanctioned Iran joined as a full member last year.

The SCO was founded in 2001 but has come to prominence in recent years. Alongside China, Russia and Belarus, its full members are: India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

It is intended to be a platform for cooperation in competition with the West, with a focus on security and economics and Central Asia in particular, and claims to represent 40 percent of the global population and about 30 percent of its GDP.

But it is a disparate group with many internal disagreements, including territorial disputes.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has further increased major powers' interest in Central Asia, where Moscow is seeking to maintain its traditional sway but where China now has strong ties through its flagship Belt and Road infrastructure project.

The West is also vying for influence in the strategically important region, rich in oil and gas and a crucial transport route between Asia and Europe.

Despite the tussle for influence, at the summit on Thursday, the SCO's common anti-Western agenda was on clear display.

In the final declaration, the bloc criticised the "unilateral and unrestricted build-up" of missile defence systems by unnamed countries and regional alliances -- a common complaint of both Moscow and Beijing aimed at the United States.

They also called for an "early, complete and sustainable ceasefire" in Gaza with a "comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian question."

Pakistan's foreign ministry on Thursday announced it would host the next summit of leaders in October.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the ministry's spokesperson, said "all heads of governments of SCO member states" would be welcomed when asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of neighbouring rival India, would be invited.

Modi did not attend this summit, but is expected in Moscow in the coming days, his first visit to the country since Russia invaded Ukraine.