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President Biden is ‘absolutely not’ considering dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. 

The White House has maintained Biden will continue running for a second term, even amid pressure from Democrats and former staffers and allies to step aside. 

A New York Times report was published Wednesday morning suggesting that Biden had spoken privately with confidants about the possibility of dropping out of the race.  

But when asked during the briefing if Biden would drop out of the race, Jean-Pierre was defiant. 

‘Absolutely not,’ she said. ‘And you heard, I think, I believe directly from the campaign as well.’ 

Jean-Pierre maintained that the president’s poor debate performance was due to his having ‘a cold’ and echoed his own explanation from Tuesday night — that he was still recovering from ‘jet lag’ following his trip to Europe for the G-7 summit. 

‘It was not his best night. He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question, but we cannot forget his record and what he’s been able to do. We cannot forget how he has been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years,’ she said. ‘That matters too. And he has the most historic record, the most in modern politics, and that should matter.’

Jean-Pierre said Biden ‘wants to continue to do that work.’ 

‘A lot of what’s on his agenda is very much popular with the majority of the American people, whether it is continuing to build a strong economic — economic policies — he’s done that, creating new jobs — he’s done that — 15 million jobs. He wants to work on that and continue to do that. And so he wants to continue to deliver, expanding health care — all of these things he believes is important,’ she said. ‘He wants to make sure that people do not forget about the record that he has been able to lay out on behalf of the American people.’ 

Jean-Pierre again stressed that the debate was just ‘a bad night.’ 

‘It was not his best night. He had a cold. He was jetlagged. You heard directly from the president about this,’ she said. ‘And when we get knocked out, when he gets knocked down, he gets right back up.’ 

She added: ‘That’s what I would focus on. The president continues to be very steady and continuing to work for the American people.’ 

Jean-Pierre maintained Wednesday that Biden ‘is staying in the race.’ 

Biden himself said: ‘I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out.’ 

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly made a surprise appearance on a Democratic National Committee call, in a reported effort to try to calm chaos among allies within the party after the debate. 

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients urged people during an all-staff meeting Wednesday to tune out the ‘noise’ and focus on the task of governing.

Jean-Pierre confirmed Zients’ efforts, noting that he acknowledged to White House staffers that the last several days have been difficult. 

Biden reportedly has made outreach on his own, and spoke with top Democratic lawmakers like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons and South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn. 

But the chief of staff also encouraged White House aides to ‘continue being a team’ and to tune out negativity and stay focused on the work of governing. 

Jean-Pierre was also asked about comments Biden made in 2020, in which he referred to himself as a transition candidate, and hoped to be a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders. 

She responded by saying Vice President Kamala Harris is ‘the future of the party.’ 

‘His statement stands. I mean, one of the reason why he picked the vice president, President Kamala Harris, is because she is indeed the future of the party,’ Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden is ‘very proud to have partnered with her and continue to partner with her and delivering an unprecedented record for the American people.’ 

‘And I think he’s going to continue, certainly to do that. They’re going to do that as partners. Like I said, I just saw them before walking into the briefing room. We they stopped by to talk to me and my team, and they’re ready to go. They’re ready to continue. So the transition would happen in eight years,’ she said. ‘I mean — I’m not going to get into, speculate from here. But you ask me if his remarks and statement still stands. Yes, it still does.’ 

Meanwhile, Biden is planning to host Democrat governors Wednesday night for a meeting. 

Among the Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California, according to their aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were planning on attending virtually.

A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released this week found that more four in 10 Democrats said the Democratic Party should intervene and replace Biden as the nominee. Overall, 54% of the voters polled were in favor of Biden dropping out.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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There are multiple letters circulating among House Democrats that would call for President Biden to step aside in the 2024 White House race, two sources familiar with those discussions told Fox News Digital.

Efforts have included both vulnerable Democrats in swing districts and left-wing lawmakers in safe seats, one of the sources said.

The letters are mainly being circulated at the member level right now, sources said, with lawmakers closely guarding the monumental decision they are weighing.

‘Everyone is guarded now,’ one senior House Democratic member told Fox News. ‘People may be just doing what they believe is best for them.’

It comes after Reuters first reported that a group of 25 House Democrats was preparing to call on Biden to step aside as the 2024 candidate if he does not buck concerns that he’s not up to the task within a matter of days.

House Democratic leaders have not seen that letter, Fox News is told.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News was first to report on the effort by safe-seat Democrats on Wednesday.

The news emerges as more Democrats come forward to publicly express their concerns about the 81-year-old president’s fitness for office. Questions about his physical and mental condition were brought to the forefront during last Thursday’s debate between Biden and former President Trump.

Democrats are now questioning whether Biden is the best positioned candidate to beat Trump, who they largely view as a threat to democracy.

The dam broke on Tuesday afternoon when Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, became the first sitting House Democrat to outright call for Biden to pull out of the race.

‘My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,’ Doggett said in a statement. ‘Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.’

Hours later, Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. – two of the most vulnerable Democrats this election cycle – came out and said Biden would likely lose to Trump.

The Biden campaign told Fox News Digital in response to Democrats’ concerns, ‘He is absolutely not dropping out.’

Biden’s allies have pointed out over the last couple of days that he has been in contact with both Congressional Democratic leaders, and that he’s taken steps to alleviate concerns like agreeing to a sit-down interview with ABC News and announcing a press conference for the coming days

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Several top Democratic lawmakers expressed their anger over President Biden’s public denial and deflection about his rocky debate performance, according to a report Wednesday. 

Some Democratic members of Congress told Axios they want Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to privately encourage Biden to step aside. 

Multiple lawmakers reportedly told the outlet they are enraged Biden had slow-walked reaching out to Democratic leadership after the debate, much less the rank-and-file members in competitive races. Those members, who were not named in the report, said they fear the president could jeopardize Democrats’ chances of holding the Senate majority or regaining control of the House in November.   

‘I don’t know who’s making decisions,’ one House Democrat reportedly told Axios. ‘Why the hell isn’t Biden on the phone with congressional leadership?… Everybody now thinks he could cost us the majority.’

The White House said Biden spoke with Jeffries on Tuesday. 

Lauren Hitt, a Biden campaign spokesperson, told Axios the president ‘has spoken personally with multiple elected officials on the Hill and across the battlegrounds since the debate.’

According to the report, lawmakers privately are growing fearful Biden is consulting only family members or people on his payroll in determining whether he should stay in the race. As the president’s inner circle slims, the lawmakers told Axios they’re certain Biden’s family doesn’t want him exposed to outside criticism, even if it comes from friends. 

At a campaign fundraiser in McLean, Virginia, Tuesday night, Biden blamed his poor debate performance on his foreign travel in June, which included a visit to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, according to a print pool report with notes from a small group of journalists permitted to attend the private event. 

‘I decided to travel around the world a couple of times,’ Biden reportedly told a group of donors.

‘I didn’t listen to my staff,’ the president said, adding that he ‘came back and nearly fell asleep on stage.’

Biden rested for two days in Delaware and spent another six days preparing for the debate at Camp David in Maryland following his back-to-back trips to Europe, the New York Times reported. 

His debate preparation also never began before 11 a.m. and the president ‘was given time for an afternoon nap each day,’ the newspaper said. 

The White House claimed Biden ‘was working well before then, after exercising.’

Even Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a longtime Biden ally, admitted in an interview Tuesday on MSNBC’s ‘Andrea Mitchell Reports’ that it’s a ‘legitimate question’ to express concern about Biden’s debate performance. 

‘I think it’s a legitimate question to say, is this an episode, or is this a condition? And so when people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate – of both candidates,’ Pelosi said. ‘Both candidates owe whatever test you want to put them to, in terms of their mental acuity and their health – both of them.’ 

Biden also agreed to an interview Friday with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. 

Axios reported that major Democratic donors are now planning to move large contributions instead to House and Senate candidates before what they see as a likely second term for former President Trump. 

Even Democrats who once accused Trump supporters of ‘gaslighting’ by expressing concerns about 81-year-old Biden’s age and mental fitness are reportedly fed up with Biden, more so over his downplaying and deflection in the debate’s aftermath, rather than over the debate itself. 

‘Strangely, we are getting to the point where it may not have been the debate that did him in, but the aftermath of how they’ve handled it,’ a top Democratic operative told Axios.

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President Biden is seriously considering whether he can continue on as the Democratic presidential nominee, according to a report.

The New York Times on Wednesday reported that Biden has told a ‘key ally’ that he knows he may not be able to win re-election if he cannot convince the American people he is fit to serve after his disastrous debate performance. 

‘The president, who the ally emphasized is still deeply in the fight for re-election, understands that his next few appearances heading into the holiday weekend — including an interview scheduled for Friday with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — must go well,’ the report said. 

‘He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place’ by the end of the weekend, the unnamed source told the Times. 

Another top adviser to the president reportedly said Biden was ‘well aware of the political challenge he faces.’ 

White House spokesman Andrew Bates disputed the report shortly after it was published.

‘That claim is absolutely false. If the New York Times had provided us with more than 7 minutes to comment, we would have told them so,’ he told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy Biden campaign manager, likewise said on Wednesday the report was ‘false’ during an appearance on CNN.

‘There are a number of rumors floating out there. The president is in this race to win it. He is the Democratic nominee. And from our perspective, we are going to continue to do everything we can to make sure that we’re building a campaign apparatus, to reach voters,’ Fulks said. 

Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is facing the roughest stretch of his bid for a second term in the White House. 

His halting delivery and stumbling answers at the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and party donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer. In the past 24 hours, a small but growing number of elected Democrats have also urged the president to end his re-election bid.

Biden will meet with Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday, just days after Democratic Governors Association (DGA) Chair Gov. Tim Walz led a conference call with the DGA to discuss the fallout from the debate. 

A number of the governors, including some who have been speculated as potential replacements on the extreme long-shot chance that Biden would step away from his re-election bid, have acknowledged the president’s debate performance was shaky but remained committed to supporting the president.

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released this week found that more than 4 in 10 Democrats said the Democratic Party should intervene and replace Biden as the nominee. Overall, 54% of the voters polled were in favor of Biden dropping out.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.

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The Trump campaign slammed the White House and the Biden campaign for calling former President Donald Trump’s mental acuity into question.

‘Never in history has a debate resulted in a candidate’s own donors and surrogates pondering whether their candidate should stay in the race, until now,’ Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital.

The comment comes after the White House and Biden campaign questioned former President Trump’s fitness to serve, a response to questions that continue to swirl around President Biden’s mental acuity.

Asked during a news conference Tuesday if Biden had Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said ‘no’ while hinting that the ‘same exact question’ should be asked of the ‘other guy,’ referring to Trump.

Biden continues to face widespread skepticism about his ability to win the election and serve another term as president in the wake of a disastrous debate performance last week, resulting in many calling on the president to step aside and let a younger candidate take over at the top of the ticket.

The Biden campaign has acknowledged the president’s poor performance but pushed back against the idea he would drop out of the race, arguing Biden still has the ability to lead and is the party’s best chance at defeating Trump.

The campaign has also begun calling Trump’s cognitive ability into question, citing times the former president has confused who he was talking about.

‘Donald Trump is unhinged and out-of-control, determined to make this country a dictatorship and punish his enemies with new powers handed to him by the Supreme Court – while also confusing Joe Biden for Barack Obama, Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi, and routinely ranting and raving about nonsense like sharks and windmills,’ a campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

But the Trump campaign pushed back hard against the suggestion Wednesday, with Leavitt telling Fox News Digital that Trump ‘undeniably dominated Joe Biden in the debate and held him accountable for his failure, weakness, and dishonesty.’

‘While it’s been another bad week for Biden, it’s been a terrible three and a half years for the nation,’ Leavitt said. ‘Inflation is crushing every family, Biden’s border invasion is bringing crime to every community, and weakness from the White House is encouraging chaos and war around the globe – and that is why President Trump continues to dominate Joe Biden in every poll. Americans feel the sharp contrast in their lives under President Trump and Biden.’

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A public moment last month when President Biden appeared temporarily unable to say the name of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly left allies alarmed and ‘shaken up.’

The incident took place on June 18 at an event celebrating the anniversary of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected some illegal immigrants from deportation.

As he spoke, Biden introduced Mayorkas, who has served in a high-profile role since 2021 and has been the main official dealing with the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

‘Thanks to all the members of the Congress and Homeland Security Secretary,’ he said, pausing. ‘I…I’m not sure I’m going to introduce you all the way.’ 

He then added, ‘But all kidding aside, Secretary Mayorkas.’

The New York Times reported this week that two people with a clear view of Biden, who has fought a stutter throughout his life, said that his soft-spoken mumbling and fumbling over words left some concerned.

The Times reported that President Biden’s tone and the struggle to name Mayorkas led to allies trading ‘alarmed looks’ and later describing themselves as ‘shaken up.’ However, another person said they hoped it was a ‘one-off’ bad moment for Biden.

The report comes amid broader concerns about Biden’s mental acuity that have been bubbling for years, but they boiled over at last week’s presidential debate, where Biden was widely seen to have performed poorly.

It has sparked calls from some Democrats and some liberal media outlets that the president should drop out of the 2024 election. 

The Times’ Editorial Board penned an op-ed last week titled ‘To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race.’

However, the White House and the Biden campaign have repeatedly dismissed those questions about his health.

‘Does President Biden, at 81 years old, have Alzheimer’s, any form of dementia or degenerative illness that cause these sorts of lapses? And it’s a yes or no question,’ a reporter asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday afternoon.

‘Are you ready for it? It’s a no. And I hope you’re asking the other guy the same exact question,’ Jean-Pierre responded, referring to former President Trump.

Biden himself addressed his poor debate performance last week at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.

‘Folks, I know I’m not a young man. But I know how to do this job. I know right from wrong. I know how to tell the truth,’ Biden said. ‘And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up.’

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

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President Biden’s lackluster debate performance has turned the spotlight to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has started to show off a more visible campaign role as November approaches.

Harris suddenly figures to play a defining role in the campaign down the stretch, a turnaround for a vice president that many critics have panned as a potential liability for Democrats in November.

The negativity surrounding Harris even garnered calls for the vice president to step away from the campaign as recently as March, and one Washington Post column called on Harris to ‘step aside’ for ‘the country’s sake.’

Now, some have speculated Harris could take over at the top of the ticket after Biden’s debate performance. The vice president’s visibility already started to increase before last week. 

Media outlets have taken notice, leading to an avalanche of positive press for the vice president in recent months. Harris was called ‘Biden’s secret weapon in North Carolina’ in a report in The Hill, which noted the vice president made her fifth trip to the battleground state last month and has led the outreach to Black communities, a largely Democratic demographic Biden has struggled to court in his rematch with former President Trump.

‘She’s one of the administration’s best spokespeople to the Black community,’ Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons told The Hill. ‘The president has been making the case to the Black community as well, but obviously the VP has a different kind of appeal.’ 

A February report in the Los Angeles Times declared that Harris had finally ‘found her groove,’ citing the vice president’s appeal to younger voters and her voice on issues such as abortion.

‘She’s become a top fundraiser for Democrats, an emissary to groups that are lukewarm toward President Biden — in particular Black and younger voters — and emerged as the administration’s most forceful voice on abortion, women’s health and, as Harris frames it, the threat Trump poses to freedom and individual choice,’ the story said.

A few months later, a New York Times report declared the ‘Harris moment has arrived,’ calling her the ‘perfect messenger’ for the campaign for issues such as ‘reproductive rights.’

Some polls have seemingly caught on to the vice president’s strengthening position, with a Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted last month finding the vice president gaining strength with key demographics, including a 67% favorable rating among Black voters.

The poll represented a turnaround for Harris, who had trailed Biden with Black voters going back to the 2020 primary. But she now leads the president in the crucial Democratic voting bloc by four points.

‘She’s been good at energizing active bases that Democrats have really needed — young Black voters, Black women. These are constituencies that Democrats can never take for granted,’ Democratic strategist Trip Yang told Politico.

Harris’ visibility has only increased since the debate performance, with the vice president serving as a defender of the president across multiple networks in the minutes after the debate. She has also been active on the campaign trail, making stops in Las Vegas, Utah, and Southern California in the days following the debate.

While many prominent Democrats have publicly backed Biden remaining the party’s nominee, there have been growing cries for Harris to take over at the top of the ticket. A New York Times opinion column the day after the debate declared that Harris ‘could win this election,’ while a Vox Media column asked ‘what about Kamala?’

Former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio became one of the first nationally prominent Democrats to publicly advocate for Harris to take over for Biden.

‘We have to rip the band aid off!  Too much is at stake,’ Ryan said in a post on X Tuesday, adding that Harris has ‘significantly grown into her job.’

‘She will destroy Trump in debate, highlight choice issue, energize our base, bring back young voters and give us generational change,’ said Ryan, who lost his 2022 Senate bid to Republican JD Vance. ‘It’s time!’

Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett Tuesday became the first actively-serving Democrat on Capitol Hill to call on Biden to step aside from the presidential race. 

‘Our overriding consideration must be who has the best hope of saving our democracy from an authoritarian takeover by a criminal and his gang,’ he said in a statement. ‘Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory – too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now.’

Unlike Ryan, Doggett did not say whether he preferred Harris or another Democrat to replace Biden.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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President Biden’s weak first debate may not prove to be his ultimate undoing if history is a barometer. Incumbents often struggle to find their footing but, in the end, win re-election. 

‘Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,’ Barack Obama wrote on social media platform X Friday. ‘But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.’

Biden faced scathing criticism from the media and prompted reports of panic within his party after what many described as a disastrous faceoff with Trump. The pair stood even in the polls before the debate, but Trump gained a few points over the weekend after the debate. 

Biden appeared to struggle with his answers and stumbled with his words, prompting Trump at one point to say, ‘I have no idea what he just said.’ Democratic governors have scheduled a meeting with Biden for later this week, and Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, on Tuesday became the first elected Democrat to urge Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race and allow a new candidate to face Trump. 

Biden Campaign Chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon pointed to history to defend the president’s performance, telling NBC in an interview that ‘every incumbent president that I can remember in my lifetime has had a s—– first debate.’

‘Obviously, the stakes are higher for us because we are up against Donald Trump,’ she continued. ‘Obviously, we have more work to do because the president is 81, but it was also a terrible debate in 2012. I was there. I remember it clearly.’ 

Dillon argued that June was early enough in the campaign cycle for Biden to correct course as several of his predecessors have managed to do. 

Obama faced a baptism of fire following his first debate with Republican nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, waking up to see such headlines as ‘Why was President Obama so bad?’ from the likes of the liberal-leaning Washington Post. 

Politico’s headline said, simply, ‘Obama stumbles’ after the Oct. 3, 2012 debate in Denver, the first of three that saw Obama win his second term despite weaknesses the press had seized on from that first night. 

The Washington Post claimed the Obama seen on the debate stage in Denver ‘was virtually unrecognizable to the person who swept to victory in 2008.’ Al Gore tried to defend the president by arguing he was possibly caught off guard by Denver’s unusually high altitude.

No one will forget how Ronald Reagan gave a limp performance in the Oct. 7, 1984, debate against Walter Mondale in Louisville. Reagan held a commanding lead in the polls despite concerns about his age. At the time, he was 73, the oldest person to ever hold the office of president. But the polls narrowed by seven points, reflecting the view that Mondale had trounced his opponent, according to Slate. 

Polling conducted after George W. Bush’s first debate against opponent John Kerry in 2004 found voters considered Kerry the winner by a two-to-one margin, and Pew Research found that while Bush overall maintained his lead, his margin ‘slipped’ over the following weekend. 

In fact, Pew noted that, for the first time in its 16 years analyzing polls, a Democratic candidate made a better showing among likely voters than on the basis of all registered voters. The organization labeled the ‘high level of Democratic motivation to vote’ as ‘surprising’ as only half of Democratic voters seemed convinced Kerry would win the election. 

Many described Bush as ‘defensive’ and ‘nervous’ in his responses even though they also described Kerry as ‘arrogant’ and, at times, ‘indecisive.’ Those polled also found Bush to be ‘honest’ compared to the more ‘confident’ Kerry. 

In the case of Bush versus Kerry, Pew made clear the motivation of voters often can override perceived performance in a one-off debate. Bush’s supporters ‘overwhelmingly’ wanted to vote for him rather than against Kerry while Kerry’s supporters were more interested in voting against Bush than for Kerry. 

Brett O’Donnell, a Republican communications strategist and president of O’Donnell & Associates, told Fox News Digital that sitting presidents can effectively get lost in the weeds on policy and major issues facing the country and ‘don’t take debate prep seriously.’ 

‘They deal with these issues in a very deep way, more so than they did as candidates, as president,’ O’Donnell said. ‘So, I think they confuse knowing the issues with being able to perform in a presidential debate.

‘I call it the incumbent trap, and it actually goes back further than that because Carter’s first debate with Reagan was a disaster. So, these guys — the incumbents — seem to … they forget the importance of performance as they need to know issues.’

O’Donnell argued that while he doesn’t like to ascribe an advantage to one side or the other, he believes Republicans have a ‘better message,’ and that makes it easier to connect with Americans. 

‘It’s the message of the American Dream, where if you work hard, play by the rules, that there are opportunities in this country that you can take advantage of,’ O’Donnell explained. ‘The Democrats’ answer to that has always been government, and I don’t think that’s a particularly effective message for the public at large.

‘It might be for some segments of the audience, but it’s not generally for the American public. They want to believe in the American Dream, and Republicans have defended that for decades.’ 

As O’Donnell noted, a few incumbents have failed to perform in their first debates and ultimately could not overcome their opponents, failing to win re-election, starting with President Carter. 

Fox News Digital reached out to several Democratic strategists, but none replied before publication.

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The Democratic Party and its allies are ‘coming to terms’ with the fact that President Biden is ‘not in control’ of his administration following the president’s disastrous debate performance, according to a congressman who served as a physician in the White House under three administrations.

Democrats are ‘now coming to terms with the reality that concerned Americans and I have shared for many years, which is that President Biden is not in control and he is not in charge. They are for the first time acknowledging that this is a grave concern for our national security and the integrity of our democracy,’ Rep. Ronny Jackson told Fox News Digital this week. 

‘I’ve gone to no lengths to hide my true opinions about Joe Biden and his policies that are wrecking our country. In tandem, I have consistently shared my concerns as a former doctor of three United States Presidents regarding his fitness for office. Joe Biden was never fit for the job, and he sure as heck isn’t fit for the job moving forward. It is absolutely crazy to think he could lead this country 4-year term as our President,’ Jackson added. 

The Texas Republican previously served as physician to the president under both the Obama and Trump administrations, after previously serving in the White House Medical Unit in the George W. Bush administration. Jackson has been at the forefront of sounding the alarm on Biden’s mental acuity since he announced his candidacy for the White House in 2020. 

Jackson’s comments come as former Homeland Security Secretary under the Obama administration, Jeh Johnson, said in an MSNBC interview this week hat he still supports Biden’s re-election campaign due to Biden’s cabinet members. 

‘A presidency is more than just one man,’ Johnson said on MSNBC on Tuesday. ‘I would take Joe Biden at his worst day at age 86 so long as he has people around him like Avril Haines, Samantha Power, Gina Raimondo supporting him, over Trump any day.’ 

‘I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man we’ve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for eight years.’

Concern over the president’s mental fitness and age is at a fever pitch this summer, following last Thursday’s debate performance where the president tripped over his words, lost his train of thought at times, delivered responses with a raspy voice, and was overall slammed for having a slow and weak demeanor while squaring up against former President Donald Trump. 

‘We finally beat Medicare,’ Biden said amid one his debate gaffes, with Trump responding that Biden is destroying the senior-focused health insurance program. 

Moments later, when Biden and Trump traded barbs over the immigration crisis, Trump slammed Biden for his rambling response.

‘I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either,’ Trump shot back. 

Jackson continued in his comments to Fox News Digital that President Biden is ‘not the same man’ that America knew during his tenure as former President Obama’s veep. 

‘In 2020, I was criticizing candidate Joe Biden for his apparent lack of fitness for his first potential term,’ he said. ‘I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man we’ve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for eight years.’

‘I’ve gone to no lengths to hide my true opinions about Joe Biden and his policies that are wrecking our country. In tandem, I have consistently shared my concerns as a former doctor of three United States Presidents regarding his fitness for office. Joe Biden was never fit for the job, and he sure as heck isn’t fit for the job moving forward. It is absolutely crazy to think he could lead this country 4-year term as our President.’ 

The White House brushed off Jackson’s comments when approached by Fox News Digital, comparing Jackson to a doctor character from ‘The Simpsons.’

‘We’ll put this in the same box where we keep the rest of Dr. Nick Riviera’s fan mail,’ White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. 

Following the debate, Jackson argued the Democratic Party made an about-face with its support of Biden. Left-wing media pundits were among the first to express concern over the debate performance, taking over the airways immediately after the debate ended, expressing shock over the president’s performance. 

‘I just want to speak from my heart,’ CNN political commentator and former Obama adviser Van Jones said in an emotional response on Thursday evening. ‘I love that guy. That’s a good man. He loves his country. He‘s doing the best that he can, but he had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence of the country and of the base. And he failed to do that. And there‘s a lot of people who are going to want to see him consider taking a different course now.’

‘We‘re still far from our convention, and there is time for this party to figure out a different way forward, if he will allow us to do that,’ he continued. ‘But that was not what we needed from Joe Biden, and it’s personally painful for a lot of people. It‘s not just panic, it’s pain of what we saw tonight.’ 

Vice President Kamala Harris soon hit the news channels following the debate to defend the president’s performance, including having a testy exchange with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

‘Democratic lawmakers watching the debate were worried about the performance. One said it was a disaster and another called it a train wreck. Those are Democrats especially worried that Biden did not punch back on Trump‘s lies,’ Cooper said. 

Harris attempted to pivot to lambasting Trump as a liar, but Cooper cut her off. 

‘All that may be true, but the President of the United States was not able to make that case to Donald Trump on the stage tonight,’ Cooper said. ‘You debated against then-Vice President Biden four years ago, and he was a very different person on the stage four years ago when you debated him. That‘s certainly true, is it not?’

‘The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant.’

— The New York Times editorial board

Thursday’s late-night media analysis of the debate soon cascaded into legacy outlets, including the New York Times and Chicago Tribune, calling on Biden to devise an exit strategy and drop out of the race. 

The New York Times described a blunt assessment of Biden, saying, he ‘is not the man he was four years ago.’

‘The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant. He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term. He struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s provocations. He struggled to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his lies, his failures and his chilling plans. More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence,’ the editorial board wrote. ‘Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.’

Jackson told Fox News Digital that ongoing inflation, the spiraling immigration crisis, and the ‘weaponization of our justice system’ under the Biden administration is due to an ‘inner circle’ at the White House making decisions as opposed to the president himself. 

‘The past three and a half years have revealed what happens when you have a physically and mentally incapacitated President who is not making the decisions. Instead, his ‘inner circle,’ led by Jill Biden and radical progressive staffers in the administration, are pulling the strings and deciding the fate of our country. Sadly, they have put our country into a death spiral,’ he said. ‘Americans have had to suffer through raging inflation, a wide-open border, unprecedented crime in the streets, and the weaponization of our justice system. Meanwhile, our Commander-in-Chief, who is responsible for the nuclear codes, shuffles around oblivious to everything around him.’

 

A White House official told the media that Biden had a cold during the debate, ostensibly in a bid to explain Biden’s performance and raspy voice. Jackson squelched that narrative, arguing Biden’s behavior Thursday was more of the same America has witnessed since 2020. 

‘I don’t believe President Biden had a cold. For several years now, we’ve seen and heard the same Joe Biden we witnessed at the debate who speaks softly, slurs his speech, and appears confused. Unfortunately it was on full display during the debate and our adversaries, our allies, and the whole world watched in disbelief that this could possibly continue to be the leader of the free world,’ he said. 

Amid left-wing media outrage over the debate performance and some Democratic politicians joining the media’s chorus calling for Biden to step aside, the president and his circle of allies have defended him remaining in the race. Biden hit the campaign trial following the debate, visiting North Carolina for an event last Friday, before traveling to the Northeast for fundraisers. 

‘I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,’ Biden told the several dozen people at a New Jersey fundraiser. 

‘Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on Jan. 6,’ he added. ‘People remember the bad things during his presidency.’

First lady Jill Biden has also been at the forefront of defending her husband remaining in the race. 

‘[We] will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been president. We will continue to fight,’ Jill Biden told Vogue. The first lady is Vogue’s cover story for its August edition. 

‘[President Biden] will always do what’s best for the country.’

‘The contrast between Trump and Biden has never been clearer than after Thursday’s debate, and it’s time to turn a new page for America and provide real leadership both domestically and on the world stage.’

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Biden’s mental fitness has come under scrutiny for years, which was compounded in February when Special Counsel Robert Hur published his report investigating the president’s handling of classified documents after his departure as vice president under the Obama administration. 

The report stated Hur would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden ‘a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’

The Wall Street Journal also published a piece earlier this year based on dozens of interviews with lawmakers and administration officials who characterized Biden as losing his mental edge and showing his age in meetings. The White House slammed the article as a partisan hit piece. 

As calls ring out among members of the media and some Democrats for Biden to step aside, Fox News confirmed the Democratic National Committee is considering formally nominating Biden as early as mid-July. The Democratic Party is holding its convention towards the end of August in Chicago. 

‘The contrast between Trump and Biden has never been clearer than after Thursday’s debate, and it’s time to turn a new page for America and provide real leadership both domestically and on the world stage. That day is just around the corner to officially retire Joe Biden and allow President Trump to Make America Great Again,’ Jackson said. 

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Former President Trump’s campaign says it has out raised President Biden over the past three months and showcases that it has more cash-on-hand.

Trump’s campaign announced on Tuesday that it and the Republican National Committee hauled in a staggering $331 million during the April through June second quarter of 2024 fundraising, topping the massive $264 million raked in by the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee the past three months.

And the former president’s campaign spotlighted that it had $284.9 million in its coffers as of the end of June, compared to $240 million for Biden.

But Biden hauled in $127 million in June fundraising, topping the $111.8 million Trump raised last month.

‘President Trump’s campaign fundraising operation is thriving day after day and month after month. Winning this quarter brought us a cash on hand advantage, which is punctuated by a Biden burn rate that grows while yielding no tangible results for them,’ Trump co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles emphasized in a statement.

The Trump and Biden campaign cash reports were released as the president’s campaign tries to flip the script on the brutal narrative coming out of last week’s first debate.

Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is facing the roughest stretch of his bid for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at the debate, sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party elected officials and donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

A sizable chunk of Biden’s June’s haul was raked in at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles with former President Obama, Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and late night TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. The campaign said after the event that it set a new Democratic Party fundraising record with a $30 million haul. 

The president also brought in over $8 million a few days later at a fundraiser at the Northern Virginia home of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, where Biden was also joined by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and former Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was the Democrats’ 2016 standard-bearer.

But boosting the June fundraising to higher heights was the $33 million the campaign says was raised last Thursday through Saturday, the day of the first presidential debate and the following two days. And the Biden campaign showcased that their single best hour of fundraising this cycle came during the 11pm to midnight eastern hour on Thursday, immediately after the end of the debate with Trump in Atlanta, Georgia.

But boosting the June fundraising to higher heights was the $33 million the campaign says was raised last Thursday through Saturday, the day of the first presidential debate and the following two days. And the Biden campaign showcased that their single best hour of fundraising this cycle came during the 11pm to midnight eastern hour on Thursday, immediately after the end of the debate with Trump in Atlanta, Georgia.

Biden and the DNC enjoyed a large fundraising lead over Trump and the Republican National Committee earlier this year. But Trump and the RNC topped Biden and the DNC in fundraising for the first time in April.

And in May, the Trump campaign and the RNC, fueled in part by a fundraising surge following the former president’s history-making guilty verdicts in his criminal trial, combined hauled in a stunning $141 million, easily besting Biden and the DNC.

Fundraising, along with public opinion polling, is a key metric used to measure the strength of a candidate and their campaign. Money raised can be used to build up grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote operations, staffing, travel and ads, among other things.

The Biden campaign has been using its funds to build up what appears to be a very formidable ground operation in the key battleground states and announced two weeks ago that they had hired their 1,000th staffer and had opened over 200 coordinated offices in the swing states. The Biden campaign enjoys a large organizational advantage over the Trump campaign when it comes to grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote ground game efforts in the states that will likely decide the outcome of the election rematch.

‘Team Biden-Harris grew its historic war chest while also significantly expanding its footprint and operations both in HQ and across the key states – the resources needed to win a close election,’ the campaign highlighted in a release.

But the Trump campaign argues that Biden’s team has been wasting their money.

‘Despite Biden spending nearly $120 million on tv, cable and radio alone, polling and voter enthusiasm continue to grow for President Trump. This fundraising momentum is likely to grow even more as we head into a world-class convention and see the Democrats continue their circular firing squad in the aftermath of Biden’s debate collapse,’ LaCivita and Wiles argued in their statement.

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