Just months after party leadership shielded President Biden from any kind of significant primary challenge, Democrats are suddenly turning on their presumptive nominee and seeking to swap him out mere weeks before his nomination for re-election becomes official.

Biden’s devastating debate performance last week triggered a seismic shift in the party’s public outlook regarding the president’s ability to run for a second term. Many who had previously professed nothing but loyalty to the 46th president are now calling for him to step aside and allow Vice President Kamala Harris or another promising Democrat to take his place.

But the president doesn’t appear ready to exit, saying at a Wisconsin rally on Friday, ‘I am running and going to win again.’

The contentiousness could have been avoided, however, if party leadership had allowed a vigorous challenge to Biden’s candidacy and chose not to upend primary precedent to favor the incumbent. 

The Democratic Rules and Bylaws Committee voted earlier this year to adopt Biden’s own proposal to have South Carolina, a strong state that helped catapult Biden toward the nomination in 2020, vote first on the Democrats’ nominating calendar in 2024. Under his proposal, New Hampshire and Nevada, where he was weaker in 2020, would hold primaries a few days later. 

New Hampshire rejected the new rules in the 2024 primary, and Biden’s name did not appear on the primary ballot. But he still won by a wide margin due to voters who wrote in his name. 

Biden also delayed committing to a debate with his presumptive rival for the presidency for months. Biden said it ‘depends’ on the former president’s ‘behavior’ whether he agreed to a debate when asked by reporters in March about a faceoff with Trump.

After Super Tuesday, Trump invited Biden to debate ‘anytime, anywhere, anyplace.’ But the Biden campaign dismissed those calls as Trump being ‘thirsty for attention.’ 

‘I know Donald Trump’s thirsty for attention and struggling to expand his appeal beyond the MAGA base, and that’s a conversation we’ll have at the appropriate time in this cycle,’ a Biden campaign spokesperson said at the time.

Although Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week set off alarm bells about the president’s cognitive decline, concerns about the president’s mental fitness lingered long before the debate. 

‘The administration was above conspiratorial chitchat that entertained seriously scenarios in which the president was suffering from a shocking decline most Americans were not seeing,’ Olivia Nuzzi wrote in a recent New York Magazine story. 

‘If the president was being portrayed that way, it was by his political enemies on the right, who promoted through what the press office termed ‘cheap fakes’ a caricature of an addled creature unfit to serve. They would not dignify those people, or people doing the bidding of those people, with a response.’

Now, just 45 days away from the Democratic National Convention, Biden’s campaign is scrambling to help his supporters maintain their confidence in the president and dispel calls for him to step aside, even as key fundraisers have halted campaign donations.

Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey publicly urged President Biden to ‘listen to the American people’ and consider whether he is the best person for the party to put forward as it again tries to defeat Trump in November.

‘President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years,’ Healey said in a statement distributed by her political committee Friday. ‘I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees this is the most important election of our lifetimes.

‘Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump. Whatever President Biden decides, I am committed to doing everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump.’

At an Independence Day event Thursday, Biden seemed defiant, telling a crowd at the White House he’s ‘not going anywhere.’ 

President Biden maintained his disastrous debate performance last month against former President Trump was nothing more than a ‘bad episode’ or a ‘bad night’ rather than a sign of something more serious and suggested he alone was to blame for it. 

He made the remarks Friday during his first major television interview since the debate debacle.

Amid mounting speculation about whether Biden is fit to be president — both for the remainder of his term and for the four-year term he’s seeking — ABC News host George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if his performance was ‘a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition?’

‘It was a bad episode,’ Biden said. ‘No indication of a serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. It was a bad night.’

The president’s answer was not quite clear when he was asked what was going through his head during the debate, but he maintained his performance was his fault alone. He also accused Trump of lying ’28 times’ during the debate.

‘The whole way I prepared – nobody’s fault. Mine. Nobody’s fault but mine,’ Biden said. ‘I prepared what I usually would do sitting down, as I did coming back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council, for explicit detail. 

‘And I realized partway through that, you know, that —  I could quote it. The New York Times had me down at ten points before the debate. Nine now, or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is, that when I looked at, is that, he also lied 28 times. I couldn’t, I mean, the way the debate ran, not – my fault. No one else’s fault. No one else’s fault.’

When asked if he had watched the debate since it occurred, Biden said, ‘I don’t think I did, no.’

The president also said again he had been sick during the debate and suggested he was so ill his doctors thought he might have COVID-19.

‘I was feeling terrible,’ Biden said. ‘Matter of fact, the docs with me, I asked if they did a COVID test because they were trying to figure out what’s wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus. I didn’t. Just had a really bad cold.’

Biden taking the blame for the debate performance comes after multiple reports suggesting the president’s inner circle was pointing fingers at the aides and staff members who prepared him for the showdown with Trump.

The clip that aired on ‘World News Tonight’ is a preview of Biden’s primetime interview with Stephanopoulos, which is set to air in full on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

The stakes for the sitdown are high. The 81-year-old Biden is facing mounting pressure to step aside as the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee. 

His performance during last month’s CNN Presidential Debate has led to staunch Biden allies even questioning whether he’s in a worsening mental state. A growing chorus of elected Democrats are publicly airing fears he will lose to Trump and possibly drag down Democrats in critical House and Senate races across the country. 

Biden, for his part, has declared several times he will not bow out.

‘Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m staying in the race. I will beat Donald Trump,’ Biden told a supportive crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, just before he sat down for his taped interview. 

He also addressed the CNN faceoff, telling voters, ‘I’m not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out 3½ years of work.’

Meanwhile, four House Democrats have now publicly called for Biden to make way for a new nominee. Reps. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.

Quigley, the latest lawmaker to call for Biden to step aside, did so on MSNBC shortly after the ABC News clip aired.

There were also multiple letters circulating this week among House Democrats that would call on Biden to step aside, two sources familiar with those discussions told Fox News Digital Wednesday.

President Joe Biden, 81, had a post-debate ‘verbal check-in’ with his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, despite telling reporters that Biden had not had any recent medical exams earlier this week.

‘He did have a short verbal check-in in the recent days about his cold, it wasn’t a medical exam or a physical,’ Jean-Pierre said. ‘It was a conversation, and his doctor didn’t think an examination was necessary.’

Jean-Pierre added that the doctor’s call was ‘not unusual’ and that Biden has a 24/7 medical unit that travels with him. 

‘That is not because of just this president, because it’s all presidents and it is a very different experience than what we understand that the American people experience,’ she said. 

After Biden reportedly told Democratic governors during a private meeting at the White House this week that he doesn’t get enough sleep and has to cut off working after 8 p.m., Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard the Air Force One flight to a Wisconsin rally that Biden ‘is human’ and is taking ‘a balanced approach.’

‘He is human, just like we all are,’ she said. ‘But it is a 24/7 job. It is 365 days – that doesn’t change.’

Jean-Pierre’s comments come just hours before Biden’s pre-recorded ABC interview with former Democratic operative George Stephanopoulos airs. Biden will be vying to dispel age-related health concerns among his base and middle-ground voters. 

Jean-Pierre was pressed about the president’s health during a press briefing on Wednesday and explicitly told reporters that Biden has not had any medical exams since his last annual physical in February. 

‘Has the president had any medical exams since his last annual physical in February?’ CNN’s Min Jung ‘MJ’ Lee asked.

‘And got – and we were able to talk to the – to his doctor about that, and that is a no,’ Jean-Pierre said.

Jean-Pierre reiterated that the 81-year-old president had not received any kind of medical exam.

‘He hasn’t had any kind of medical exam?’ Jung said.

‘No,’ Jean-Pierre replied.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

Former President Trump attempted to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 Friday, claiming he had nothing to do with it and that parts of it are ‘absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.’

Trump disavowed the effort in a post on Truth Social, saying he didn’t know who was behind the initiative that offers recommendations on how a future Republican president can begin to enact conservative changes upon entering office.

‘I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,’ Trump wrote. ‘I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.’

Portrayed as a blueprint for a future Republican administration to restructure many parts of the U.S. government, Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, launched in April 2023 and is not associated with Trump’s campaign.

‘As we’ve been saying for more than two years now, Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign,’ a Project 2025 spokesperson told Fox News Digital when asked about Trump’s remarks. ‘We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president.

‘But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.’

Trump’s decision to distance himself from Project 2025 came one day after Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts faced criticism from Democrats for his comments about a ‘second American Revolution’ on former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s radio program.

‘[W]e are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,’ Roberts said, adding that the ‘radical left’ is ‘apoplectic’ because ‘our side is winning.’

From overhauling the Justice Department and FBI to tackling issues like abortion and immigration, the effort led by the nation’s top conservative think tank is organized into specific chapters for different agencies.

Some of the chapters contained in Project 2025 were penned with the help of former Trump administration officials. For instance, the chapter on the Department of Homeland Security was written by a team led by former assistant acting DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, who argues the agency has become ‘bloated, bureaucratic, expensive and [has] lost sight of its mission priorities.’

Project 2025 has been used by the Biden campaign and other Democrats to target Trump’s candidacy in the 2024 race for the White House.

Ahead of last week’s debate, the Biden campaign projected a QR code in different places around Atlanta that led to a campaign page tying Project 2025 to Trump.

The Biden campaign described the effort as ‘the plan by Donald Trump’s MAGA Republican allies to give Trump more power over your daily life, gut democratic checks and balances, and consolidate power in the Oval Office if he wins.’

‘Trump’s campaign advisors and close allies wrote it – and are doing everything they can to elect him so he can execute their playbook immediately,’ the webpage stated.

Among many other claims, the Biden campaign said Project 2025 ‘Terminates the Constitution,’ ‘Takes Away Reproductive Freedom Nationwide’ and ‘Consolidates Power in the Oval Office.’

Project 2025 accused the Biden campaign of ‘obsessing’ over the effort in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

‘Rather than obsessing over Project 2025, the Biden campaign should be addressing the 25th Amendment,’ the spokesperson said.

Other Democrats have also slammed proposals outlined in Project 2025, including Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., who said the plan favoring America-first ideals is ‘un-American.’

‘It’s really un-American,’ Dean said during an appearance on ‘MSNBC Reports’ last month. ‘If you take a look at it, what we pride ourselves on, agencies that support elected officials and government officials who are legislating for a president acting as executive.’

Dean also insisted Project 2025 organizers want to ‘replace civil servants.’

Despite the proposals outlined in Project 2025, Trump has outlined his own plans to restructure the government if he wins a second term, including staging the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and imposing tariffs on potentially all imports.

Trump’s campaign has previously warned outside allies not to presume to speak for the former president and suggested their transition-in-waiting efforts were unhelpful.

Project 2025 includes several former senior Trump administration officials, including Paul Dans, the director of the project who served as chief of staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under Trump; Russ Vought, who wrote one of the chapters and served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump; and John McEntee, a senior adviser for the project who previously served as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in the Trump administration.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former President Trump is rolling out new nicknames for Vice President Kamala Harris as part of a new focus on the VP, just as she is being touted as a potential replacement for President Biden on the 2024 ticket after Biden suffered a disastrous debate performance.

Trump regularly coins nicknames for his political opponents, from ‘Low Energy Jeb’ [Bush] to ‘Crooked Hillary’ [Clinton]. For Biden, Trump has called him ‘Slow Joe,’ ‘Sleepy Joe’ and ‘Crooked Joe,’ among others.

Now, after a debate performance from Biden that has sparked panic among some Democrats and media figures and seen him slump in the polls, Trump turned his attention this week to Harris. 

As vice president, Harris would succeed Biden if he resigned from office, and she would also be a top contender for the 2024 Democratic nomination if Biden announced that he does not intend to serve a second term.

Trump, in a Truth Social post, accused Biden of having ‘choked like a dog’ during the debate and offered his ‘congratulations’ to the vice president as he dubbed her ‘Laffin’ Kamala Harris.’

‘Also, respects to our potentially new Democrat Challenger, Laffin’ Kamala Harris,’ he said. ‘She did poorly in the Democrat Nominating process, starting out at Number Two, and ending up defeated and dropping out, even before getting to Iowa, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a ‘highly talented’ politician!’

A day earlier, the Trump campaign had put out a statement slamming Democrats and the media for an alleged cover-up to hide Biden’s alleged mental acuity.

‘Every one of them has lied about Joe Biden’s cognitive state and supported his disastrous policies over the past four years, especially Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris,’ the statement said.

A national poll released Tuesday by CNN suggests Harris performs slightly better than Biden in a matchup with Trump.

‘Harris’ slightly stronger showing against Trump rests at least in part on broader support from women (50% of female voters back Harris over Trump vs. 44% for Biden against Trump) and independents (43% Harris vs. 34% Biden),’ the poll notes in a release.

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. Biden’s campaign has repeatedly insisted that the president has no intention of dropping out of the race.

On Thursday, he told supporters that he is not leaving the race. A supporter called out at an Independence Day event, saying, ‘Keep up the fight. We need you!’

Biden responded, ‘You got me, man. I’m not going anywhere.’

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.

White House aides and Biden campaign staff are reportedly ‘miserable’ as fear mounts that President Biden will be unable to continue his re-election campaign or serve for a second term.

The latest report of worsening tensions inside the White House comes from Axios, which reported on Friday that morale is low among staffers as communications with higher ups are deteriorating. 

‘Everyone is miserable, and senior advisers are a total black hole,’ an unnamed White House official told Axios. ‘Even if you’re trying to focus on work, nothing is going to break through or get any acknowledgment’ from superiors. 

All eyes are on Biden, 81, to prove that he is up to the task of campaigning against former President Trump as major Democratic Party donors pressure him to drop out in favor of a younger candidate.

Axios reported comments from a ‘high-ranking Democratic National Committee official’ who said, ‘The only thing that can really allay concerns is for the president to demonstrate that he’s capable of running this campaign.’

‘Everything else feels like ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ by his inner circle to prop him up.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on this and similar reports alleging low morale and increasingly tense staffers, but has not yet received a response.

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted a barbecue for military service members on Thursday evening. After he finished his speech, Biden spoke again with a mic.

The crowd began shouting, ‘We need you!’ to which Biden responded, ‘You got me, man.’

He added, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

President Biden told a crowd of supporters on the Fourth of July that he has no plans to drop out of the election, despite continued struggles and gaffes during unscripted events.

The president delivered his July 4th remarks on Thursday from the White House’s South Lawn. He spoke with the aid of a teleprompter largely without incident — with the notable exception of one moment he went off-script.

‘I was in that World War I cemetery in France — the one that one of our colleagues, the former president, didn’t want to go and be up there. I probably shouldn’t say,’ Biden said to the White House audience. ‘At any rate, we got to just remember who the hell we are. We’re the United States of America.’

But the Biden campaign is unbothered by the president’s gaffes and has doubled-down on its assertion that he will stay in the race.

At one point, a South Lawn attendee called out in support of Biden from the crowd, saying, ‘Keep up the fight. We need you!’

Biden responded, ‘You got me, man. I’m not going anywhere.’

The president has faced increasing scrutiny and calls to drop out of the 2024 election following his widely panned debate performance on June 27 against former President Trump. 

Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is under strict scrutiny from politicians, editorial writers, political pundits and party donors over concerns about his cognitive ability and ability to serve as the country’s commander-in-chief.

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients reportedly held an all-staff meeting Wednesday to urge team members to tune out the ‘noise’ and focus on the task of governing.

Even as Zients acknowledged that the days since the Atlanta matchup between Biden and Trump have been challenging, the chief of staff stressed to White House aides the accomplishments and the track record of the Democratic administration and said governing will only become more crucial once the campaign season heats up, particularly after the Fourth of July holiday.

Fox News Digital’s Kendall Tietz contributed to this report.