President Joe Biden with Bishop Ernest Morris, Sr during a church service and campaign event at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden with Bishop Ernest Morris, Sr during a church service and campaign event at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
More House Democrats want Biden to quit re-election campaign - report
Joanna Walters
Reports are coming through from the virtual meeting that House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has been holding with fellow Democratic representatives, and it’s not looking good forJoe Biden.
High-profile congressmen Jerry Nadler of New York and Jamie Raskin of Maryland are reportedly among a clutch of Democratic lawmakers who told Jeffries, the most senior Democrat in the House, that Biden should leave the presidential race, CBS’s Ed O’Keefe has posted on Twitter/X.
NEWS: Reps. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), Mark Takano (Calif.), Adam Smith (Wash.) and Joe Morelle (N.Y.) said Sunday that Biden should leave the presidential race during a zoom meetin between House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and ranking Democrats on committees, according to…
Hello again, US politics blog readers, we’re going to close this blog now after a lively day and we’ll be back on Monday morning, Washington DC time. All of today’s stories on Joe Biden are on this Guardian USpage.
Congress is back in session tomorrow and it will be another news-filled day at the start of what could be a make-or-break week for the US president’s re-election campaign, so do rejoin us then. This follows late developments this afternoon coming out of a virtual meeting between some HouseDemocratsand their leader in that chamber, Hakeem Jeffries.
Here’s where things stand:
High-profile congressmen Jerry Nadler of New York and Jamie Raskin of Marylandare reportedly among a clutch of Democratic lawmakers who told Jeffries, the most senior Democrat in the House, that Biden should leave the presidential race.
More Democratic representatives,including Mark Takano of California, Adam Smith of Washington state, Jim Himes of Connecticut, Joe Morelle of New York and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania also reportedly told Jeffries they want Biden to quit the race. Maxine Waters and Bobby Scott reportedly said they support him. Jeffries did not reveal his hand.
Joe Biden and first lady Jill Bidenare now in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for the third stop on this campaign swing through the swing state.
Republican US SenatorLindsey Grahambelieves both Joe Biden andDonald Trumpshould take a cognitive test. The South Carolina senator said that anyone standing for president and anyone in the line of succession should be subjected to a cognitive exam.
Bidenheard words of encouragement from Pennsylvania Democratic US senatorJohn Fettermanon his trip to the state today. Fetterman won office two years ago despite his own struggles in a debate against his Republican opponent. “I know what it’s like to have a rough debate and I’m standing here as your senator. There is only one guy that has ever beaten Trump and he is going to do it twice and put him down for good,” the senator said.
Bidentold congregants at a church in Philadelphia this morning: “We must unite America again. That’s my goal. That’s what we’re going to do.” The supportive churchgoers chanted “Four more years!”
We can now add Pennsylvania congresswoman Susan Wild to the list of lawmakers who reportedly told House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries in a virtual meeting today that Joe Biden should quick his re-election campaign, CNNreports.
Representatives Maxine Waters and Bobby Scott reportedly told Jeffries they continue to support Biden as the presumptive nominee, as the caucus split, the outlet reported.
Many apparently agree thatKamala Harrisshould become the nominee instead.
More House Democrats want Biden to quit re-election campaign - report
Joanna Walters
Reports are coming through from the virtual meeting that House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has been holding with fellow Democratic representatives, and it’s not looking good forJoe Biden.
High-profile congressmen Jerry Nadler of New York and Jamie Raskin of Maryland are reportedly among a clutch of Democratic lawmakers who told Jeffries, the most senior Democrat in the House, that Biden should leave the presidential race, CBS’s Ed O’Keefe has posted on Twitter/X.
NEWS: Reps. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), Mark Takano (Calif.), Adam Smith (Wash.) and Joe Morelle (N.Y.) said Sunday that Biden should leave the presidential race during a zoom meetin between House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and ranking Democrats on committees, according to…
Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are now in Harrisburg for another event.
The city is the state capital of Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia, where the US president addressed a church service this morning.
In between he stopped at a campaign office, as hit the swing-state in an ongoing mini-blitz to persuadeDemocratshe is up to being their nominee for re-election this November.
Joe and Jill Biden disembark Air Force One as they arrive at Harrisburg International Airport on July 07, 2024, in Pennsylvania.Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham believes both Joe Biden andDonald Trumpshould take a cognitive test.
The South Carolina senator told CBS on Sunday that anyone standing for president and anyone in the line of succession should be subjected to a cognitive exam.
After Biden’s flop in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election, against Trump late last month, Grahamsaidearlier today: “This is a wake-up call for the country. We need to make sure that the people who are going to be in the line of succession are capable of being commanders in chief under dire circumstances.”
He added: “I’m offended by the idea that he shouldn’t take a competency test, given all the evidence in front of us,” Graham said, adding that he thinks Biden is in denial and that’s dangerous.
Graham said: “What I’d like to see is President Biden take a cognitive test.” Asked if Trump should, too, Graham said: “Yes, yes, I think both.”
Senator Lindsey Graham speaks to reporters in the spin room after the Biden-Trump debate on 27 June.Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
French voters appear to have blunted far right's hopes of election triumph
Meanwhile, there’s some big news breaking in France, where the hopes of the far right and their leaderMarine Le Penappear to have been dashed by resurgent support for leftwing parties in a snap election.
We have a live blog covering the results as they come in, and you can follow it here:
Pennsylvania senator Fetterman – no stranger to rough debates – defends Biden
During his unscheduled stop at a Philadelphia campaign office,Joe Bidenheard some words of encouragement from Democratic senatorJohn Fetterman,who won office two years ago despite his own struggles in a debate against his Republican opponent.
The senator’s performance in the debate againstMehmet Ozwas hampered by the auditory processing disorder that afflicted him after suffering a stroke. Fetterman nonetheless defeated Oz in the 2022 midterm elections, and, as he appeared alongside the president today, compared his comeback to Biden’s current troubles following his tired performance at his first debate againstDonald Trump.
“I know what it’s like to have a rough debate and I’m standing here as your senator,” Fetterman said.
“There is only one guy that has ever beaten Trump and he is going to do it twice and put him down for good.”
Here’s a look back on Fetterman’s own struggles in his Senate campaign:
Here are some images related to Joe Biden’s appearance in Philadelphia on Sunday, to speak at a church.
A handful of people outside held signs urging the president to drop out of his re-election campaign.
A protester holds a sign ahead of Joe Biden’s visit to Mt Airy church of God in Christ on Sunday, in Philadelphia.Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP
And this:
‘Joe, pass the torch,’ reads the sign of one man outside the church where Biden spoke on Sunday morning.Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP
Biden meets voters.
Biden greets parishioners after speaking during a church service and campaign event at Mt Airy church of God in Christ in Philadelphia, on Sunday.Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
