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 for Joe 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.
He also includes congressmen Takano, Adam Smith, Morelle, Himes and Beyer.
The Guardian has not independently verified this reporting.
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 US page.
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 House Democrats and their leader in that chamber, Hakeem Jeffries.
Here’s where things stand:
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.
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 Biden are now in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for the third stop on this campaign swing through the swing state.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham believes both Joe Biden and Donald Trump should 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.
Biden heard words of encouragement from Pennsylvania Democratic US senator John Fetterman on 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.
Biden told 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, CNN reports.
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 that Kamala Harris should become the nominee instead.
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 for Joe 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.
He also includes congressmen Takano, Adam Smith, Morelle, Himes and Beyer.
The Guardian has not independently verified this reporting.
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 persuade Democrats he is up to being their nominee for re-election this November.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham believes both Joe Biden and Donald Trump should 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, Graham said earlier 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.”
Meanwhile, there’s some big news breaking in France, where the hopes of the far right and their leader Marine Le Pen appear 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:
During his unscheduled stop at a Philadelphia campaign office, Joe Biden heard some words of encouragement from Democratic senator John 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 against Mehmet Oz was 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 against Donald 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:
Joe Biden has made an unscheduled stop at the Roxborough Democratic Coordinated campaign office in Philadelphia.
He is joined there by Pennsylvania’s Democratic senator John Fetterman, and the city’s mayor Cherelle Parker.
Here are some more images from inside the event at the church in north-western Philadelphia a little earlier.
Addressing the congregation.
Mingling:
More:
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.
And this:
Biden meets voters.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
