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      In TMZ Video, George Stephanopoulos Says Biden Can’t Serve Another Term

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      The ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos apologized on Tuesday night after he was surreptitiously recorded earlier in the day saying he did not believe that President Biden could handle another term in office.His remarks — made in passing to a stranger who approached him on the street — came four days after Mr. Stephanopoulos conducted the only major interview with Mr. Biden since the president’s stumbling debate performance.In a grainy video posted by the gossip site TMZ, Mr. Stephanopoulos can be seen in workout clothes walking on a sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan. An unseen stranger walks up to the anchor but keeps his phone camera angled away; Mr. Stephanopoulos was presumably unaware that the person was recording him.“Do you think Biden should step down?” the stranger asks. “You’ve talked to him more than anybody else has lately.”“I don’t think he can serve four more years,” Mr. Stephanopoulos replies.News anchors and reporters typically avoid voicing their opinions about the topics and people they cover. Mr. Stephanopoulos addressed his remarks hours later. “Earlier today, I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn’t have,” he said in a statement.ABC also issued a statement about the incident. “George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News,” the network said.During Mr. Stephanopoulos’s prime-time interview with Mr. Biden, which was seen by 8.5 million people, the anchor respectfully but firmly challenged the president about whether he was being honest with himself about his health.Mr. Stephanopoulos is one of very few people outside of Mr. Biden’s immediate inner circle who has spent extended time with the president since the debate. The anchor received praise for his handling of the interview, which focused on intimate matters of aging and health. More

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      Pelosi Suggests That Biden Should Reconsider Decision to Stay in the Race

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      Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the former speaker, suggested on Wednesday that President Biden should reconsider his decision to remain in the presidential race, the strongest public push yet from a senior member of his party for him to weigh dropping out.Despite mounting concerns that his candidacy could cost Democrats not only the White House but both chambers of Congress, Mr. Biden has been unequivocal about his intention to seek a second term, telling members of Congress in a letter on Monday that his mind is made up and “I’m firmly committed to staying in this race.” On Wednesday, Ms. Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the president should continue to weigh his options.“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to to make that decision. Because time is running short.”When pressed on whether she wanted him to seek re-election, Ms. Pelosi said: “I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with.”Ms. Pelosi said she wanted to delay the conversations about Mr. Biden’s future until after the NATO summit he is hosting this week in Washington, which on Thursday will include the president’s first news conference since his disastrous debate performance that raised questions about his mental acuity and fitness to remain in the race.“Let’s just hold off,” she said. “Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Ukraine’s President Pleads for More Weapons With Fewer Restrictions

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      “America doesn’t shy away from its friends,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech in Washington as leaders gathered in the city for a NATO summit.President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrived in Washington on Tuesday with words of gratitude and praise for American support, and pleas for more weapons and fewer restrictions on using them in his country’s war against Russia.Mr. Zelensky credited American missiles — and permission to fire them across the border into Russia — with helping his forces hold off an attack on the city of Kharkiv, stopping a Russian offensive this spring.But he asked for other restrictions to be lifted, so that Ukraine could fire at Russian military bases hundreds of miles inside Russia to destroy aircraft that fire weapons and drop bombs that he said were killing civilians and children.With more American assistance, he said, Ukraine can continue to strike against Russian targets in Crimea and help “push the occupiers” out of the southern part of the country.There were questions of which version of Mr. Zelensky would show up in Washington as leaders of NATO members gathered for a summit. Last year, he flew to the NATO summit in Lithuania after making an angry social media post criticizing alliance members for failing to offer a timeline for Ukraine to join the alliance, prompting complaints from the Biden administration and other allies.There was no sign of anger this year. Mr. Zelensky praised the United States for its early support in the war and pushed back against those who have started to think that “it’s better to delay than act.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Biden, on Call With Mayors, Works to Shore Up Democratic Support

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      President Biden held a video call with nearly 200 Democratic mayors on Tuesday night, reiterating that he was staying in the presidential race, reminding the city leaders how best to support his campaign and discussing his second-term agenda.Mr. Biden, his campaign and the White House have been working to dismiss and defuse Democratic criticisms about his viability after his poor debate showing. Those efforts included a gathering of Democratic governors last week at the White House, a television interview with ABC News two days later and calls on Monday to top donors, congressional leaders and a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus.The call with mayors lasted about 40 minutes and Mr. Biden took three questions, according to Mayor Cory Mason of Racine, Wis., a Democrat who participated in the call and provided details about how it went — as did five other mayors who insisted on anonymity to freely discuss the conversation. Mr. Mason described Mr. Biden as “the president that everybody’s used to seeing” and not the one who delivered a halting debate performance nearly two weeks ago.“It was understandable for a time for people to ask if everything is OK,” Mr. Mason said. “It’s four months out from the election, so you can’t have too many of those days, but every day that passes, he’s proving he can recover from a bad debate performance.”The mayors described the call as a somewhat scripted pep rally, with Mr. Biden speaking for about 20 minutes and then taking questions from mayors selected by the moderator, Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix.Like many video calls arranged by the Biden campaign and the White House, participants could not see who else was on the call or add comments into the chat screen. They could indicate their feelings about what was being said by adding emojis, and many contributed smiley-face ones as Mr. Biden spoke, according to Mr. Mason.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      On Capitol Hill, Democrats Panic About Biden but Do Nothing

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      The president has yet to do what many Democrats said he must to show he is up to remaining in the race. But so far, they have thrown up their hands, doing nothing to nudge him aside.Senator Christopher S. Murphy, an ambitious young Democrat from Connecticut, went on television on Sunday with a carefully worded warning to President Biden about the viability of his campaign.“This week is going to be absolutely critical; I think the president needs to do more,” Mr. Murphy said, arguing that Mr. Biden needed to hold a town hall and participate in unscripted events because “the clock is ticking” for him to put to rest the doubts about his candidacy raised by a disastrous debate performance. Multiple times, Mr. Murphy emphasized his deadline, saying that he, as well as voters, must see more action “this week.”Senator Michael Bennet, the Colorado Democrat who briefly ran for president himself, said Mr. Biden had to “reassure the American people that he can run a vigorous campaign to defeat Donald Trump.”Senator Patty Murray of Washington, a senior member of the Democratic leadership team, put out a statement that passed for fighting words, saying that the president “must do more to demonstrate that he can campaign strong enough to beat Donald Trump.”So far, Mr. Biden has done none of that.And yet, Democrats on Capitol Hill are stifling their doubts and falling in line behind him anyway.Having spent the last week and a half in various stages of private panic and public skepticism about Mr. Biden’s viability as a candidate and whispering among themselves about what the best way to push him aside might be — a strongly worded letter? a White House meeting? a high-level intervention? — top Democrats on Tuesday settled on a strategy many of them conceded could be disastrous: They would do nothing, at least for now.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      White House Doctor Kevin O’Connor Discussed Business With James Biden

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      Before Dr. Kevin O’Connor was appointed White House physician at the beginning of the Biden administration, he discussed a business venture with the president’s brother James Biden, but the doctor ultimately received no compensation, Mr. Biden’s lawyer said.The discussions revolved around James Biden’s involvement with a health care company called Americore, which was looking to expand a network of hospitals in underserved rural areas of the United States.Republicans have seized on the episode to suggest that Dr. O’Connor might have had incentive to minimize issues related to President Biden’s health. The White House rejected the speculation, with a spokesman calling it “ridiculous and insulting.”In his current role, Dr. O’Connor produced letters each of the three years following Mr. Biden’s physicals that attested the president was healthy and “fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” The assessments have come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks as Mr. Biden’s decline has become more apparent, particularly after his feeble performance in last month’s debate against former President Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.Representative James R. Comer, a Kentucky Republican who is chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter this week asking Dr. O’Connor to turn over documents related to James Biden and Americore, and to submit to a transcribed interview with committee staff.The White House dismissed Mr. Comer’s effort to draw a link between Dr. O’Connor’s statements about the president and his consultation with James Biden.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Biden no ganará. Los demócratas necesitan un plan. Aquí hay uno

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      Recuerden mis palabras: Joe Biden estará fuera de la contienda presidencial de 2024. Esté o no dispuesto a admitirlo. Su petición a los demócratas del Congreso para que lo respalden no unirán al partido en su apoyo. Biden dice que seguirá en la carrera, pero solo es cuestión de tiempo para que la presión demócrata y los sondeos públicos y privados lo lleven a abandonarla. Se acabó el juego, y cuanto antes lo acepten Biden y los líderes de su partido, mejor. Tenemos que avanzar.Pero no puede ser eligiendo a la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris o a cualquier otra persona como posible candidato demócrata. Tenemos que hacerlo de manera abierta; exactamente del modo contrario a como Donald Trump quiere que hagamos.Por primera vez en su vida, Trump está rezando. Para ganar la Casa Blanca y aumentar sus posibilidades de evitar usar un uniforme naranja, necesita que los demócratas sigan los pasos equivocados en los próximos días: es decir, que parezcan amañar la nominación de un presidente en decadencia o de la vicepresidenta en ejercicio o de algún otro aparente heredero. Trump necesita poder escribir en MAYÚSCULAS publicaciones en redes sociales sobre los agentes del poder y los grandes donantes que lo arreglan todo. Necesita, en otras palabras, que los demócratas acaben por echarlo todo a perder.No vamos a hacer eso.Vamos a nominar una nueva candidatura de forma muy democrática y novedosa, no en las trastiendas de Washington, D. C., o Chicago.Estamos en un momento en el que necesitamos ideas constructivas sobre cómo avanzar. El representante Jim Clyburn y el columnista de Opinión del Times Ezra Klein han hablado de unas miniprimarias demócratas, y a mí me gustaría desarrollar esa idea.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Pass the Torch’ Sign at Biden Rally Costs Volunteer Role in State Campaign

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      Clint Keaveny took his place in the stands behind President Biden at a rally on Friday in Madison, Wis., and held up a sign that read, “Pass the torch, Joe.” Before the rally was over, Mr. Keaveny had lost his role with a Democratic congressional campaign.The event was the first in Mr. Biden’s weekend blitz of campaign events in must-win states to rebuff critics after his halting debate performance on June 27. As the president took the stage, in full view of cameras, Mr. Keaveny unveiled his poster, made of taped-together printer paper and stuffed in his waistband. It had been written by Mr. Keaveny’s mother, he said.The moment quickly went viral. His boss noticed.Before Mr. Keaveny had even left the event, Kristin Lyerly, the Wisconsin congressional candidate for whom he was a communications volunteer, had seen the images circulating online. She called him and asked that he part ways with the campaign, to which he agreed.“He held up a sign that was inconsistent with the values and the ideals of our campaign,” Dr. Lyerly said in an interview. “I was just so profoundly disappointed that I called him right then and there.” Mr. Keaveny, 27, said that Mr. Biden has been a great president, but he does not believe that he can defeat former President Donald J. Trump in November.“It pains me to feel like a black sheep,” Mr. Keaveny said. “But I believe in following my conscience.”The episode with Mr. Keaveny comes as questions over loyalty to President Biden in the Democratic Party are breaking out into the open and some are calling for a new nominee. Mr. Biden has repeatedly pledged to stay the course.Dr. Lyerly is running for a vacant seat that represents a swath of northeast Wisconsin, including Green Bay, a competitive district that leans Republican. Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican, resigned from the seat in April. More