Presidential Election of 2024

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      Trump, Biden and Who Gets to Defy the Naysayers

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      In a way, we’ve been here before. A presidential candidate seemingly unfit for office but nonetheless in position to be his party’s standard-bearer. A media drumbeat demanding that somebody, somehow, step in and push him out. A raft of party leaders and important officeholders hanging around uncertainly with their fingers in the wind.As with Joe Biden in 2024, so it was with Donald Trump at various times in 2016 — both during the primary season and then especially in the fall when the “Access Hollywood” tape dropped and it seemed the G.O.P. might abandon him.For Biden and his inner circle, an arguable lesson of that experience is that they aren’t actually finished, they don’t have to listen to the drumbeat and they can just refuse to leave and spite all the naysayers by winning in the end.After all, it didn’t matter that not only the mainstream press but much of right-wing media deemed Trump unfit for high office — that Fox News anchors tried to sandbag him in the early Republican debates, that National Review commissioned a special issue to condemn him, that longstanding pillars of conservative punditry all opposed him. It didn’t matter that his rivals vowed “never” to support him, that the former Republican nominee for president condemned him, that leading Republicans retracted their endorsements just weeks before the election. Trump proved that nothing they did mattered so long as he refused to yield.But I don’t think history will repeat itself. I think Biden will bow out, his current protestations notwithstanding, because of three differences between the current circumstance and Trump’s position eight years ago.First, while both political parties are hollowed out compared with their condition 50 years ago, the Democrats still appear more capable of functioning and deciding as a party than the Republicans. Biden’s own presidency is proof of that capacity: He became the nominee in 2020 in part because of a seemingly coordinated effort to clear the field for him against Bernie Sanders, exactly the thing the G.O.P. was incapable of managing four years earlier with Trump.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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      Our Society Is Losing Its Anchors

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      Jillian Weinberger and In this conversation, the New York Times Opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman speaks with the author Dov Seidman about the erosion of American norms, evinced by the recent trial and conviction of former President Donald Trump, and the difficulties the country faces because of that erosion.(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available by Monday in the audio player above.)Illustration by The New York Times; photograph by Marcia Straub/GettyThoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger and Kaari Pitkin. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Original music by Sonia Herrero and Pat McCusker.. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and Threads. More

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      Biden Says Only ‘Lord Almighty’ Could Make Him Quit Race

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      President Biden dismissed concerns about his age, his mental acuity and polls showing him losing his re-election bid.President Biden on Friday dismissed concerns about his age, his mental acuity and polls showing him losing his re-election bid, saying in a prime-time interview that his sharpness is tested every day while he is “running the world.” He vowed to drop out only if “the Lord Almighty” tells him to.During a 22-minute interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, which aired unedited, Mr. Biden, 81, said there was no need for him to submit to neurological or cognitive testing. He said he simply did not believe the polls showing him losing. And asked how he would feel if former President Donald J. Trump were elected in November, he brushed off the question.“I feel as long as I gave it my all and I did as good a job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about,” Mr. Biden said in an interview that was intended to assuage growing concerns about his age following last Thursday’s debate. But speaking in a hoarse voice and defiant throughout, there was little indication that the interview would do much to staunch the bleeding during the deepest crisis of this long political career.Again and again, Mr. Biden told Mr. Stephanopoulos that voters should consider his accomplishments in office.“Who’s going to be able to hold NATO together like me?” he said. “Who’s going to be able to be in a position where I’m able to keep the Pacific Basin in a position where, at least we’re checkmating China now? Who’s going to do that? Who has that reach?”Mr. Biden repeatedly waved off “hypothetical” questions about whether he would step aside for another Democrat if people he respects say that he can’t win in the fall.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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      Four Takeaways From Biden’s Post-Debate Interview

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      He downplayed. He denied. He dismissed.President Biden’s first television interview since his poor debate performance last week was billed as a prime-time opportunity to reassure the American people that he still has what it takes to run for, win and hold the nation’s highest office.But Mr. Biden, with more than a hint of hoarseness in his voice, spent much of the 22 minutes resisting a range of questions that George Stephanopoulos of ABC News had posed — about his competence, about taking a cognitive test, about his standing in the polls.The president on Friday did not struggle to complete his thoughts the way he did at the debate. But at the same time he was not the smooth-talking senator of his youth, or even the same elder statesman whom the party entrusted four years ago to defeat former President Donald J. Trump.Instead, it was a high-stakes interview with an 81-year-old president whose own party is increasingly doubting him yet who sounded little like a man with any doubts about himself.Here are four takeaways:Biden downplays the debate as a one-time flub.The interview was Mr. Biden’s longest unscripted appearance in public since his faltering debate performance. The delay has had his allies on Capitol Hill and beyond confused about what was keeping the president cloistered behind closed doors — or depending upon teleprompters — for so long.The eight-day lag has seen the first members of Congress call for him to step aside and donors demand that the party consider switching candidates. It also heightened the scrutiny of every word Mr. Biden said.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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      Loyal Democratic Voters React to Biden Interview With Relief, and Despair

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      At least it wasn’t as bad as the debate.That was the verdict from some devoted Democratic voters who nervously tuned in to watch President Biden’s interview with ABC News on Friday. They were anxious to see the president respond to concerns about his age and cognitive abilities, and show wavering voters that he could serve another four years.“I think he showed in this interview he’s cognitively there,” said Jayden D’Onofrio, 19, chairman of the Florida Future Leaders PAC, which represents high-school and college Democrats in the state. “He was very straightforward about the fact that, yes, he is older. We have to recognize that.”But John Avalos, a progressive Democrat and former member of the San Francisco board of supervisors, said the interview made him weep. He was frustrated that Mr. Biden would not submit to a cognitive test, and said Mr. Biden’s doubling down on his refusal to leave the race could spell electoral doom for Democrats.“Biden is not demonstrating the traits that generate much confidence,” Mr. Avalos said. “There are 300 million people who rely on his cognitive abilities, and he’s unwilling to take a test because of his pride?”Other Democratic voters said they thought Mr. Biden made clearer and more cogent arguments against former President Donald J. Trump than he had during the debate last week, and said Mr. Biden seemed more at ease.“I tell you, he looked a whole lot better than the debate,” said William Davis, a precinct delegate in Detroit and retired water treatment plant worker. “I think he did well. I’m a little nervous that he’s not going to be able to keep it up.”Mr. Davis said he was still unsure whether the president should stay in the race, despite Mr. Biden’s insistence on Friday that only the “Lord almighty” would cause him to leave the campaign.“I’m 67,” Mr. Davis said. “I’m not the same person I was two years ago. I’m confident in him, but — and there is that but — he should think about the country and the world. I think another Democrat could come in and beat Trump.”In Nebraska, Mo Neal, 73, who runs a social media page for Lancaster County Democrats, said that Mr. Biden seemed “gentlemanly and sedate” and that his demeanor compared favorably with Mr. Trump’s angry hectoring speeches.“I’m solidly behind Biden,” she said. “Even now.” More

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      For George Stephanopoulos, 22 Minutes of Probing the Personal.

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      It was, in the end, an interview as personal as it was political, a cross-examination more focused on the psyche and the inescapable reality of aging than on any points of policy or governance.Respectfully but firmly, the ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos on Friday pressed President Biden, again and again, on the basic questions that Americans had asked themselves over the past eight days, since 51 million people saw a diminished Mr. Biden struggle to perform on the debate stage.“Are you more frail?”“Have there been more lapses?”“Have you had a neurologist, a specialist, do an examination?”And as Mr. Biden dismissed all those concerns one by one — flicking away the cascading worries about his health, his electability, his capacity to serve in his office for four additional years — Mr. Stephanopoulos zeroed in on the matters of pride, dignity and self-worth swirling beneath the surface.“Are you sure,” the anchor asked, “you’re being honest with yourself?”At 81, Mr. Biden is 18 years older than his interlocutor. The president arrived at the ABC interview on Friday tanned and tieless, his top two shirt buttons undone, making every effort to project youth and vitality. Yet a viewer could not help but imagine the mop-haired Mr. Stephanopoulos in the role of an adult son, guiding an elderly parent toward a conclusion that may be difficult, and deeply painful, to accept.It is too soon to say if their 22-minute encounter on Friday, taped in the library of a Wisconsin middle school and broadcast by ABC in prime time, will count among the most consequential interviews in presidential history. But it carried some of the highest stakes.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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      Read the Full Transcript of President Biden’s ABC News Interview

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      ABC News taped its interview with President Biden on Friday afternoon and aired it at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Following is a transcript of the interview, which lasted about 20 minutes, between George Stephanopoulos and the president, as released by ABC News. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. President, thank you for doing this.PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you for having me.STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s start with the debate. Eh, you and your team said, have said you had a bad night. But your —BIDEN: Sure did.STEPHANOPOULOS: But your friend Nancy Pelosi actually framed the question that I think is on the minds of millions of Americans. Was this a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition?BIDEN: It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and a bad night.STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, you say you were exhausted. And — and I know you’ve said that before as well, but you came — and you did have a tough month. But you came home from Europe about 11 or 12 days before the debate, spent six days in Camp David. Why wasn’t that enough rest time, enough recovery time?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 Says He Has Not Had a Cognitive Test and Doesn’t Need One

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      President Biden said in an interview on Friday that he has not undergone a cognitive exam, but argued that his record as president should be proof enough that he is mentally fit to lead the nation.He was repeatedly pressed about his cognitive abilities in his first major interview since his disastrous debate performance set off calls for him to drop out of the race. George Stephanopoulos of ABC News asked him pointedly if he would be willing to undergo a neurological and cognitive test.“I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, but I’m running the world,” Mr. Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Biden would not commit to an independent cognitive test when pressed in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.https://t.co/hlL4FaVp80 pic.twitter.com/Jg2SepN8bN— ABC News (@ABC) July 6, 2024

      The line of questioning came after Mr. Biden was criticized for his debate performance that was often meandering and during which he was faltering in his speech. Several current and former officials have also expressed concern that moments in which Mr. Biden appears confused or listless have become more frequent.The White House has said Mr. Biden was suffering from a cold on the night of the debate. Mr. Biden has blamed himself and his travel schedule ahead of the debate. But an increasing number of Democrats and voters have expressed concern over whether Mr. Biden has the mental acuity to not only beat Mr. Trump, but to serve for another four years.“Have you had the specific cognitive tests, and have you had a neurologist, a specialist, do an examination?” Mr. Stephanopoulos asked Mr. Biden.“No. No one said I had to,” Mr. Biden said. “They said I’m good.”Mr. Biden added that like every president, a White House doctor does travel with him. His doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said Mr. Biden was “fit for duty” after undergoing a physical earlier this year, adding that he had undergone an “extremely detailed” neurological exam that did not turn up evidence of stroke, neurological disorders or Parkinson’s disease.After the debate, Mr. Biden said his doctor looked at him and said, “you’re exhausted.”Mr. Biden also did not commit to taking a cognitive test in the future to assure voters. Instead, he issued a challenge to those concerned about his mental state. “Watch me.”“There’s a lot of time left in this campaign,” Mr. Biden said. More