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A Republican lawmaker is sounding the alarm on the latest threat from China – rifle-toting AI robot dogs.

A Chinese state media video, screenshots of which were published by the Military Times, showed that country’s military displaying dog-like robots toting rifles during joint drills in Cambodia.

The AI dogs weigh 110 pounds and can carry and fire automatic rifles autonomously, according to the outlet. 

While drone warfare is not a novel concept, some believe the rise of these new armed automatons should cause concern stateside.

IN THE ONLY STATE BORDERING RUSSIA, ALASKA GOVERNOR SAYS ITS DEFENSES ARE STRONG

Visitors view a fighting robot dog during the 9th China (Beijing) Military Intelligent Technology Expo at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. (Guo Haipeng/VCG via Getty Images)

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital that advanced AI is the next major economic and military frontier for both the U.S. and its adversaries like China.

Of 18 amendments he authored and successfully saw passed via the House draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), one drew attention to the potentially game-changing threat.

Buchanan’s legislation added a provision that would direct the secretary of defense to report on the threat of China’s use of AI in the military, including such robot-dogs, and their national security threat to the U.S.

“If we don’t pay attention to what other countries around the world are doing on the AI front, we risk losing our standing on the global stage and position as the world’s preeminent fighting force,” Buchanan said.

“Anyone that tells you that China will only be using these for purely peaceful purposes has their head in the sand.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But, according to a May report from The Warzone, the Marine Corps’ Special Forces Operation Command – or MARSOC – has two similar robotic quadrupeds that it is currently using for perimeter security in unspecified locations.

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Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, General Mao Sophan, inspects drones and a machine gun equipped robot battle dog displayed in front of Chinese soldiers at a military police base in Kampong Chhnang province. (TANG CHHIN SOTHYTANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty)

Buchanan said the U.S. has experimented with such similar robotic dogs in the past, but China affixing weapons to them and showing them off via military exercises is worrisome.

“[This] should make everyone take notice and ensure our military is staying one step ahead of them at every turn,” he said.

When asked whether the Democratic-led Senate is likely to strip the provision from its draft for the final compromise legislation, Buchanan said he had no reason to believe so. 

He suggested the “common-sense” reporting requirement should be noncontroversial as a matter of national security.

“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback about our amendment. The fact that it passed without opposition from a single member of Congress on either side of the aisle should tell you everything you need to know,” he added.

Then-Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., listens as Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., speaks. (Getty)

While he alone drafted the amendment to the NDAA, Buchanan said that many other lawmakers are extremely concerned about AI-related threats from China and other adversaries.

Asked about the robot dogs and the reporting amendment, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee who chief-sponsored the NDAA, suggested that such concerns are valid.

“Prioritizing innovation is vital if we want to stay ahead of China,” Rogers said.

“The FY25 NDAA continues to make investments in innovative emerging technologies, like AI, to ensure that our military remains the most capable and lethal force in the world.”

The Senate is due to take up debate on the NDAA in the near term, after House passage of its version fell largely along party lines at 217-199.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a budget intended to close an estimated $46.8 billion deficit, but multiple Republican lawmakers say they were left out of negotiations. 

Lawmakers passed the budget Wednesday after an agreement between Newsom and legislative leaders in which both sides made concessions and gained some wins.

The budget aims to close the deficit through $16 billion in spending cuts and temporarily raising taxes on some businesses.

Newsom praised the budget as “responsible” and said it prepared “for the future while investing in foundational programs that benefit millions of Californians every day.” 

‘I WOULD NEVER TURN MY BACK ON PRESIDENT BIDEN’: NEWSOM SHOWS SUPPORT AT PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters after a presidential debate between President Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Trump in Atlanta, Thursday, June 27, 2024.  (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

“Thanks to careful stewardship of the budget over the past few years, we’re able to meet this moment while protecting our progress on housing, homelessness, education, health care and other priorities that matter deeply to Californians,” Newsom said. 

But some Republicans say they were left out of negotiations altogether. Republican Senator Roger Niello of Fair Oaks, Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, derided the budget as “the majority party’s budget.” He told Fox News Digital he only learned of the budget in an X post. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (Screenshot/NBC)

“This budget certainly reflects the majority party’s priorities, but it ignores the priorities of eight million residents of this state because none of my Republican colleagues were involved in development of the budget,” Niello said. 

The Republican lawmaker also called the budget package “nominally balanced but not sustainable.” 

ADAM CAROLLA SAYS HE’S LEAVING ‘HORRIBILE’ CALIFORNIA, PANS ‘SOCIOPATHIC’ NEWSOM: ‘SLIPPERY EEL OF NOTHINGNESS’

“It fails to rein in the past decade of irresponsible growth in government spending,” Niello said. “It relies on budget gimmicks, draws down our savings, and saddles future generations with debt.”

Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones of San Diego argued that California residents who are represented by a Republican in the legislature have effectively been denied a voice. 

“Each senator, whether Democrat or Republican, in California represents almost a million people and those million people each should have a voice on what happens in the legislature regarding the budget,” Niello said. 

He accused his Democratic colleagues of playing “shadow games with accounting” rather than “being responsible with California’s checkbook.” 

State Capitol Aerial view of California Capitol in Sacramento. Lawmakers on Friday advanced a bill that would allow killer serving life without parole to petition for re-sentencing.  (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“They shifted, swept and shuffled money around, stealing it from disabled kids and taking money from a host of necessary services to fund unneeded social experiments and pet projects,” he said. “It’s unfathomable. But it’s real.”

The deficit was about $32 billion in 2023 before growing even bigger this year, with more deficits projected for the future in the nation’s most populous state. 

Saturday’s signing came just two years after Newsom and Democratic lawmakers were boasting about surpluses that totaled more than $100 billion, the product of hundreds of billions of dollars of federal COVID-19 aid and a progressive tax code that produced a windfall of revenue from the state’s wealthiest residents.

But those revenue spikes did not last as inflation slowed the economy, contributing to rising unemployment and a slowdown in the tech industry that has driven much of the state’s growth. The Newsom administration then badly miscalculated how much money California would have last year after a seven-month delay in the tax filing deadline.

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The budget includes an agreement that Newsom and lawmakers will try to change the state constitution to let California put more money in reserve for future shortfalls.

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office but did not hear back.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A poll released by CBS News on Sunday found that more voters have doubts about President Biden’s cognitive abilities after Thursday’s presidential debate.

The poll, which was conducted between Friday and Saturday, found that 18% of voters thought Biden’s debate performance inspired confidence, while 44% believed that former President Trump’s performance did. Only 21% of polled voters believed that Biden presented his ideas clearly.

When asked earlier in June if Biden had the mental and cognitive health to serve as president, 35% of respondents said he did. After the debate, that number dropped to 27%.

Sixty-five percent of polled voters said Biden did not have the mental and cognitive health to serve as president when asked on June 9. That number has increased to 72%.

JILL BIDEN’S EX-HUSBAND CALLS HER OUT FOR DEFENDING ‘STRUGGLING’ JOE BIDEN, ‘KEEPING HIM IN THE RACE’

President Biden is shown during the presidential debate at CNN Studios in Atlanta on June 27, 2024. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

When the respondents were asked about President Trump’s mental and cognitive abilities, around 50% voted in favor of Trump and 49% voted against him.

Among respondents who were registered Democrats, 55% said Biden should continue running and 45% believed he should step aside.

EUROPEAN OFFICIAL APPEARS TO LIKEN BIDEN TO FAILED ROMAN EMPEROR AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE PERFORMANCE

President Biden and former President Trump squared off in their high-stakes election debate rematch last week. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Biden’s poor performance at the CNN presidential debate has fueled anxieties about his chances of being re-elected. Both Republicans and Democrats have called for the president to end his campaign.

The New York Times editorial board and the editorial board of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have called for Biden to drop out of the race. After the debate, the Times’ editorial board wrote that the “greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.”

Trump and Biden are shown at the presidential debate in Atlanta on June 27, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign and Trump campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Former Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel — who is 94 years old — wondered whether President Biden belongs in a nursing home instead of the White House following last week’s debate disaster.

“I have never been more shocked and embarrassed by any presidential debate than I was last Thursday,” Rangel, who served in Congress from 1971 to 2017, said Sunday on 770 WABC radio’s “The Cats Roundtable.” 

“One [candidate is] a convicted felon who has no respect for the truth, for morality. The other seemed so damned confused I didn’t even know whether he knew where the hell he was at in terms of responding to the moderator.”

Rangel, a Democrat, told host John Catsimatidis he “would not object” to both candidates taking cognitive tests to determine their fitness. Trump is 78, just three years younger than Biden.

FAUCI GIVES HIS OPINION ON WHETHER 81-YEAR-OLD BIDEN IS FIT TO RUN FOR A SECOND TERM

President Biden looks down as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

“It’s clear that Biden was shaky in responding … One has to think about what happens in [the next] four years.”

Biden’s debate performance was so troubling that voters have to be reminded that Trump could be sentenced to prison time for his conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, Rangel said.

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

He said in most states Republicans and Democrats will vote for their party nominee despite their flaws, and the election comes down to seven battleground states.  

New Yorkers watch the 2024 Presidential Debate between Trump and Biden in New York City, on June 27, 2024. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“If Trump is in jail, Republicans will vote for him. If Biden is in a nursing home, [the Democrats] are going to vote for him,” he said. 

BIDEN’S ‘DISASTER’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE SPARKS MEDIA MELTDOWN, CALLS FOR HIM TO WITHDRAW FROM 2024 RACE

But Rangel wasn’t ready to abandon Biden, noting he was good on the stump the day after the debate.

Former President using his hands to convey his point at the debate (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

“He was so on point, so articulate. He was better than he was at the State of the Union [address]. And I wondered, ‘Where the hell was that Joe Biden [during the debate]?'” he said.

Biden intends to seek re-election despite calls from the liberal New York Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and even some Democrats that it’s time for him to step aside for the good of the party and the country.

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Former U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., questioned whether President Biden belongs in a nursing home following the debate with Trump. (Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images)

During the debate, Biden frequently stumbled over his answers and at one point froze and then said “I beat Medicare.”

Rangel, during the latter part of 46 years in Congress, struggled with his physical health but appeared mentally sharp.

The Biden campaign sent out an email to supporters detailing how they can respond to their friends who are critical of President Biden’s debate performance.

“If you’re like me, you’re getting lots of texts or calls from folks about the state of the race after Thursday,” reads the email. “Maybe it was your panicked aunt, your MAGA uncle, or some self-important podcasters. It’s a tough position to be in, so I thought it might be helpful to send you a few responses.”

The email comes after last week’s first presidential debate between Biden and former President Trump, which resulted in widespread criticism of the president’s performance.

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

President Biden stands at his podium during his debate with former President Trump in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“This was a game-changing debate in the sense that right now, as we speak, there is a deep, a wide and a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party. It started minutes into the debate and it continues right now,” CNN’s John King said shortly after the debate was over. “It involves party strategists, it involves elected officials, it involves fundraisers. And they‘re having conversations about the president’s performance, which they think was dismal, which they think will hurt other people down the party in the ticket, and they‘re having conversations about what they should do about it.” 

In the aftermath of Biden’s performance, calls for the president to step aside and allow for a different nominee have continued to intensify, including from within his own party.

While the campaign email acknowledges that “the debate started rough,” it argued that the real takeaway was that “voters saw what a threat Donald Trump is to the country.”

President Biden walks off with first lady Jill Biden following the CNN Presidential Debate on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

The email encourages supporters to forcefully push back against those calling on the president to drop out of the race, accusing such critics of being part of the “bedwetting brigade.”

“That is the best possible way for Donald Trump to win and us to lose,” the email argues. “Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee, period. End of story. Voters voted. He won overwhelmingly.”

President Biden walks off the stage after the debate on June 27, 2024. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The email goes on to argue that Biden dropping out “would lead to weeks of chaos,” which would include “internal foodfighting” and “a bunch of candidates who limp into a brutal floor fight at the convention.”

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“All while Donald Trump has time to speak to American voters uncontested,” the email continued. “All of that would be in service of a nominee who would go into a general election in the weakest possible position with zero dollars in their bank account. You want a highway to losing? It’s that.”

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Should Sen. JD Vance get the nod from former President Trump to be his 2024 running mate and the ticket wins the White House in November, the Ohio Republican’s Senate seat will be in the hands of a decidedly non-MAGA GOP governor.

Trump is expected to make an announcement on his selection by mid-July, and Vance is widely believed to be on his short list. If Vance trades in his Senate seat for the vice presidency, Gov. Mike DeWine, a fellow Republican, will choose who gets to finish his term. Vance hopes it happens.

“I care a lot about national defense, I care a lot about whether the troops have what they need to fight,” Vance said on Fox News last week in a conversation related to him potentially serving as vice president. “I care a lot about, frankly, whether when we ask our kids to go to war, we ought to make sure it’s for the right reasons. And so you definitely think about those things, maybe a little bit differently, as a U.S. Marine.” 

THE VEEPSTAKES GOES ‘APPRENTICE’: WILL TRUMP REALLY PICK RUBIO, VANCE OR BURGUM?

Sen. JD Vance during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Vance could also be a powerful weapon against the Biden campaign, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ former communications director Ashley Etienne calling him the “greatest threat” in a vice presidential debate. 

“I think JD Vance would pose the greatest threat [to] Kamala Harris, in some respects. I mean he’s an incredible debater,” Etienne told CNN earlier this month. “I think he has this quality that makes him seem palpable to that one to two percent that actually might vote or that is undecided, that will actually pay attention to the debates because most people don’t pay attention to the debates.”

TRUMP VP CONTENDER JD VANCE SAYS HE’S A ‘LITTLE BIT HARDER’ FOR BIDEN, OPPONENTS TO ATTACK

Gov. Mike DeWine speaks during a news conference, Dec. 29, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

DeWine will certainly select a fellow Republican to fill the vacant Senate seat if Vance does land on a winning ticket, but he is unlikely to choose as ardent a supporter of Trump’s agenda as Vance. DeWine has had a tepid relationship with Trump, even declining to outright endorse him in the 2024 election. For his part, Trump has slammed the GOP governor for various policies, such as vetoing a bill that banned transgender surgeries for minors last year. DeWine has remained relatively mum on his thoughts on Trump, treading carefully with his support of the 45th president without offering his full-throated backing. 

Trump did endorse DeWine in his 2018 gubernatorial election, and despite previous criticisms of the governor, Trump again endorsed him in his 2022 election. 

JD VANCE SLAMS NY V. TRUMP TRIAL AS DEM EFFORT TO DISTRACT THAT THE ‘WORLD IS ON FIRE’ UNDER BIDEN

“We have an outstanding person running, Mike DeWine, who quietly, but professionally, goes about doing his job and really well,” Trump said at the time. 

Under the scenario of a Trump-Vance ticket winning the general election, DeWine has a bevy of Republican options, including both establishment Republicans and a handful of Trump-backed GOPers, such as Rep. Mike Carey, Ohio-based outlet The Plain Dealer reported last week. 

The governor’s office told Fox News Digital on Sunday when asked about any potential plans to fill a vacancy, that there’s currently “no vacancy on which to comment.”

Former President Trump and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate JD Vance greet supporters during the rally at the Dayton International Airport on Nov. 7, 2022, in Vandalia, Ohio. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

DeWine has multiple factors to consider if he is in fact tasked with filling the seat, including appointing someone with staying power who could retain the seat, The Plain Dealer highlighted. 

‘GREATEST THREAT’: FORMER TOP KAMALA HARRIS AIDE REVEALS WHICH TRUMP VP PICK COULD SINK HER CANDIDACY

The outlet reported that state Sen. Matt Dolan could be chosen as a potential Vance replacement, or Secretary of State Frank LaRose, or Jane Timken, who received endorsements from both Trump and establishment Republicans during her Senate campaign in 2022. Dolan and LaRose both ran in the GOP primary in an effort to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the general, but lost to Trump-backed candidate Bernie Moreno. 

“If Sen. Vance is elected vice president, most Ohio Republicans in the know expect that Gov. DeWine will appoint a consensus Republican to his seat who will support President Trump’s priorities in Washington and not someone antagonistic to him,” an Ohio Republican operative told Fox News Digital, quelling concern of a potential clash between establishment Republicans and MAGA supporters. 

Vance has emerged as a strong supporter of Trump, landing him atop the list of likely running mates. The Republican senator in 2016, however, repeatedly slammed Trump, including comparing him to Hitler. The senator has since totally disavowed his comments, and underscored to voters that he’s unafraid to admit when he is wrong. 

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“I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a–-hole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler. How’s that for discouraging?” Vance wrote to an old friend in the winter of 2016. 

“I’m a Never Trump guy,” Vance said on a separate occasion during an interview with Charlie Rose in 2016. “I never liked him.”

Former President Trump’s veepstakes has apparently whittled itself down to three candidates: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. (Getty Images)

Vance has taken the previous comments head-on during interviews with the media, including during an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier earlier this month.

INSIDERS PREDICT RUST BELT REPUBLICAN, POSSIBLE TRUMP VP PICK, COULD FLIP BIDEN VOTES IN KEY SWING STATES

“Look, I was wrong about Donald Trump,” Vance said. “I didn’t think he was gonna be a good president, Bret. He was a great president. And it’s one of the reasons why I’m working so hard to make sure he gets a second term.”

Sen. JD Vance speaks to members of the media outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York on May 13, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller also brushed off Vance’s previous comments, pointing Fox News Digital to Harris’ comments regarding President Biden before she was chosen as his running mate. 

“Kamala Harris described Joe Biden as a racist who opposed integration of public schools and more or less said that Biden palled around with a former leader of the KKK in Robert Byrd. By comparison, President Trump and any of his prospective VP picks will be much more simpatico,” Miller said. 

Throughout the election season, Vance has repeatedly offered his unequivocal support for Trump, including in an interview with Fox News last week when he called Trump a “great president” who brought prosperity, freedom and “peace on the world stage.” 

DEMOCRATS ‘FEAR’ THIS POSSIBLE TRUMP VP PICK WHO ‘SOULD SPELL THE END FOR BIDEN’: INSIDERS

Vance also joined Trump in Manhattan court last month when the 45th president faced 34 counts of falsifying business records, calling the case “a threat to American democracy.” Trump was ultimately found guilty in the case, but has maintained his innocence while slamming the trial as election interference promoted by the Biden administration ahead of 2024. 

President Biden during the first presidential debate with former President Trump in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Vance is listed alongside other potential picks for Trump’s running mate this year, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson. 

SEN. VANCE, GOP SENATORS PLAN TO BLOCK BIDEN NOMINEES FOLLOWING TRUMP CONVICTION: ‘CAN’T REWARD’ LAWFARE

Trump has remained coy to the media regarding his running mate choice, but did say this month that he’s made his decision – adding that no one is yet privy to the choice. He added that the eventual running mate would be present during the 2024 presidential debate last Thursday. Vance, alongside other potential veep candidates, was among those present for the debate. 

Former President Trump speaks during the debate. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump has previously said he will officially announce his choice just ahead or during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which will be held from July 15-18. Though the 45th president could make the announcement even sooner.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., rallied behind President Biden during television appearances Sunday, saying he should remain in the race despite his disastrous debate performance.

The lawmakers admitted during appearances on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Biden had a “bad night” Thursday, but both rejected the growing calls for him to drop out of the race. Pelosi claimed he only struggled due to former President Trump’s on-stage “lies,” while Clyburn argued his poor performance was merely due to “preparation overload.”

CNN host Dana Bash opened her interview with Pelosi by citing a poll showing that 72% of Americans believe Biden is no longer mentally capable of holding office.

“Well, what do they think about the other guy?” Pelosi asked of voters. “Do they think that he has the integrity to be president after that performance? Let us not make a judgment about a presidency based on one debate.”

BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn rallied behind President Biden during TV appearances Sunday, saying he should remain in the race despite his disastrous debate performance. (Getty Images)

“The fact is, the reaction to the lies of Donald Trump is something that… people are focusing on, and to have a debate where you have to spend half your time negating what he said because he knows nothing about the truth,” she added. “On one side of the screen you have integrity and on one side you have dishonesty.”

Clyburn, who was the House assistant Democratic leader until last year, also brushed off Biden’s embarrassing debate in his interview with Bash, saying he has full confidence that Biden can both beat Trump in November and serve as the leader of the free world for four more years.

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

“I do not believe that Joe Biden has a problem leading for the next four years, because he’s done a great job of leading for the past three years,” he said. “Joe Biden should continue to run on his record.”

Clyburn also brushed off Biden’s embarrassing debate, saying he has full confidence that Biden can both beat Trump in November and serve as the leader of the free world for four more years. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Clyburn went on to acknowledge that Biden had a “bad performance” on Thursday, but offered his own explanation for why it happened.

BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRATS LEAVE BIDEN HIGH AND DRY AFTER ‘DISASTROUS’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

“I’ve been around these things. I’ve been a part of debate preparation before, and I know when I see what I call preparation overload,” he said. “That’s exactly what was going on the other night. I saw Joe Biden grappling for words and phrases and even numbers that he was loaded up with. But today he arrived in North Carolina, he was freewheeling and he captivated the audience.”

Biden has faced growing calls to drop out of the presidential race after his performance on Thursday. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Biden has faced growing calls to drop out of the presidential race after his performance on Thursday. The New York Times editorial board argued that him staying in the race would be a “reckless gamble.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial board made a similar argument, calling on Biden to drop out “for the good of the nation.”

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So far, the formal pressure on Biden to drop out has all been external, however. Like Pelosi and Clyburn, top Democrats in Congress and across the country remain publicly supportive of his presidential bid.

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday spoke about President Biden’s age following the president’s much-criticized debate performance against former President Trump.

Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and was asked about whether Biden, who is 81 years old, should be running for re-election.

“You know, I think it’s just an individual choice, and you really can’t generalize,” Fauci said. 

Fauci, who helped lead the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, said one must look at each person as an individual and evaluate “how they feel, what they feel they can do.”

BIDEN REPORTEDLY HUMILIATED BY DEBATE PERFORMANCE, LACKS CONFIDENCE: ‘IT’S A MESS’

Fauci said his dealings with Biden were “very positive.” (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, File)

“You know, what their passion is, what their energy is,” Fauci said. “Those are the kind of things.”

When asked if he was surprised by anything he saw during Thursday’s presidential debate, Fauci said he did not want to comment on anything that “would have political implications.” 

Biden’s debate performance was largely criticized by the media. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He added that what he felt comfortable speaking about were his “very positive” dealings with Biden during their time working together.

“He asks probing questions. He’s right on point on things,” Fauci said of Biden, without going into detail on specific instances. “So my personal experience has been quite positive with him.”

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

With a raspy voice and delivering rambling answers, Biden struggled during portions of Thursday night’s debate. He also lost his train of thought several times, raising concerns among some Democrats and in the media. 

In the wake of the debate, both The New York Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial boards have called on Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee.

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The Democratic National Committee, however, has said it will continue to support Biden as the nominee.

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

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., cited his own “difficult” debate performance in 2022 against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz while arguing Sunday that President Biden can still win in November and “deserves” a second term. 

In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Fetterman dismissed the New York Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a number of left-leaning pundits calling on Biden to drop out of the race. 

“There’s no value in, in any of those things. I mean, there was that same kind of a freak out after my debate. And in fact, I might even say that I had a more difficult evening than the president did,” Fetterman told host Shannon Bream. “And here I am right now, having this conversation. And I really like to remind to everybody watching that right now, Biden is one and Trump is still zero, and he’s the only person that’s ever beaten Trump. And I really believe that Joe Biden will do that again, despite all of the Democrats wetting the bed over that kind of thing.” 

Bream noted that Fetterman was recovering from a stroke at the time of his debate, and has improved over time, while voters are more concerned about 81-year-old Biden because of his advanced age.

FETTERMAN URGES DEMS TO ‘CHILL THE F— OUT’ ABOUT BIDEN, SAYS HE’S PROOF ‘ROUGH DEBATE’ ISN’T DEAL-BREAKER

Sen. John Fetterman speaks to a reporter as he leaves the Senate chamber after a vote in the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“We had a difficult debate, and yet we still managed to go on to win,” Fetterman said. “Now everybody was calling that… the end of my career. That was the end of this race. And everyone was predicting that I was going to lose actually by two points or more. And I smoked Oz by five points. And that’s why I’m saying it’s like one debate. It’s not a career any more than Donald Trump’s… convictions for felonies aren’t really going to define, you know, his reputation and his presidency. And that’s why they’re both here again.”

Trump was convicted of 34 counts in the Manhattan hush money trial and is awaiting sentencing just days before the Republican National Convention. 

In a post on X following the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday, Fetterman urged panicked Democrats to “chill the f— out” about Biden’s widely panned performance because he is living proof “a rough debate” doesn’t disqualify a political candidate. 

President Biden during the first presidential debate of this election cycle in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

BIDEN’S ‘DISASTER’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE SPARKS MEDIA MELTDOWN, CALLS FOR HIM TO WITHDRAW FROM 2024 RACE

Fetterman suffered a stroke in May 2022, causing clear auditory processing issues that impacted his speaking abilities in the months leading up to Election Day that November. Despite a jarring debate performance that left many Americans questioning his fitness for office, Fetterman still defeated the former daytime TV host known as Dr. Oz, the Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate race.

On Sunday, Fetterman further argued that Biden “deserves” a second term, citing his economic record and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

President Biden and former President Trump during the first presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I’ve watched him for the last four years and he’s done incredibly good things. I mean, he got us through that pandemic, that pandemic, that over a million Americans lost their lives through that. And look at our economy. Ours is the world’s envy,” he said. “And look at the stock market. Look at all these other kinds of metrics. People were calling that it was going to be a recession. And here we are now, booming and all of those kinds of things. So the president has done a really good job and he deserves a second term. But I really do want to be clear, it’s going to be very close.”

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According to a Fox News poll conducted April 11-16, registered voters in Pennsylvania gave Trump wide margins over Biden regarding who they trusted to best handle the economy, foreign policy and the border.   

“The only poll that’s really going to matter is Election Day,” Fetterman said. “And the polls changed and they inverted in my race as well. And here I am as a United States senator. And I just got back from Israel just a couple days ago. And that’s why I want to remind everybody that one debate does not define a person’s record or the kind of person or the situation.” 

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.

Former Trump administration communications director Anthony Scaramucci argued President Biden will have to do more to prove he’s up to being president for another four years.

“I went to President Biden‘s fundraiser in East Hampton and I thought he did quite well reading the teleprompter today and meeting with people,” Scaramucci said. “However, that is not going to be enough to prove to the American people that he’s up for another four years.” 

The comments come after the first presidential debate last week between Biden and former President Trump, with many observers and commentators criticizing the president’s performance and calling into question his ability to continue the campaign.

THE DEMOCRATS’ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT ATTEMPTS TO SPIN BIDEN’S DEBATE DEBACLE: ‘DID WE WATCH THE SAME DEBATE?’

President Biden looks down as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta on June 27, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The performance even led to some Democrats calling on the president to drop out of the race, arguing that Biden demonstrated he is unfit to go toe-to-toe with Trump in November.

The Biden campaign has so far pushed back against the critics, acknowledging the weak debate performance but vowing the president would stay in the race.

But Scaramucci, who briefly served in Trump’s administration before stepping down and becoming a frequent critic of the former president, suggested that Biden would have to do more to demonstrate his fitness to continue.

Anthony Scaramucci speaks during a conference in Las Vegas on May 17, 2017. (Reuters/Richard Brian)

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

“President Biden needs to appear in unscripted settings and handle fair but tough questioning (further demonstrations of his ability to read from a teleprompter will not assuage my concerns). Four ideas come to mind,” Scaramucci said, citing ideas from his friend Whitney Tilson.

Among the ideas were for Biden to hold an hour-long press conference at the White House every week before the election, do an interview with “60 Minutes,” meet with the editorial board of the New York Times to demonstrate why the paper was wrong to call for his resignation, and appear on a late-night T.V. show.

President Biden stands at his podium during the debate against former President Trump in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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“This can all be done in the next week – there is no time to waste,” Scaramucci said.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Medicare benefits have emerged as an election hot topic, putting President Biden in a likely precarious situation with senior voters after slashing the popular Medicare Advantage program’s benefits ahead of the election. 

“I will not cut one penny from Social Security or Medicare, which Joe Biden is destroying by letting millions of people come into our country. He’s destroying Medicare and Social Security,” Trump said during his rally on Temple University’s campus in Philadelphia last weekend, setting the stage for ongoing attacks against his 2024 competitor. 

“Joe Biden has cut Medicare Advantage for the last two years. Did you know that? He’s cut your Medicare Advantage, which is a total betrayal of seniors. And just check, you’ll see it. He has cut you down for two years straight.”

Medicare was cited again during the first presidential debate of the election cycle on Thursday, where Biden’s disastrous performance included him saying, “We finally beat Medicare” as he stumbled over his words. 

“He’s right, he did beat Medicare, beat it to death,” Trump fired back. “And he’s destroying Medicare because of all these people are coming in, they’re putting them on Medicare, they’re putting them on Social Security.”

BIDEN ADMIN THREATENING YOUR MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN. HERE’S WHAT THEY’RE NOT TELLING YOU

Former President Trump called out President Biden for claiming he was at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. Trump visited the site in New York City days after the Twin Towers were struck.    (Getty Images )

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, specifically, are private health insurance plans that contract with Medicare, and are used by more than 33 million Americans. The program mostly enrolls adults over the age of 65, but also offers benefits to people of all ages with disabilities. Traditional Medicare, conversely, is a federal health insurance program for adults over the age of 65, as well as younger individuals with disabilities. 

BIDEN HOPES SENIORS WON’T NOTICE THIS CUT IN THEIR BENEFITS BEFORE THE ELECTION

The Biden administration in April finalized plans to cut MA benefits, which experts said could lead to an additional $33 a month for out-of-pocket costs, or $396 a year, for enrollees. Critics of the cuts said they would be especially devastating to seniors living on fixed incomes who are already coping with ongoing inflation issues. 

Fox News Digital spoke to a former nurse, Republican New York congresswoman, and Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Ann Marie Buerkle, who said the cuts could prove devastating for the Biden administration, as the 46th president hits this election cycle’s fever pitch. 

HEALTH CARE COSTS UP TO 300% HIGHER FOR PRIVATELY INSURED PATIENTS THAN THOSE WITH MEDICARE, REPORT REVEALS

“By letting far-left socialists control his policy agenda, Biden made a huge blunder that will jeopardize his support from the 33 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans who will see their premiums go up, co-pays increase, and benefits decline before November,” said Buerkle.

President Biden speaks about his administration’s plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and lower health care costs, Feb. 9, 2023, at the University of Tampa in Florida. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The cuts come as the left-wing faction of Congress continues promoting “Medicare-for-all” legislation, which would establish a universal single-payer national health insurance system. Buerkle said the Biden administration’s cuts this year “actively sabotage MA,” likely in a backdoor attempt to promote a government-focused system, such as “Medicare-for-all.” 

“Far left ideologues like Elizabeth Warren hate Medicare Advantage’s success as a public-private partnership because it undermines their argument for government-run health care, aka ‘Medicare-for-all.’ Biden has let these far left ideologues in his administration actively sabotage MA so they can prop up a government-run model and achieve their socialist agenda,” she said. 

The sentiment was echoed in an op-ed published by Fox News Digital in May, by Heritage Action executive vice president Ryan Walker.  

REPUBLICANS WARM TO SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE REFORM AS 2024 ELECTION NEARS

“Biden and his allies want to cut MA in favor of more government-run, fee-for-service  ‘Medicare-for-all’ – which would mean fewer options for physicians and coverage, like vision and hearing. Recently, progressive ringleader Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and a coalition of 59 far-left House Democrats sent a letter to Biden arguing for ‘strengthening Traditional Medicare’ and redirecting funds ‘incorrectly going to MA,'” Walker wrote. 

The Biden administration pushed back that “any claim that this Administration is cutting Medicare is categorically false” and “disinformation,” adding that “protecting Medicare is a key priority for President Biden and one of our highest priorities at HHS.”

“This is cherry picking numbers. Under the rate announcement, payments to Medicare Advantage plans are expected to increase by 3.7% next year, equivalent to over $16 billion. A $16 billion increase is not a cut,” the White House told Fox News Digital. 

“Leave it to deep-pocketed insurance companies and industry front groups to characterize this year’s increase in Medicare Advantage payments as a cut. Disinformation being pushed out by high-paid industry hacks and their allies hurt Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare Trust Fund.”

The administration added that it proposed a 1% increase in payments to insurance companies that provide Medicare Advantage order to “ensure they are accurately and appropriately compensated for covering the services their enrollees receive.” 

“Like the 1% percent increase in payments that we are proposing for 2024, recovering overpayments from insurance companies is not a cut in payments – any such claim is categorically false.”

President Biden during the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections between himself and former President Trump in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Buerkle previously wrote in an op-ed this year that Medicare benefits could be a “winning issue for Republicans,” citing that the states that voted for Trump in 2016, but switched to Biden in 2020 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – are home to a majority of seniors who get their health care through MA. 

“51% of Medicare-eligible Americans choose MA, and that number grows each year. Nearly all of them self-report satisfaction with the program. So, for 51% of seniors, Medicare Advantage is Medicare, so cuts to the program equate to cuts to Medicare. Trump understands that increasing health care costs for society’s most vulnerable population before an election is a stupendously dumb idea. Other Republicans should follow his lead,” Buerkle told Fox News Digital. 

The MA plans are overwhelmingly supported by those enrolled, with a 2021 analysis finding 90% of enrollees reporting they are satisfied with the plan. Biden had also vowed during his State of the Union address in March that he would protect Social Security and Medicare from any cuts. 

BIDEN CLAIMS HIS DEBATE PERFORMANCE WON OVER ‘MORE UNDECIDED VOTERS THAN TRUMP’ AT NJ FUNDRAISER

“Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors. Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle want to put Social Security on the chopping block. If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop you,” Biden said during the State of the Union. 

“I will not cut one penny from Social Security or Medicare,” former President Trump has said. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“Not only will these cuts increase out-of-pocket costs for seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans by an average of $396 next year, cutting Medicare Advantage hurts Medicare solvency, too, since it’s less costly to the federal government compared to original Medicare and studies have shown that Medicare Advantage could help extend Medicare solvency by 17 years. MA delivers the same benefits as original Medicare for just 83 cents on the dollar,” Buerkle added. 

THE NEW YORKER EDITOR CALLS FOR BIDEN TO STEP DOWN AFTER ‘ANTAGONIZING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

The cuts have faced no shortage of condemnation from Republicans and conservatives, who sounded off in April that seniors on fixed incomes would suffer further financial strains. 

President Biden speaks during a campaign event in Philadelphia on April 18, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“America’s seniors are among the most vulnerable people in our society. Most live on a fixed income – Biden’s inflation has been a baked-in tax to everything they purchase. Now, he’s raising the price of the advantage plan – a plan that millions of seniors rely on,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz posted on X. “This is unacceptable.”

DOCTORS EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT BIDEN’S APPARENT COGNITIVE ISSUES DURING DEBATE: ‘TROUBLING INDICATORS’

“President Trump delivered on his promise to protect Social Security and Medicare in his first term, and President Trump will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. 

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

“The only candidate who poses a threat to Social Security and Medicare is Joe Biden–whose mass invasion of countless millions of illegal aliens will, if they are allowed to stay, cause Social Security and Medicare to buckle and collapse. By unleashing American energy, slashing job-killing regulations, and adopting pro-growth America First tax and trade policies, President Trump will quickly rebuild the greatest economy in history and put Social Security and Medicare on a stronger footing for generations to come.”

Axios reported earlier this year that Biden administration officials believed benefits for enrollees would remain stable through next year. Researchers, however, said the Biden campaign was taking a gamble with the cuts ahead of the election. 

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“President Biden’s team is gambling that MA beneficiaries won’t realize before the election the benefits Biden’s team is causing them to lose come January 2025,” Raymond James analyst Chris Meekins told the outlet. 

President Biden argued that his disastrous debate performance actually converted more voters to his side than former President Trump.

Biden made the claim while surrounded by donors during a Saturday fundraiser at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. The president reportedly acknowledged that his performance at the debate left much to be desired, but he argued that polling was on his side.

“I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” Biden told the several dozen people at the party, according to NJ.com.

“Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on Jan. 6,” he added. “People remember the bad things during his presidency.”

THE DEMOCRATS’ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT ATTEMPTS TO SPIN BIDEN’S DEBATE DEBACLE: ‘DID WE WATCH THE SAME DEBATE?’

President Biden argued that his disastrous debate performance actually converted more voters to his side than former President Trump on Saturday. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden’s attempt to spin his embarrassing Thursday night performance comes after multiple major newspapers called on him to drop out of the race. The New York Times editorial board argued that him staying in the race would be a “reckless gamble.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial board made a similar argument, calling on Biden to drop out “for the good of the nation.”

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

So far, the formal pressure on Biden to drop out has all been external, however. Top Democrats in Congress and across the country remain publicly supportive of his presidential bid, despite rumblings of internal panic.

Biden’s attempt to spin his embarrassing Thursday night performance comes after multiple major newspapers called on him to drop out of the race.  (Derek White/Getty Images for DNC)

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Jaime Harrison attempted to put rumors of Biden’s replacement to bed on Saturday.

BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

Harrison told MSNBC host Al Sharpton that the people are still strongly supporting President Biden, saying that the “hand-wringing” is coming from the media.

“You hear the hand-wringing coming from pundits, Rev, and from op-eds like the New York Times, but you don’t hear from the people,” he said.

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Jaime Harrison attempted to put rumors of Biden’s replacement to bed on Saturday. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“What I have seen is that galvanization, particularly in the Black community,” he said. “I’m a Black man. I’ve seen the galvanization of support for Joe Biden because, you know, in the Black community, in your family, you can say all that you want to say about a member of your family, but don’t let somebody else.”

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The DNC chairman said that people have Biden’s back because he has “always had our back.”

“That’s what I’ve seen in terms of support of Joe Biden, because for us, Joe Biden has always had our back, and we’re going to have his,” he said.

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has become a fixture among conservatives since dumping the Democrat Party two years ago to become an independent.

The outspoken critic of President Biden and her former party is now rumored to be on former President Trump’s running mate shortlist — albeit as a long shot — something she hasn’t shied away from as discussions about the best choice for Republicans to reel in undecided and moderate voters ramp up ahead of the Republican National Convention (RNC) next month.

Fox News Digital caught up with Gabbard, who said in May she’d be “honored” to join Trump on the Republican ticket, during a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where she shared what she viewed as the required qualities for any individual hoping to be picked by the former president.

BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

Tulsi Gabbard attends a live taping of Hannity at Fox News Channel Studios on September 13, 2023 in New York City. (Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)

“In order to win, you have to be able to bring in people who may not already be with you or already be a part of your support base. This is important, not only for the election, to be able to bring in our fellow Americans,” 

“It is also important to do the tough work that will follow should President Trump win, to be able to actually root out the rot of corruption that exists within permanent Washington, to root out the deep state, root out those who believe that their function in government is more important than the people of this country,” she said.

“We’ve got to flip it on its head and remind people that we should have a limited government that exists to serve the people, not the other way around.”

BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRATS LEAVE BIDEN HIGH AND DRY AFTER ‘DISASTROUS’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Historic Greenbrier Farms in Chesapeake, Virginia, US, on Friday, June 28, 2024. (Parker Michels-Boyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Those who have mentioned Gabbard as a potential option for Trump point to what could be her ability to attract moderates and independents given her more liberal views on certain social positions, as well as her views on how the Democrat Party has become more radical over time.

Gabbard left the party in 2022, stating, “I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoke anti-white racism.”

She detailed her thought process behind the decision in a book she published earlier this year, “For Love Of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind.”

REPUBLICANS DECLARE BIDEN ‘UNFIT FOR OFFICE’ FOLLOWING ‘DISASTROUS’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard speaks with Fox News Digital in Washington, D.C. on June 21. 2024. (Fox News Digital/Brandon Gillespie)

“When I announced I was leaving the Democratic Party, I got a flood of messages and emails and notes and DMs from people who, as you just pointed out, felt the same way that I did,” Gabbard told Fox when asked about her book’s message.

“I saw the opportunity to be able to actually go into more detail, not only on the reasons why I left the Democratic Party, but the experiences that I’ve had that brought me to that decision to leave the party that I was associated with for over 20 years, recognizing that that may help others who are struggling through their political decision, both about whether or not they want to be associated with the party or leave the Democratic Party, but also really critically, how they will vote in this election.”

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Gabbard said her book was “a very direct call to action” because of what the party had become.

It’s unclear when exactly Trump might announce his running mate, but he suggested last month he may make the announcement at the RNC in Milwaukee next month. He told Fox News last week he had decided who it was going to be, before later stating his pick would be in attendance at his first debate against Biden, which was held Thursday in Atlanta.

Those on the shortlist who joined Trump in Atlanta included Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik. However, Gabbard was notably not present.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

People will likely want to have a conversation about what the country saw on the presidential debate stage Thursday night, one Democratic congressman predicted after President Biden’s decidedly weak performance. 

“That’s a question that people will, I’m sure, want to talk about,” Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., replied when asked by Fox News Digital whether he believed that Biden should be the Democratic nominee for president. 

VULNERABLE DEMS WON’T SAY WHETHER BIDEN SHOULD BE NOMINEE: ‘PRESIDENT CAN MAKE HIS OWN DECISIONS’

A Democratic congressman said he expects people will want to discuss whether Biden should remain on the party’s 2024 ticket. (Getty Images)

“But like I said, this is one night. I’m not going to judge the president’s performance based on one night,” he added. 

Reports quickly emerged, even before the Thursday night debate had ended, alleging Democratic panic taking place about Biden and his ability to take on former President Trump in the November election. A hoarse Biden took the stage in Atlanta for the debate and came across as soft-spoken and at times confused. The performance was concerning enough that analysts on CNN and MSNBC agreed that Biden had done poorly. 

TOP 5 MOMENTS DURING TRUMP-BIDEN DEBATE SHOWDOWN: ‘I DIDN’T HAVE SEX WITH A PORN STAR’

Congressman Morelle said he is not going to hold one bad night against President Biden.  (Getty Images)

“No matter who you are as a lead performer, whether you’re a basketball player or you’re an opera singer, you can have a bad night,” Morelle explained.  “So I’m going to chalk this up to him having a bad night.”

The Democrat’s acknowledgment that some may want to discuss Biden’s status on the ticket and potential alternate nominees comes as several other Democratic members of Congress were unwilling to say what they thought the president should do. 

BIDEN WELCOMES BERNIE SANDERS RALLIES BOOSTING WORKERS IN SWING STATE AS TRUMP COURTS WORKING CLASS

President Biden and former President Trump debated on Thursday night.  (Getty Images)

When asked by Fox News Digital, multiple vulnerable Democrats in swing districts avoided answering if they believed Biden should remain on the ticket. 

However, a number of Democrats, including surrogates for Biden’s campaign, said they still support the president as the party’s nominee, even after the debate. 

JILL BIDEN GUSHES OVER PRESIDENT’S DEBATE PERFORMANCE DESPITE POOR REVIEWS: ‘YOU DID SUCH A GREAT JOB’

Dingell said she wouldn’t be a part of ‘hand-wringing’ in Washington.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said, “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. It wasn’t Joe Biden, you know, the best. But I’m going to tell you, Donald Trump reinforced all the concerns that I’ve had.”

Asked about whether he should still be the nominee, she said, “You know what? I’m not going to be part of all the hand-wringing in Washington. I know the kind of person I want to see in the presidency.”

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Despite concerns swirling about Biden following the debate, his campaign was clear on Friday, with spokesperson Seth Schuster telling Fox News Digital, “Of course he’s not dropping out.”

“I know I’m not a young man … I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said at a campaign appearance in North Carolina. “But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth.” 

The New Yorker magazine has joined other major publications in calling for President Biden to step aside after its editor said watching Biden perform during Thursday’s debate was an “agonizing experience.”

The New Yorker is now the third publication, alongside The New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, to call upon Biden to step-aside for a younger Democratic nominee.

“We have long known that Biden, no matter what issue you might take with one policy or another, is no longer a fluid or effective communicator of those policies,” The New Yorker’s editor, David Remnick, wrote.

“Asked about his decline, the Biden communications team and his understandably protective surrogates and advisers would deliver responses to journalists that sounded an awful lot like what we all, sooner or later, tell acquaintances when asked about aging parents: they have good days and bad days,” he wrote.

ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION EDITORIAL BOARD CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT ‘FOR THE GOOD OF THE NATION’

President Joe Biden looks on as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with former US President and presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Remnick wrote that watching Biden “wander into senselessness” moved observers to “pity” and “fear for the country.”

“Watching Thursday’s debate, observing Biden wander into senselessness onstage, was an agonizing experience, and it is bound to obliterate forever all those vague and qualified descriptions from White House insiders about good days and bad days,” he said.

“You watched it, and, on the most basic human level, you could only feel pity for the man and, more, fear for the country.”

President Biden, shown here with wife Dr. Jill Biden, faced presumed Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign season last week. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Remnick made his remarks despite defensive comments from Biden’s loyalists, like former President Obama, First Lady Jill Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

THE DEMOCRATS’ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT ATTEMPTS TO SPIN BIDEN’S DEBATE DEBACLE: ‘DID WE WATCH THE SAME DEBATE?’

“Such loyalty can be excused, at least momentarily,” he wrote. “They did what they felt they had to do to fend off an immediate implosion of Biden’s campaign, a potentially irreversible cratering of his poll numbers, an evaporation of his fund-raising, and the looming threat of Trump Redux.”

President Joe Biden stands at his podium during the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections between himself and former president Donald Trump at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The New Yorker editor said that Biden staying in the race would be in direct opposition to his years of public service.

“To stay in the race would be pure vanity, uncharacteristic of someone whom most have come to view as decent and devoted to public service,” Remnick wrote.

“To stay in the race, at this post-debate point, would also suggest that it is impossible to imagine a more vital ticket,” he wrote.

Remnick concluded his piece by noting that there “is no shame in growing old” but rather there would be “honor” to step down and out of the race.

“It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it. There is no shame in growing old,” he wrote. “There is honor in recognizing the hard demands of the moment.”

President Biden and former President Trump are facing off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. (Getty Images)

The New Yorker article came after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The New York Times called for him to drop out of the race.

“Mr. Biden has said that he is the candidate with the best chance of taking on this threat of tyranny and defeating it,” The Times said. “His argument rests largely on the fact that he beat Mr. Trump in 2020. That is no longer a sufficient rationale for why Mr. Biden should be the Democratic nominee this year.”

“Mr. Biden answered an urgent question on Thursday night. It was not the answer that he and his supporters were hoping for,” the Times concluded. “But if the risk of a second Trump term is as great as he says it is — and we agree with him that the danger is enormous — then his dedication to this country leaves him and his party only one choice.”

President Joe Biden walks off with first lady Jill Biden following the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Following the debate, Democrats and liberal media figures were reportedly in “panic” after Biden’s performance.

The optics led to a full-on meltdown in Democrat-friendly media, with journalists at various outlets reporting on dozens of Democratic Party officials who said the 81-year-old Biden should consider refusing his party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE 

Biden gave no indication he would step down at his first rally following the debate Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, insisting he is capable of beating Trump. 

“I can do this job, because, quite frankly, the stakes are too high,” Biden energetically said. “Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation.” 

This combination of pictures created on October 22, 2020 shows US President Donald Trump (L) and Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden during the final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 22, 2020. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden also addressed his stumbling performance, saying, “I don’t debate as well as I used to.”

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“I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done,” he told a roaring crowd that chanted “Four more years.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.

A major conservative activist group is preparing for legal battles in case the Democratic Party chooses to pull President Biden out of the running before or after he becomes the nominee.

The Heritage Foundation, one of the United States’ most prominent and well-connected conservative activist groups, is laying the groundwork in case a sudden switch-up in the Democratic roster sparks a legal war.

“We are monitoring the calls from across the country for President Biden to step aside, either now or before the election, and have concluded that the process for substitution and withdrawal is very complicated,” Executive Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project Mike Howell said in a statement. “We will remain vigilant that appropriate election integrity procedures are followed.”

DEM LAWMAKERS STRUGGLE TO DEAL WITH FALLOUT OF BIDEN DEBATE PERFORMANCE: ‘DISAPPOINTMENT’

President Joe Biden walks off stage during the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Heritage has already identified multiple states in which a switch away from Biden before or after the nomination could mean serious trouble for the Democratic Party.

In a separate statement, the Oversight Project warned, “If the Biden family decides that President Biden will not run for re-election, the mechanisms for replacing him on ballots vary by state. There is the potential for pre-election litigation in some states that would make the process difficult and perhaps unsuccessful. 

“Given the expected intensity of election integrity concerns in this election cycle, policymakers and the public should be educated and aware of the contentious path ahead,” it added.

BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

Heritage points out that many states — including swing states such as Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin — might not allow a replacement on the ballot.

Wisconsin does not allow a candidate’s name to be withdrawn from the ballot except due to death. Nevada allows changes to its ballot up until 5:00pm on the fourth Friday of June in the election year — it also allows special consideration for if nominees die or are determined to be mentally unable to proceed. 

Georgia would allow Biden to withdraw up to 60 days before the election. If Biden withdraws afterward, his name would remain on the ballot but votes for him would be discarded.

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President of the United States Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump participate in the first Presidential Debate at CNN Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Other states have restrictions on timing and the reason for withdrawal from ballots, while others have no procedures on the books, making the prospect of switching Biden out an even more perilous legal minefield.

Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ that “This whole idea, this whole notion that maybe they should get a different candidate — that’s not how the system works, folks!”

“It depends on the states. Elections are not run by the party, they’re not run by the federal government — they’re administered by states. Each state has state law,” Chaffetz continued. “Once you go through the primary, once you go through the caucus, you have to follow that law.”

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump primary challenger, warned Republicans should prepare for Democrats to replace President Biden with a candidate who is “younger” and more “vibrant,” while repeating her push for cognitive tests for all candidates for federal office. 

“They are going to be smart about it. They’re going to bring somebody younger. They’re going to bring somebody vibrant. They’re going to bring somebody tested,” Haley told the Wall Street Journal Saturday.

“This is a time for Republicans to prepare and get ready for what’s to come because there is no way that there will be a surviving Democratic Party if they allow Joe Biden to continue to be the candidate.”

Some Democrats have also called on Biden to drop out of the race after his debate performance against former President Trump. 

In reference to Biden’s performance, Haley said, “Our enemies just saw that they have between now and Jan. 20 to do whatever it is they want to do.” 

ATLANTA-JOURNAL CONSTITUTION EDITORIAL BOARD CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT ‘FOR THE GOOD OF THE NATION’

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump primary challenger (center), is warning Republicans they should prepare for Democrats to replace President Biden with a candidate who is “younger” and more “vibrant.”  (Getty Images)

Haley said in May that despite their contentious primary contest in which both candidates threw personal insults at each other, she planned to vote for Trump in November. 

She also told the Journal she had reached out to the former president recently and had a “good conversation.”

Trump previously said he believes Haley will be “on our team in some form.”

Haley previously served as Trump’s United Nations ambassador. 

“America deserves the strongest leader possible,” Haley said on X Saturday. “Thursday night was shocking. It’s exactly why I have been calling for mental competency tests for anyone running for office. Joe Biden owes the American people transparency about his cognitive abilities.”

She added that Washington, D.C. is “full of older people,” and voters need to know “who is up to the challenge and who is not.” 

TOP HOLLYWOOD DONORS THREATEN TO STOP GIVING TO DEMS IF BIDEN NOT REPLACED AS CANDIDATE: REPORT

Former President Trump and President Biden had their first of two planned presidential debates Thursday.  (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“To the millions of Nikki Haley supporters who are tired of Donald Trump and his MAGA allies constantly attacking them, running moderates and independents out of the party and repeatedly refusing to commit to accepting the 2024 election results, you have a home in President Biden’s coalition,” Biden spokesperson Ammar Moussa told Fox News Digital of Haley’s comments.

Haley also questioned Trump’s cognitive abilities during the Republican primary, noting that he seemingly confused her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

Haley said in May she plans to vote for Trump.  (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

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Haley, 52, told the Journal Democrats could suffer down-ballot losses if they keep Biden as the nominee.

“If they continue down this path, and they have Biden as their nominee, they are committed to hurting America,” she said. 

The first lady’s steadfast support of President Biden after his heavily criticized debate performance Thursday may seem admirable to some Americans, but not all of them.

Bill Stevenson, who was married to Jill Biden from 1970 to 1975, candidly discussed his ex-wife in an interview with the New York Post Saturday.

“The Dr. Jill Biden who I’ve seen on TV in the last five years is not the same person I married or that I recognize in any way,” Stevenson lamented. “She’s matriculated into a completely different woman.”

On Thursday, the first lady gushed about her husband’s debate performance despite immediate calls for Biden to drop out of the race.

EUROPEAN OFFICIAL APPEARS TO LIKEN BIDEN TO FAILED ROMAN EMPEROR AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE PERFORMANCE

First lady Jill Biden and President Biden arrive at a campaign event in Raleigh, N.C., Friday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

“Joe, you did such a great job,” she told him at a debate after-party. “You answered every question. You knew all the facts.”

According to Stevenson, Jill Biden’s support of her husband is far from helpful.

“I just don’t understand why she is so adamant about defending him and keeping him in the race since it appears that he’s struggling,” Stevenson said. “It appears that he’s struggling with everybody these days.

“I’ve been proud of her at certain moments. I have no hard feelings. … I’m just surprised to see her front and center in the middle of this battle after flying under the radar for so many years. She’s always been very driven. People say she’s the one who wants to be president now.”

BIDEN AIMS TO CHANGE NEGATIVE NARRATIVE AFTER ROUGH DEBATE WITH TRUMP

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden speak to supporters at a debate watch party in Atlanta Thursday. (Tasos Katopodis)

Stevenson, a staunch supporter of former President Trump, also accused the sitting president of lying habitually.

“It makes me cringe every time he calls Trump a liar because I’m telling you right now, there is no better liar than President Biden,” Stevenson said.

“He’s just a bad person. I’m probably one of the few people outside his family who has known him for 50 years.”

Biden is facing increased public scrutiny after his appearance at the presidential debate Thursday, where he appeared frail and stumbled numerous times. On Friday, The New York Times editorial board called for the 81-year-old politician to drop out of the race.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk with Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams, right, at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Morrisville, N.C., Friday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

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“Biden is not the man he was four years ago,” the editorial board wrote. “The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant. He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term. … [T]he greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.”

The first lady’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Democrats’ social media account got roasted in the comment section after asserting President Biden won Thursday night’s presidential debate.

“The winner of tonight’s debate,” The Democrats declared in a X post Thursday night following the first presidential debate. The post included an image — notably not from the debate — of a grinning President Biden wearing his signature aviator sunglasses.

Voters quickly took to the comment section, sharply criticizing the social media post.

“Did you watch the same debate as I did?” one person wrote.

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

President Biden walks off with first lady Jill Biden after the CNN Presidential Debate in Atlanta Thursday.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“Your entire party is out of touch with reality,” another wrote. “When CNN calls Biden’s performance abysmal you know something is wildly wrong with Biden’s performance.”

“You lose all credibility when you lie to people,” another wrote.

“Funny, I am pleased you still have your sense of humor,” one person wrote.

President Biden looks down as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season against former President Trump in Atlanta Thursday. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Others called out the account for “gaslighting” voters.

“This gaslighting won’t work,” one person wrote.

BIDEN’S ‘DISASTER’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE SPARKS MEDIA MELTDOWN, CALLS FOR HIM TO WITHDRAW FROM 2024 RACE

“You guys are seriously gaslighting a lot of people into turning to Trump,” another wrote.

President Biden stands at his podium during the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season against former President Trump at CNN’s studios in Atlanta Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Following the debate, Democrats and liberal media figures were in reported “panic” after Biden’s performance.

The optics led to a full-on meltdown in Democrat-friendly media, with journalists at various outlets reporting on dozens of Democratic Party officials who said the 81-year-old Biden should consider refusing his party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE 

Biden gave no indication he would step down at his first rally following the debate Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, insisting he is capable of beating Trump. 

“I can do this job, because, quite frankly, the stakes are too high,” Biden energetically said. “Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation.” 

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden deliver remarks at a campaign rally Friday in North Carolina. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

President Biden also addressed his stumbling performance, saying, “I don’t debate as well as I used to.”

“I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done,” he told a roaring crowd that chanted “Four more years.”

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Biden has about four more months and a second debate — to be hosted by ABC News Sept. 10 — to make his case against Trump before Americans head to the polls in November.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Biden’s campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) is calling for President Biden to step out of the presidential election after his debate debacle on Thursday night.

The AJC Editorial Board is publishing a front page editorial Sunday arguing that Biden should bow out of the election “for the good” of the country and to defeat former President Trump.

“The shade of retirement is now necessary for President Biden,” the board wrote.

An Axios report explained that Americans were so shocked by Biden’s debate performance because they’re more used to seeing a more competent version of him. (Getty Images)

Biden, they argued, failed to convey a “competent and coherent vision for the future of America” at the first presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday.

“He failed to outline the most fundamental aspects of his platform,” they wrote. “He failed to take credit for the significant accomplishments of his 3½ years in office. And he failed to counter the prevarications of an opponent, who, according to CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, lied 30 times during the course of the debate, approximately once every 90 seconds of his allotted time.”

President of the United States Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump participate in the first Presidential Debate at CNN Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on June 27, 2024. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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This is the second newspaper editorial board to call on President Biden to remove himself from the race. The New York Times called for Biden to drop out of the race Friday.