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A Honduran illegal immigrant has been charged with sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Iowa, Fox News Digital has confirmed. 

It’s the latest instance of a crime allegedly committed by someone in the country illegally.

Junior Manuel Dubon Benitez, 18, was charged with sexual abuse in the second degree, according to Iowa court documents obtained by Fox. The incident allegedly happened in February and involved “sexual abuse upon Jane Doe, a 12-year-old child.”

The documents were first reported by the Washington Examiner, which reported that Benitez pleaded guilty in Iowa District Court in Black Hawk County May 14.

OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AREN’T UNDER FEDERAL SUPERVISION: ANALYSIS 

Migrants are processed by the U.S. Border Patrol near Jacumba Hot Springs after crossing the U.S.-Mexican border June 13, 2024, in San Diego. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News Digital Dubon Benitez is a Honduran national who illegally entered via Hidalgo, Texas, in April 2022. ICE said it has issued a detainer with the prison, which is a request that, upon his release, he be turned over to the agency so it can place him in removal proceedings. 

The charges come amid an ongoing crisis at the southern border that has become one of the top political issues in the country, in part, due to a number of high-profile crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants.

Two Venezuelan illegal immigrants were charged last month with capital murder in the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston. Authorities said she was “lured” under a bridge in Houston before she was tied up and killed. 

The arrests came the same week as the arrest of an Ecuadorian national in the U.S. illegally for a broad daylight sex attack in which police said a machete-wielding man raped a 13-year-old girl at a New York City park. 

Police also announced that an illegal migrant from El Salvador had been arrested for the murder of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five. The crimes are part of a broader wave of crimes across the U.S. committed by those in the country illegally.

BLUE STATE DEPLOYS OFFICIALS TO THE BORDER WITH SURPRISING WARNING FOR MIGRANTS

ICE agents conduct an enforcement operation in the U.S. interior June 2, 2022. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

The issue was highlighted in the presidential debate last week, with former President Trump blaming President Biden for the crimes.

“They’re killing our people in New York and California and every state in the union because we don’t have borders anymore. Every state is now a border,” Trump said. “And because of his ridiculous, insane and very stupid policies, people are coming in, and they’re killing our citizens at a level that we’ve never seen.

“We call it migrant crime. I call it Biden migrant crime. They’re killing our citizens at a level that we’ve never seen before.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Biden pushed back, accusing Trump of torpedoing bipartisan reform efforts for political purposes.

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“This bipartisan deal — more fentanyl machines to be able to detect drugs, more numbers of agents, more numbers of all the people at the border. And when we had that deal done, he went … he called his Republican colleagues, said, ‘Don’t do it. It’s going to hurt me politically.’ He never argued it’s not a good bill. It’s a really good bill.”

The Trump campaign slammed the White House and the Biden campaign for calling former President Donald Trump’s mental acuity into question.

“Never in history has a debate resulted in a candidate’s own donors and surrogates pondering whether their candidate should stay in the race, until now,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital.

The comment comes after the White House and Biden campaign questioned former President Trump’s fitness to serve, a response to questions that continue to swirl around President Biden’s mental acuity.

Asked during a news conference Tuesday if Biden had Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “no” while hinting that the “same exact question” should be asked of the “other guy,” referring to Trump.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE ANSWERS POINT-BLANK IF BIDEN SUFFERS FROM DEMENTIA AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE

Former President Donald Trump and President Biden (Getty Images)

Biden continues to face widespread skepticism about his ability to win the election and serve another term as president in the wake of a disastrous debate performance last week, resulting in many calling on the president to step aside and let a younger candidate take over at the top of the ticket.

The Biden campaign has acknowledged the president’s poor performance but pushed back against the idea he would drop out of the race, arguing Biden still has the ability to lead and is the party’s best chance at defeating Trump.

The campaign has also begun calling Trump’s cognitive ability into question, citing times the former president has confused who he was talking about.

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

TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM BIDEN AFTER ‘RIDICULOUS’ CHEAP FAKE NARRATIVE

“Donald Trump is unhinged and out-of-control, determined to make this country a dictatorship and punish his enemies with new powers handed to him by the Supreme Court – while also confusing Joe Biden for Barack Obama, Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi, and routinely ranting and raving about nonsense like sharks and windmills,” a campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

But the Trump campaign pushed back hard against the suggestion Wednesday, with Leavitt telling Fox News Digital that Trump “undeniably dominated Joe Biden in the debate and held him accountable for his failure, weakness, and dishonesty.”

Former President Trump (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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“While it’s been another bad week for Biden, it’s been a terrible three and a half years for the nation,” Leavitt said. “Inflation is crushing every family, Biden’s border invasion is bringing crime to every community, and weakness from the White House is encouraging chaos and war around the globe – and that is why President Trump continues to dominate Joe Biden in every poll. Americans feel the sharp contrast in their lives under President Trump and Biden.”

Several top Democratic lawmakers expressed their anger over President Biden’s public denial and deflection about his rocky debate performance, according to a report Wednesday. 

Some Democratic members of Congress told Axios they want Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to privately encourage Biden to step aside. 

Multiple lawmakers reportedly told the outlet they are enraged Biden had slow-walked reaching out to Democratic leadership after the debate, much less the rank-and-file members in competitive races. Those members, who were not named in the report, said they fear the president could jeopardize Democrats’ chances of holding the Senate majority or regaining control of the House in November.   

BIDEN BLAMES EUROPEAN TRIPS FOR DEBATE FLOP, DESPITE LONG HUDDLE AT CAMP DAVID: ‘ALMOST FELL ASLEEP ONSTAGE’

“I don’t know who’s making decisions,” one House Democrat reportedly told Axios. “Why the hell isn’t Biden on the phone with congressional leadership?… Everybody now thinks he could cost us the majority.”

The White House said Biden spoke with Jeffries on Tuesday. 

Lauren Hitt, a Biden campaign spokesperson, told Axios the president “has spoken personally with multiple elected officials on the Hill and across the battlegrounds since the debate.”

According to the report, lawmakers privately are growing fearful Biden is consulting only family members or people on his payroll in determining whether he should stay in the race. As the president’s inner circle slims, the lawmakers told Axios they’re certain Biden’s family doesn’t want him exposed to outside criticism, even if it comes from friends. 

An Axios report said Democratic lawmakers are enraged with President Biden over his deflection and denial after last week’s presidential debate. (Getty Images)

At a campaign fundraiser in McLean, Virginia, Tuesday night, Biden blamed his poor debate performance on his foreign travel in June, which included a visit to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, according to a print pool report with notes from a small group of journalists permitted to attend the private event. 

“I decided to travel around the world a couple of times,” Biden reportedly told a group of donors.

“I didn’t listen to my staff,” the president said, adding that he “came back and nearly fell asleep on stage.”

Biden rested for two days in Delaware and spent another six days preparing for the debate at Camp David in Maryland following his back-to-back trips to Europe, the New York Times reported. 

President Biden departs the White House on July 2, 2024, for a campaign event in McLean, Virginia. (Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

His debate preparation also never began before 11 a.m. and the president “was given time for an afternoon nap each day,” the newspaper said. 

MICHELLE OBAMA LEADS BIDEN, HARRIS IN MATCHUP AGAINST TRUMP IN LATEST POST-DEBATE POLL

The White House claimed Biden “was working well before then, after exercising.”

Even Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a longtime Biden ally, admitted in an interview Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that it’s a “legitimate question” to express concern about Biden’s debate performance. 

President Biden and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser shake hands at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I think it’s a legitimate question to say, is this an episode, or is this a condition? And so when people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate – of both candidates,” Pelosi said. “Both candidates owe whatever test you want to put them to, in terms of their mental acuity and their health – both of them.” 

Biden also agreed to an interview Friday with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. 

Axios reported that major Democratic donors are now planning to move large contributions instead to House and Senate candidates before what they see as a likely second term for former President Trump. 

Even Democrats who once accused Trump supporters of “gaslighting” by expressing concerns about 81-year-old Biden’s age and mental fitness are reportedly fed up with Biden, more so over his downplaying and deflection in the debate’s aftermath, rather than over the debate itself. 

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“Strangely, we are getting to the point where it may not have been the debate that did him in, but the aftermath of how they’ve handled it,” a top Democratic operative told Axios.

There are multiple letters circulating among House Democrats that would call for President Biden to step aside in the 2024 White House race, two sources familiar with those discussions told Fox News Digital.

Efforts have included both vulnerable Democrats in swing districts and left-wing lawmakers in safe seats, one of the sources said.

The letters are mainly being circulated at the member level right now, sources said, with lawmakers closely guarding the monumental decision they are weighing.

President Biden is under mounting pressure to consider stepping aside as the 2024 nominee. (Saul Loeb)

“Everyone is guarded now,” one senior House Democratic member told Fox News. “People may be just doing what they believe is best for them.”

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE ANSWERS POINT-BLANK IF BIDEN SUFFERS FROM DEMENTIA AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE

It comes after Reuters first reported that a group of 25 House Democrats was preparing to call on Biden to step aside as the 2024 candidate if he does not buck concerns that he’s not up to the task within a matter of days.

House Democratic leaders have not seen that letter, Fox News is told.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News was first to report on the effort by safe-seat Democrats on Wednesday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has not seen the reported letter signed by 25 Democrats, Fox News is told. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The news emerges as more Democrats come forward to publicly express their concerns about the 81-year-old president’s fitness for office. Questions about his physical and mental condition were brought to the forefront during last Thursday’s debate between Biden and former President Trump.

BIDEN BLAMES EUROPEAN TRIPS FOR DEBATE FLOP, DESPITE LONG HUDDLE AT CAMP DAVID: ‘ALMOST FELL ASLEEP ONSTAGE’

Democrats are now questioning whether Biden is the best positioned candidate to beat Trump, who they largely view as a threat to democracy.

The dam broke on Tuesday afternoon when Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, became the first sitting House Democrat to outright call for Biden to pull out of the race.

Concerns about Biden’s viability were spurred by his Thursday debate performance with former President Trump. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,” Doggett said in a statement. “Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.”

Hours later, Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. – two of the most vulnerable Democrats this election cycle – came out and said Biden would likely lose to Trump.

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The Biden campaign told Fox News Digital in response to Democrats’ concerns, “He is absolutely not dropping out.”

Biden’s allies have pointed out over the last couple of days that he has been in contact with both Congressional Democratic leaders, and that he’s taken steps to alleviate concerns like agreeing to a sit-down interview with ABC News and announcing a press conference for the coming days.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients reportedly held an all-staff meeting Wednesday to urge team members to tune out the “noise” and focus on the task of governing, as senior aides scramble to contain the political fallout from President Biden’s disastrous debate performance.

Even as Zients acknowledged that the days since the Atlanta matchup between Biden and former President Trump have been challenging, the chief of staff stressed to White House aides the accomplishments and the track record of the Democratic administration and said governing will only become more crucial once the campaign season heats up, particularly after the Fourth of July holiday, The Associated Press reported, citing a White House official.

Biden himself began making personal outreach on his own, speaking privately with senior Democratic lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons and South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, a second White House official and others with knowledge of the conversations told the AP.

TOP DEMOCRATS RAGE OVER BIDEN’S DEBATE DEFLECTION: ‘DON’T KNOW WHO’S MAKING DECISIONS’

On Capitol Hill, there is increasing anxiety as Biden has been slow to reach out to top Democrats and rank-and-file members, the AP reported, citing people familiar with ongoing conversations.

Top Democratic lawmakers also voiced their outrage to Axios about Biden dragging his feet in reaching out to the party’s leadership in recent days, much less the rank-and-file facing competitive races this year. The members, who were not named in the Axios reporting, took particular issue with Biden’s deflection, saying that his handling of the debate fallout, rather than the debate performance itself, could cost Democrats chances of flipping the House or maintaining their majority in the Senate in November. 

Democrats are unsatisfied with the explanations of Biden’s debate performance from both White House staff and Biden himself. And there is a deeper frustration among some Democrats who feel Biden should have handled this much sooner and has put them in a difficult position by staying in the race.

President Biden departs the White House on July 2, 2024, for a campaign event in McLean, Virginia. (Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Zients tried to rally the staff’s confidence in Biden’s re-election apparatus, noting that the president has a “strong campaign team” in place and that the White House’s job was to focus on continuing to implement Biden’s agenda. He also told staff that Biden has always made it through tough times, despite being counted out during his decades in public office.

The chief of staff also encouraged aides to “continue being a team” and, while acknowledging the increasing political chatter, to “tune it out” and stay disciplined, according to the official who spoke to the AP. The official was granted anonymity to relay Zients’ private remarks. Zients also urged White House staff to ask questions and offer feedback.

Staff-wide White House calls aren’t unusual, but Wednesday’s 15-minute check-in came as Biden and senior White House officials were working to assuage rattled lawmakers, donors and other allies within the party amid sharpening questions about whether the 81-year-old president had the competency to run for a second term in office.

BIDEN CAMPAIGN SENDS ALL-STAFF MEMO HOPING TO CALM POST-DEBATE CONCERNS

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients attends the congressional picnic hosted by President Biden on the South Lawn of the White House on June 4, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

According to Axios, major Democratic donors are now planning to move large contributions to House and Senate candidates before what they see as a likely second term for Trump.

Biden’s re-election campaign planned a staff-wide call of its own and says it will “be using emails and all staff calls more frequently to make sure you all have the latest updates and broader campaign priorities for the day,” according to a memo sent Wednesday by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. The memo insists the election between Biden and Trump will still be close, seeking to downplay the lasting effects of the debate.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also scheduled to hold one of their sporadic lunches on Wednesday, and the president was planning on hosting an assortment of Democratic governors at the White House in the evening.

President Biden listens during a visit to the D.C. Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Among the Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California, according to their aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were planning on attending virtually.

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The White House has also been on the defensive against reporting that suggests that Biden was considering dropping out of the race. 

Andrew Bates, White House senior deputy press secretary and deputy assistant to the president, shot back in a response on X to the New York Times’ report Wednesday that Biden told an ally that he was weighing whether to continue his re-election prospects following the disastrous debate performance. “That claim is absolutely false,” Bates wrote. 

Biden also agreed to an interview Friday with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who is facing a competitive challenge in November, won’t be joining President Biden during his campaign stop in Wisconsin Friday. 

The Biden campaign announced an appearance in Madison, Wisconsin, earlier this week, which will be the president’s first visit to the battleground state since his poor debate performance against former President Trump last month. 

According to her campaign spokesperson, Baldwin won’t be joining Biden in Madison. Instead, the senator will be on a state tour that will take her to several Wisconsin counties, including Ashland, Oneida, Marinette, Brown, Door, Fond du Lac, Ozaukee and Dane.

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON BATTLEGROUND STATE DEMS AFTER BIDEN DEBATE DISASTER

Tammy Baldwin won’t be joining Joe Biden during a campaign stop in Wisconsin this week. (Getty Images)

“I’m so excited to kick off my Fired Up for Tammy tour,” Baldwin said in an announcement Tuesday about her campaign tour. “In the theme of our nation’s Independence Day, I’ll be meeting with voters from all over the state to talk about the ways we’re working to defend our freedoms and find solutions to the kitchen table issues that matter most to Wisconsin families.”

Baldwin’s spokesperson said the tour had been planned for weeks and was announced prior to the news of Biden’s visit. 

GOP SENATE CANDIDATE TIES OPPONENT TO BIDEN DEBATE: BOB CASEY KNEW

Biden has been widely criticized for his debate performance. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

Quentin Fulks, Biden campaign principal deputy campaign manager, pushed back on speculation Biden may drop out of the presidential race Wednesday, touting his upcoming visit to Wisconsin, a pivotal swing state. 

“Obviously, there were 90 minutes of a poor debate performance, but that does not define the record of accomplishments,” Fulks said on CNN. “It does not define the vision that President Biden has and these interviews and these things that the president is doing — our campaign stop in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday.

CONGRESSIONAL DEMS BLAST RULING ON TRUMP IMMUNITY: ‘EXTREME RIGHT-WING SUPREME COURT’

Baldwin is running for re-election to the Senate. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin)

“We want everything to go well from the campaign’s perspective all the time. But if they don’t, I do not think that that has a bearing on whether somebody is going to continue running for president of the United States,” he added. 

After Biden’s debate performance, Baldwin reiterated to local Wisconsin outlets that she “supports the president.” 

TRUMP ALLIES CELEBRATE BLOW TO ‘SENSELESS LAWFARE’ IN SUPREME COURT IMMUNITY DECISION

Speculation has exploded whether Biden will stay in the race.  (Getty Images)

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However, her campaign said, “Tammy Baldwin is running her own race for the people of Wisconsin,” according to The Capital Times.

The Wisconsin Senate race is rated “Lean Democratic” by non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, making it one of the seven most competitive Senate matches this cycle. 

President Biden is “absolutely not” considering dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. 

The White House has maintained Biden will continue running for a second term, even amid pressure from Democrats and former staffers and allies to step aside. 

A New York Times report was published Wednesday morning suggesting that Biden had spoken privately with confidants about the possibility of dropping out of the race.  

NEWSOM HEADS EAST FOR MEETING WITH BIDEN AS PRESIDENT TRIES TO KEEP HIS CAMPAIGN FROM HEADING SOUTH

But when asked during the briefing if Biden would drop out of the race, Jean-Pierre was defiant. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

“Absolutely not,” she said. “And you heard, I think, I believe directly from the campaign as well.” 

Jean-Pierre maintained that the president’s poor debate performance was due to his having “a cold” and echoed his own explanation from Tuesday night — that he was still recovering from “jet lag” following his trip to Europe for the G-7 summit. 

“It was not his best night. He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question, but we cannot forget his record and what he’s been able to do. We cannot forget how he has been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years,” she said. “That matters too. And he has the most historic record, the most in modern politics, and that should matter.”

Jean-Pierre said Biden “wants to continue to do that work.” 

“A lot of what’s on his agenda is very much popular with the majority of the American people, whether it is continuing to build a strong economic — economic policies — he’s done that, creating new jobs — he’s done that — 15 million jobs. He wants to work on that and continue to do that. And so he wants to continue to deliver, expanding health care — all of these things he believes is important,” she said. “He wants to make sure that people do not forget about the record that he has been able to lay out on behalf of the American people.” 

Jean-Pierre again stressed that the debate was just “a bad night.” 

President Biden listens during a visit to the D.C. Emergency Operations Center, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“It was not his best night. He had a cold. He was jetlagged. You heard directly from the president about this,” she said. “And when we get knocked out, when he gets knocked down, he gets right back up.” 

She added: “That’s what I would focus on. The president continues to be very steady and continuing to work for the American people.” 

Jean-Pierre maintained Wednesday that Biden “is staying in the race.” 

MAJORITY OF VOTERS FAVOR BIDEN DROPPING OUT WHILE TRUMP’S BASE ‘APPEARS MORE SOLID’: POLL

Biden himself said: “I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out.” 

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly made a surprise appearance on a Democratic National Committee call, in a reported effort to try to calm chaos among allies within the party after the debate. 

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients urged people during an all-staff meeting Wednesday to tune out the “noise” and focus on the task of governing.

MAJORITY OF VOTERS THINKS BIDEN IS COGNITIVELY UNFIT TO SERVE AS PRESIDENT: POLL

Jean-Pierre confirmed Zients’ efforts, noting that he acknowledged to White House staffers that the last several days have been difficult. 

Biden reportedly has made outreach on his own, and spoke with top Democratic lawmakers like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons and South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn. 

Rep. James Clyburn (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But the chief of staff also encouraged White House aides to “continue being a team” and to tune out negativity and stay focused on the work of governing. 

Jean-Pierre was also asked about comments Biden made in 2020, in which he referred to himself as a transition candidate, and hoped to be a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders. 

She responded by saying Vice President Kamala Harris is “the future of the party.” 

“His statement stands. I mean, one of the reason why he picked the vice president, President Kamala Harris, is because she is indeed the future of the party,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden is “very proud to have partnered with her and continue to partner with her and delivering an unprecedented record for the American people.” 

“And I think he’s going to continue, certainly to do that. They’re going to do that as partners. Like I said, I just saw them before walking into the briefing room. We they stopped by to talk to me and my team, and they’re ready to go. They’re ready to continue. So the transition would happen in eight years,” she said. “I mean — I’m not going to get into, speculate from here. But you ask me if his remarks and statement still stands. Yes, it still does.” 

Meanwhile, Biden is planning to host Democrat governors Wednesday night for a meeting. 

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Among the Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California, according to their aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were planning on attending virtually.

A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released this week found that more four in 10 Democrats said the Democratic Party should intervene and replace Biden as the nominee. Overall, 54% of the voters polled were in favor of Biden dropping out.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A new national poll indicates that former President Trump’s lead over President Biden in their 2024 election rematch is widening in the wake of last week’s heavily criticized debate performance by Biden.

And the survey, released Wednesday by The New York Times and Siena College, spotlights a surge in concerns that the 81-year-old Biden, the oldest president in the nation’s history, is unable to govern the nation effectively.

Biden is facing the roughest stretch of his more than yearlong campaign for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at the debate with Trump in Atlanta on Thursday, sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

Additionally, in the past 24 hours, a small but increasing number of House Democrats have also urged the president to end his re-election bid.

BIDEN CAMPAIGN SENDS ‘ALL STAFF’ MEMO TO TRY AND STEM DEEP CONCERNS

Former President Trump and President Biden debate in Atlanta on Thursday. (Getty Images)

The president is scheduled to huddle Wednesday evening with Democratic governors and congressional leaders in the wake of the debate debacle.

However, Biden’s campaign has repeatedly insisted that the president has no intention of dropping out of the race.

According to the poll, Trump now tops Biden 49%-43% among likely voters nationwide, which is a three-point swing toward the presumptive GOP presidential nominee from the previous New York Times/Siena College poll from just a week ago.

And Trump’s lead over Biden edges up to 49%-41% among the larger pool of registered voters.

A couple of hours after the New York Times/Siena College poll release, another well-known national survey made similar headlines.

Trump topped Biden 48%-42% among registered voters in a Wall Street Journal poll. The former president’s lead over the Democratic incumbent in the White House was up from a two-point edge in February.

RED FLAGS FOR BIDEN IN TWO POST-DEBATE POLLS ALREADY RELEASED THIS WEEK

But there were more red flags for Biden in the polls besides troubling top line numbers.

Eighty percent of people surveyed in the Wall Street Journal poll, which was also conducted entirely after the debate, said that the president is too old to run for a second term.  

Meanwhile, nearly three-quarters of those surveyed in the New York Times/Siena College poll viewed Biden as too old for the job, up five points since the debate. 

Concerns about the president’s age among Democrats spiked eight points, to 59%. And nearly eight in 10 independents questioned also said they viewed Biden as too old to serve in the White House.

President Biden reacts after speaking at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 28. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

There was a little good news in the poll for Biden. He narrowed his deficit with Trump among independent voters, but that came at the expense of his erosion among Democrats and Trump’s improvement with Republicans.

Also, the percentage of Democrats who said Biden should no longer be the party’s presidential nominee edged up, rather than surging to new heights.

CASH DASH: TRUMP TOPS BIDEN IN FUNDRAISING RACE 

In a statement to Fox News after the release of the New York Times/Siena College survey, Biden campaign pollster Molly Murphy argued that the presidential race remains close.

“Both internal and outside polling confirm that the race remains incredibly tight and I agree with the Times that today’s polling doesn’t fundamentally change the course of the race. President Biden continues to narrow Trump’s support among independents, and we have work to do to bring home our coalition — all the while Trump appears unable to expand his coalition,” Murphy wrote.

And pointing to the Biden campaign’s advantage in ground-game efforts, Murphy argued that “the work our campaign is doing on the ground will be critical to win over voters in a low trust and divided political environment. Trump’s team is doing virtually none of that work, while also being saddled with the baggage of a toxic agenda to undecided voters. President Biden has work to do, but will be running on mobilizing issues that we are confident will bring him to victory this November.”

Ahead of the poll’s release on Wednesday afternoon, the Biden campaign sent out a fresh all-staff memo in an attempt to calm concerns about his chances of being re-elected.

The memo, obtained by Fox News, highlights internal campaign polling that shows a still-close race with Trump.

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

“We are going to see a few polls come out today and we want you all to hear from us on what we know internally and what we expect to come externally,” the memo reads. “Polls are a snapshot in time and we should all expect them to continue to fluctuate — it will take a few weeks, not a few days, to get a full picture of the race.” 

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The memo, which was signed by campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez, showcases internal battleground state polling before and after the debate, revealing that Biden dropped by half a percentage point over that period. 

And pointing to the New York Times poll, which had yet to be released when the memo was issued, the Biden campaign emphasized that “we should all keep in mind that, just last week, the NYT themselves acknowledged that they are often a polling outlier.”

The poll was conducted entirely after the debate from June 28-July 2, with 1,532 registered voters nationwide questioned.

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

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Here’s what’s happening…

-White House maintains Biden will not suspend re-election campaign

– House Democrats circulate letter calling on Biden to suspend campaign

– Obama advises Biden after debate fiasco

Poll: Yes, She Can

Former first lady Michelle Obama is the leading candidate to take on former President Trump in 2024, according to a new poll conducted after last week’s presidential debate.  

A Reuters/Ipsos poll asked respondents who they would like to see take on Trump on the general election ballot amid calls to replace the current nominee, and President Biden was bested by both the former first lady and his own vice president.

When respondents were asked who they would vote for in a race against Trump, the poll found that Obama was the only Democrat to secure enough votes to beat the former president on the general election ballot…Read more

President Biden and Michelle Obama. (Getty Images)

White House

TURNING THE PAGE: Jean-Pierre addresses earlier book excerpt about working for ‘doomed’ candidate …Read more

GRIM DIAGNOSIS: Former WH doc says Biden ‘not the same man’ he remembers from VP days …Read more

‘STAYING IN’: White House insists Biden will ‘absolutely not’ suspend his campaign …Read more

‘SHAKEN UP’: Biden’s struggle to name top official left allies alarmed: report …Read more

BIDEN’S FUTURE: Biden’s future in question ahead of meeting with Democratic governors …Read more

Capitol Hill

HOUSE OF BLUES: Congressional Dems circulating multiple letters calling on Biden to drop out …Read more

ANGER AND FEAR: Dem lawmakers want party leaders to pressure Biden to step down: Report …Read more

‘SQUAD’ UP: House Dem leaders back ‘Squad’ member despite anti-Israel stance, DOJ probe …Read more

PACKING HEAT: Congresswoman charged at airport for gun in carry-on …Read more

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), center, a member of the progressive “Squad,” faces a tough primary challenge.   (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Communications Workers of America (CWA))

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘PAINFUL’ TO WATCH: Another Democrat says ‘Biden is going to lose to Trump’ …Read more

DEBATE IMPACT: Top political handicapper shifts two key states toward Trump …Read more

REVERSE CARD: Biden camp tries to turn tables, question Trump’s mental acuity …Read more

DECISION TIME: Biden weighing whether to continue re-election campaign, key ally says: report …Read more

‘HEAR FROM US’: Biden campaign sends memo to panicked staff after debate …Read more

‘CANDID CONVERSATION’: Several Dem governors will meet with President Biden  …Read more

FALLOUT: California progressive champion among contingent to meet with Biden Wednesday …Read more

PRESIDENT NEWSOM?: How would Calif. governor handle border crisis if in the White House? …Read more

US President Joe Biden, third left, greets Gavin Newsom, governor of California, from second left, Jennifer Lynn Siebel Newsom, London Breed, mayor of San Francisco, and Representative Kevin Mullin, a Democrat from California, at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are set to announce an agreement that would see Beijing crack down on the manufacture and export of fentanyl, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially delivering the US president a major victory. Photographer: Philip Pacheco/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Philip Pacheco/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

AWKWARD LAUNCH: Incumbents often struggle with first debate, expert says: Here’s why …Read more

NEW SPOTLIGHT: Harris takes center stage as questions about Biden mount …Read more

CURIOUS GEORGE: FLASHBACK: Stephanopoulos knocked Haley’s claim Biden wouldn’t finish term …Read more

44’S WARNING: Obama cautiously advises Biden after shaky debate performance, looming showdown with Trump …Read more

‘ALMOST FELL ASLEEP’: Biden blames European trips for debate fiasco …Read more

Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Justice Department on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.   (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trials and Tribulation

‘HYPER-AGRESSIVE PROSECUTOR’: Jack Smith notches another major legal loss …Read more

BIAS ALLEGATIONS: FBI whistleblower alleges bureau improperly suspended security clearance for agents with ‘conservative views’ …Read more

Across America

‘LAWLESSNESS’: Vast majority of illegal immigrants aren’t being tracked: analysis …Read more

SHAKEN STIR: Trump Org slams NJ pausing liquor license renewal …Read more

DARING MISSION: Union soldiers who hijacked Confederate train during Civil War receiving Medal of Honor …Read more

ON THE BOOKS: New York law allowing universal absentee voting challenged in court …Read more

3-way split of leading United Kingdom party leaders: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party; Nigel Farage of Reform UK; and Sir Keir Starmer of the Labour Party.

On the World Stage

‘SERIOUS TROUBLE’: UK’s Conservatives face end of an era as Labour eyes historic win …Read more

RIGHT TO EXIST: Germany takes on rising antisemitism in changes to citizenship law …Read more

REUNITED: Putin and Xi meet up ahead of NATO summit  …Read more

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Nearly a week after President Biden’s disastrous performance in a presidential debate, multiple current and former House Democrats are signaling they would back Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor if the 81-year-old leader chooses to step aside.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a member of the House’s progressive “Squad,” joined radio show “Mornings with Zerlina” on Wednesday, warning Democrats — and likely, by extension, President Biden — they are running out of time to decide whether to change course.

“If our president decides this is not a pathway forward for him, we have to move very quickly. There’s not going to be time for a primary. That time is past,” Lee said. “The vice president is the obvious choice. She’s sitting right there.”

BIDEN CAMPAIGN SENDS ‘ALL STAFF’ MEMO TO TRY AND STEM DEEP CONCERNS

Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as a likely successor if President Biden steps aside. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Lee also warned of the political ramifications of side-stepping Harris while pointing out the high voter turnout rates among Black women.

“We’re so willingly going to push aside an entire demographic, and I think that it would be very dangerous to do that, personally,” she warned.

It comes just a day after Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., a longtime Biden ally whose support was critical to Biden clinching the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, stopped short of airing concerns about the president’s viability. He added, however, that he would support Harris as the nominee if Biden did drop out.

“I want this ticket to continue to be Biden-Harris,” Clyburn said on “MSNBC Reports.” “This party should not, in any way, do anything to work around Ms. Harris. We should do everything we can to bolster her whether she’s in second place or at the top of the ticket.”

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE ANSWERS POINT-BLANK IF BIDEN SUFFERS FROM DEMENTIA AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., argued in favor of Harris on Wednesday. (Getty Images)

Former Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who challenged Biden for the 2020 presidential nomination, also wrote an op-ed in Newsweek, “Kamala Harris Should Be the Democratic Nominee for President in 2024.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered speculation about Harris on Wednesday by insisting Biden would not drop out and declined to get into details about their one-on-one lunch earlier in the day.

“One of the reasons why he picked the vice president … is because she is indeed the future of the party. And he’s very proud to have partnered with her and continue to partner with her and delivering an unprecedented record for the American people,” Jean-Pierre said.

Questions about Biden’s physical and mental condition were brought to the forefront during Thursday’s debate in Atlanta. 

The dam broke on Tuesday afternoon when Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, became the first sitting House Democrat to call for Biden to pull out of the race.

BIDEN BLAMES EUROPEAN TRIPS FOR DEBATE FLOP, DESPITE LONG HUDDLE AT CAMP DAVID: ‘ALMOST FELL ASLEEP ONSTAGE’

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., also said Harris should be Biden’s successor.  (Brian Stukes/Getty Images)

Hours later, Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., two of the most vulnerable Democrats this election cycle, came out and said Biden would likely lose to Trump.

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“He is absolutely not dropping out,” a Biden campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

If he did, however, Harris’ supporters have pointed out she would inherit the massive $240 million Biden-Harris campaign war chest.

Other names who have been floated as possible replacements for Biden are California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, among others.

Several top Democrats that called for the 25th Amendment to be used to remove former President Donald Trump from office during his tenure have remained silent on whether it should be triggered to remove President Biden, which some Republicans have suggested.

Fox News Digital reached out to Democratic Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Pramila Jayapal, Jamie Raskin and Maxine Waters along with Sen. Chuck Schumer who all declined to comment on whether the 25th Amendment should be in play with President Biden as they suggested it should be for former President Trump.

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment authorizes the vice president and a majority of the executive cabinet to make the decision whether the president is fit to continue in office or not.

At various points during the Trump presidency, Democrats called for the 25th Amendment to be triggered against the president for a variety of reasons ranging from the coronavirus, to Trump’s competence, to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot.

MEDIA FLOATED 25TH AMENDMENT FOR TRUMP HUNDREDS OF TIMES WHILE IN OFFICE, VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS

Nancy Pelosi, Jamie Raskin, Maxine Waters, Chuck Schumer (Getty Images)

“It’s long past time,” Waters told MSNBC in October 2020 when asked if it was time to trigger the 25th Amendment based on Trump’s “erratic and bizarre behavior” and “spreading the virus personally.”

That same month, in the leadup to the 2020 presidential election, Raskin and Pelosi introduced legislation that would create a commission involving Congress in the process to remove the president if he became “incapacitated.”

“This is not about President Trump,” Pelosi claimed at a press conference at the time. “He will face the judgment of the voters, but he shows the need for us to create a process for future presidents.”

CORNELL LAW PROFESSOR CALLS TO INVOKE 25TH AMENDMENT AFTER BIDEN’S DEBATE PERFORMANCE

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)

“Congress has a constitutional duty to lay out the process by which a president’s incapacity and the president of any party is determined. This bill honors the duty by creating a standing commission of top former executive officials and medical experts selected in a bipartisan, bicameral way. A president’s fitness for office must be determined by science and facts. This legislation applies to future presidents, but we are reminded by the necessity of action by the health of the current president.”

The legislation was the reintroduction of the same bill from Raskin in 2017. 

“Since January, President Trump has thrown our country into chaos at every turn,” Raskin said in a 2017 press release.

“For the security of our people and the safety of the Republic, we need to set up the ‘body’ called for in the 25th Amendment. The President can fire his entire Cabinet for asking the same question tens of millions of Americans are asking at their dinner tables, but he cannot fire Congress or the expert body we set up under the Constitution.  At a moment of unprecedented presidential chaos, the Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity is essential, urgently needed and indispensable.”

Following the Jan. 6 riot, Pelosi, Raskin, Jayapal and every other Democrat in the House voted for a resolution calling on Vice President Pence to “declare President Donald J. Trump incapable of executing the duties of his office and to immediately exercise powers as acting President.”

“We are demanding Mike Pence and the Cabinet finally put America first and uphold their constitutional duty to invoke the 25th Amendment, ending Trump’s terror and his total control over the military,” Jayapal said. “Assuming the Vice President continues to put this lawless, dangerous president over the people of this country, the House of Representatives must urgently join my call to once again impeach Donald Trump.”

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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)

That move was backed by Schumer, who said Trump is “dangerous and should not hold office one day longer.”

Following Biden’s widely panned debate performance that has caused some Democrats to call on him to drop out of the race, several Republicans have floated the idea of triggering the 25th Amendment due to concerns over Biden’s mental abilities.

“Over the past 3 years, it has become painfully clear that our inaugurated President has slipped into a rapid decline,” GOP Rep. Clay Higgins said Wednesday.

“As a Christian principled nation, We the People must revere our elders and shelter them from unnecessary struggle and anguish. The 25th Amendment allows America to respond to this moment of crisis by gently removing President Biden from the world’s most powerful elected position. It’s the right thing to do, the Christian thing to do.”

Both the White House and Biden campaign have maintained that Biden is not dropping out of the race and is fit to serve as president.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that President Biden’s debate-night blunder in which he claimed no U.S. troops had died under his watch was made because of how “deeply” he cares about service members.

“The president was making a comparison between how many service members have died under his leadership versus in previous years. That’s what the comparison that he was making,” Jean-Pierre said during Wednesday’s press briefing. “He was doing that because he cares so deeply, cares so deeply about them and their families and wants to keep troops safe.”

The comments came in response to a question about Biden’s debate claim that he is the “only president this century” not to have troops die on his watch.

DEMOCRAT LAWMAKER DECLARES TRUMP ‘IS GOING TO WIN THE ELECTION’ AND US DEMOCRACY WILL SURVIVE 

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

“Truth is, I’m the only president this century that doesn’t have – this decade – any troops dying anywhere in the world like he did,” Biden said.

Critics were quick to point out that U.S. troops have died under Biden’s watch, including the 13 service members who were killed in a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzia International Airport during the U.S. mission to evacuate Afghanistan.

More recently, three U.S. service members were killed in a January drone attack on a U.S. base in Jordan. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in the Brady Press Briefing Room on Jan. 3, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

TEXAS CONGRESSMAN BECOMES FIRST ELECTED DEMOCRAT TO CALL ON BIDEN TO WITHDRAW FROM ELECTION 

Jean-Pierre acknowledged both attacks during Wednesday’s press briefing, noting that Biden attended the dignified transfer of the service members’ remains in both cases.

Four of the “Heroes of Kabul” who were killed in the August 2021 suicide bomber attack on the Kabul airport during the Afghanistan evacuation. (Courtesy of each family)

But Biden generated controversy during his attendance of the dignified transfer of the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan after appearing to check his watch as the ceremony unfolded.

Nevertheless, Jean-Pierre argued Wednesday that Biden “cares so deeply” about service members “and their families.”

President Biden looks at his watch as he and first lady Jill Biden attend the dignified transfer of the remains of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Aug., 29, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“Let’s not forget that for some time, he carried a card in his pocket about how many service members were wounded and killed in Iraq and in Afghanistan,” Jean-Pierre said. “That’s how much it was a reminder to him, you know, the times that we live in.”

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The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Yet another Democrat has come forward calling for President Biden to quit. 

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez of Washington, who represents a district that voted red in 2020, is the latest member of her party to suggest that Biden will “lose” to former President Trump on the November ballot after his disastrous debate performance last week. 

Pérez said the first presidential debate of 2024 was “painful” to watch, and while many Democrats maintain their support for the former president, the congresswoman admitted that she believes “Biden is going to lose to Trump.”

“About 50 million Americans tuned in and watched that debate. I was one of them for about five very painful minutes. We all saw what we saw, you can’t undo that, and the truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump,” the Democrat said in an interview with KATU-TV.

While the congresswoman does not believe Biden will win in 2024, she added that “a core tenet of democracy is that you accept the results of an election” and that primary voters have already chosen Biden as the Democrat nominee.

BIDEN’S CANDIDACY REMAINS UNDER THREAT AS TOP DEMOCRATIC DONORS GET COLD FEET

After the presidential debate, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez said “the truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump.” (Bill Clark/Getty Images)

While most Democratic representatives remained mum the first few days following the debate, more lawmakers are beginning to voice uncertainty in the president’s re-election bid.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, made a similar statement Tuesday, saying “Democrats are panicking” over the debate performance and that “Trump is going to win.”

RFK JR. REACTS TO BIDEN’S ‘ALARMING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE: WE NEED A PRESIDENT WHO’S ACTUALLY LOOKING AT REALITY

“After the first presidential debate, lots of Democrats are panicking about whether President Joe Biden should step down as the party’s nominee,” Golden wrote in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News. “Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise. It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”

President Biden speaks during last week’s presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first elected Democrat to officially call on his own party’s nominee to step down amid doubt over the strength of Biden’s candidacy.

“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved. Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself. I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw,” Doggett said on Tuesday. “I respectfully call on him to do so.”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett was the first elected Democrat to call on President Biden to step down as the party’s nominee after the debate. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Despite growing turmoil among members within their own party, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is considering nominating Biden as early as mid-July.

House Republicans are crying foul over reported revelations that first son Hunter Biden has been sitting in on President Biden’s White House meetings in recent days.

“Joe and Hunter Biden have a record of selling their last name to foreign adversaries like Russia and China. Having Hunter now engaged in official, executive business only further enhances the urgency for transparency and accountability regarding the Biden family’s corrupt business dealings,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., called Hunter Biden “a walking national security threat.”

“He’s raked in more than $20 million from foreign entities, including the CCP, for the Biden [family]. He’s also the owner of the FBI-investigated laptop from hell. … Does Hunter have the clearance necessary to sit in on high-level White House meetings with his dad?” Steube told Fox News Digital.

HUNTER BIDEN HAS MAJOR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AS TOP ADVISER TO THE MAN WHO COULD PARDON HIM

Republican lawmakers like House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, left, and Rep. Greg Steube, right, are furious over reports that Hunter Biden is sitting in on White House meetings. (Getty Images)

It comes after NBC News reported that the president’s son has sat in on meetings between Biden and his top White House aides in recent days.

He began joining the sessions after Biden returned from Camp David on Monday, according to the report.

“Hunter Biden wants Joe Biden to remain president more than anyone in America. He should be worried [about] what a new attorney general would consider criminal activity under a possible Trump administration. No more sweetheart deals the moment his father leaves office,” said Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis.

Hunter Biden has long been a target of Republican scrutiny, with House GOP impeachment inquiry investigators accusing him of enriching himself via foreign business dealings by using his father’s political stature and connections. House GOP leaders also believe President Biden himself participated in and benefited from the schemes, something he and his allies have denied.

EX-REP CHARLIE RANGEL, 94, QUESTIONS WHETHER BIDEN BELONGS IN NURSING HOME, NOT WHITE HOUSE

President Biden and former President Trump take part in a debate at CNN Studios in Atlanta on June 27, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Hunter Biden was also recently convicted on three felony firearm charges and faces more legal troubles in a federal probe into his taxes. The latter case is going to trial in California in September.

The report comes as Biden is facing mounting pressure to step aside as the 2024 Democrat presidential nominee after his performance in last Thursday’s CNN debate, with concerns over his advanced age and mental fitness for office plastered across headlines this week.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria” that Hunter Biden has a vested interest in keeping his father in power because it’s a shield from the worst scrutiny.

OBAMA CAUTIOUSLY ADVISES BIDEN AFTER SHAKY DEBATE PERFORMANCE, LOOMING REMATCH WITH TRUMP: REPORT

“I think it’s probably very predictable that Hunter wants his dad to be in the White House. His best option for protection and immunity going forward is his dad in the White House,” Ogles said when asked about the report. “The moment you have a change of regimes, you’re going to have a change of personnel. And suddenly, Hunter is not going to have the umbrella and the protection of his father.”

President Biden, left, and son Hunter Biden are shown during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 1, 2024. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The NBC News report said aides were “struck” by Hunter Biden’s sudden presence at White House meetings. One was quoted as saying, “What the hell is happening?”

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president’s son was also present during debate prep, and she dismissed concerns about his presence when asked in Tuesday’s regular news briefing.

“It is a week where there’s going to be more family members who are going to come to the White House. I’m sure you’ll see some of them on Fourth of July,” she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for further comment.

A well-known non-partisan political handicapper on Wednesday shifted two key states toward former President Trump in the wake of President Biden’s extremely rough performance during last Thursday’s debate.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved Michigan from “Leans Democrat” to “Toss-up.” Additionally, Minnesota was shifted from “Likely Democrat” to “Leans Democrat.”

“President Biden’s debate performance was so bad that it has forced us to reassess some of our assumptions about the race,” Sabato Crystal Ball forecaster Kyle Kondik wrote in explaining the shift of the two states. “Michigan and Minnesota move to more competitive categories in our ratings.”

BIDEN CAMPAIGN SENDS ‘ALL STAFF’ MEMO TO TRY AND STEM DEEP CONCERNS

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

Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is facing the roughest stretch of his bid for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at the debate, sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

CASH DASH: TRUMP TOPS BIDEN IN FUNDRAISING RACE 

Additionally, in the past 24 hours, a small but increasing number of House Democrats have also urged the president to end his re-election bid.

However, Biden’s campaign has repeatedly insisted that the president has no intention of dropping out of the race.

President Biden, right, and former President Trump face off in a debate in Atlanta on June 27, 2024. (Getty Images)

Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, for a quarter-century was part of the Democrats’ so-called blue wall of states. However, Trump flipped all three in his 2016 presidential election victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

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Four years later, Biden won all three states as he defeated Trump in the 2020 election.

A Republican has not carried Minnesota in a presidential election since then-President Nixon’s 1972 landslide re-election over a half-century ago. It was the only state then-President Reagan lost in his 1984 re-election landslide.

However, recent polls in Minnesota indicate a competitive race between Biden and Trump, and the former president’s campaign is eyeing Minnesota and Virginia as it tries to expand the 2024 electoral map.

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

The White House and Biden campaign have questioned former President Trump’s fitness to serve as questions continue to swirl around President Biden’s mental acuity.

Asked during a news conference Tuesday if Biden had Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “no” while hinting that the “same exact question” should be asked of the “other guy,” referring to Trump.

The answer comes after Biden continues to face widespread skepticism about his ability to win the election and serve another term as president in the wake of a disastrous debate performance last week, resulting in many calling on the president to step aside and let a younger candidate take over at the top of the ticket.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE ANSWERS POINT-BLANK IF BIDEN SUFFERS FROM DEMENTIA AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE

Former President Donald Trump and President Biden (Getty Images)

The Biden campaign has acknowledged the president’s poor performance but pushed back against the idea he would drop out of the race, arguing Biden still has the ability to lead and is the party’s best chance at defeating Trump.

The campaign has also begun calling Trump’s cognitive ability into question, citing times the former president has confused who he was talking about.

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

TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM BIDEN AFTER ‘RIDICULOUS’ CHEAP FAKE NARRATIVE

“Donald Trump is unhinged and out-of-control, determined to make this country a dictatorship and punish his enemies with new powers handed to him by the Supreme Court – while also confusing Joe Biden for Barack Obama, Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi, and routinely ranting and raving about nonsense like sharks and windmills,” a campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

But the Trump campaign pushed back hard against the suggestion Wednesday, with campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling Fox News Digital that Trump “undeniably dominated Joe Biden in the debate and held him accountable for his failure, weakness, and dishonesty.”

Former President Trump (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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“Never in history has a debate resulted in a candidate’s own donors and surrogates pondering whether their candidate should stay in the race, until now,” Leavitt said. “And while it’s been another bad week for Biden, it’s been a terrible three and a half years for the nation. Inflation is crushing every family, Biden’s border invasion is bringing crime to every community, and weakness from the White House is encouraging chaos and war around the globe – and that is why President Trump continues to dominate Joe Biden in every poll. Americans feel the sharp contrast in their lives under President Trump and Biden.”

President Biden’s campaign on Wednesday sent out a fresh all-staff memo in an attempt to calm concerns about his chances of being re-elected following last week’s heavily criticized debate performance.

The memo, obtained by Fox News, highlights internal campaign polling that shows a still-close race with former President Trump.

“We are going to see a few polls come out today and we want you all to hear from us on what we know internally and what we expect to come externally,” the memo reads. “Polls are a snapshot in time and we should all expect them to continue to fluctuate — it will take a few weeks, not a few days, to get a full picture of the race.” 

CASH DASH: TRUMP TOPS BIDEN IN FUNDRAISING RACE 

President Biden listens during a visit to the Washington, D.C., Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday, July 2, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)

The memo, which was signed by campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez, showcases internal battleground state polling before and after the debate, revealing that Biden dropped by half a percentage point over that period. 

The memo pointed to a potential upcoming The New York Times/Siena College poll, “which is likely to show a slightly larger swing in the race.” 

BIDEN BLAMES EUROPEAN TRIPS FOR DEBATE FLOP, DESPITE LENGTHY HUDDLE AT CAMP DAVID: ‘ALMOST FELL ASLEEP ONSTAGE’ 

“We should all keep in mind that, just last week, the NYT themselves acknowledged that they are often a polling outlier,” the memo reads.

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

Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is facing the roughest stretch of his bid for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at the debate, sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

Additionally, in the past 24 hours, a small but increasing number of House Democrats have also urged the president to end his re-election bid.

However, Biden’s campaign has repeatedly insisted that the president has no intention of dropping out of the race.

“The president is in this race to win it,” principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Wednesday in a CNN interview.

President Biden reacts after speaking at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

Two public opinion national polls conducted after the debate and released on Tuesday contained red flags for Biden.

According to a CNN poll, 75% of voters and 56% of Democratic-aligned voters said the Democratic Party would have a better shot at keeping control of the presidency if Biden is replaced as the party’s standard-bearer.

The survey suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris performs slightly better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup with Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.

BIDEN TO HUDDLE WITH DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS AS HE WORKS TO SHORE UP CAMPAIGN

Trump holds a six-point – 49%-43% – lead over Biden among registered voters nationwide, which is unchanged from CNN’s previous poll in April. It is consistent with Trump’s lead in CNN polling dating back to last autumn.

However, the vice president trails Trump by just two points – 47%-45% – in a hypothetical matchup, according to the poll.

The CNN poll’s release came hours after a USA Today/Suffolk University survey also conducted Friday through Sunday indicated Trump at 41% support and Biden at 38% among registered voters nationwide.

President Biden, right, and former President Trump participate in the CNN Presidential Debate on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Democratic incumbent in the White House and his Republican predecessor were tied at 37% in the previous USA Today/Suffolk University poll, which was conducted in May.

While Trump’s advantage in the new survey was within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, there were other warning signs for Biden.

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Forty-one percent of Democrats questioned in the poll said they wanted Biden replaced at the top of the Democratic Party ticket.

Only 14% of Republicans surveyed said they would like to see Trump replaced at the top of the GOP ticket.

“There’s no question the debate sent out shock waves across the political landscape,” Suffolk Political Research Center Director David Paleologos said. “Democrats in the poll are offering tough love to President Biden by saying to him, ‘You’ve served us well, but try to see yourself last Thursday night through our eyes. Hold your head up high, it’s time to go.'”

The release of the memo comes hours before Biden is scheduled to huddle with Democratic governors and congressional leaders.

The meeting comes after Democrat governors on Monday huddled on a conference call to discuss the fallout from the debate.

Monday’s call was organized by Democratic Governors Association Chair Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. Sources told Fox News that the Biden campaign was aware of the call ahead of time.

A number of the governors, including some who have been speculated as potential replacements on the extreme long-shot chance that Biden would step away from his re-election bid, have acknowledged the president’s debate performance was shaky but remained committed to supporting the president.

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

President Biden will meet with Democratic governors later Wednesday as concerns over his health and mental well-being reach a critical point.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who heads the Democratic Governors Association, is already in Washington, D.C., and will be at the White House in-person. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker are also confirmed to be in Washington.

“I think the governors just want a direct and candid conversation with the president. We want to make sure he’s doing okay. We all know him. He has formed a personal relationship with us,” Beshear told Fox News Digital. “And he says he is [doing okay]. And we take him at his word. But it’s always good to see somebody in person.”

Pritzker echoed the wellness check language of Beshear, arguing that he would support any decision Biden makes regarding his campaign.

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

President Biden will meet with Democratic governors later Wednesday as concerns over his health and mental well-being reach a critical point. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

“I honor my commitments. Joe Biden is going to be our nominee, unless he decides otherwise. And so I think that there’s a healthy conversation that will happen with the president, I hope, expressing, you know, what he intends to do going forward in the campaign and reassuring everybody that this is the right course,” Prtizker said.

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

The meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, comes less than a day after the first elected Democratic lawmaker called for Biden to withdraw from the race. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, cited Biden’s disastrous performance in last week’s debate against former President Trump.

The meeting of several governors, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, comes less than a day after the first elected Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, called for President Biden to withdraw from the race. (Getty Images)

The White House has attempted to dismiss Biden’s gaffes, miscues and mental acuity concerns as little more than the product of “cheap fakes” and misinformation, but one of Biden’s current political rivals – who previously served alongside him – says unequivocally that the Biden seen during a disastrous national debate is “not the same man” he once knew.

AFTER BIDEN’S DISASTROUS DEBATE, CAMPAIGN EMAILS SUPPORTERS ON HOW TO DEFEND HIM: ‘BEDWETTING BRIGADE’

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, served as physician to the president during both the Obama and Trump administrations and previously worked in the White House Medical Unit during the George W. Bush administration. It was during his time spent serving under former President Obama that he was able to most closely observe Biden, then the vice president.

The White House has attempted to dismiss President Biden’s mental acuity concerns as little more than the product of “cheap fakes” and misinformation. (Getty Images)

“I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man we’ve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for 8 years,” Jackson said. 

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Last week’s debate had a cascading effect within the media and some members of the Democratic Party, too, as even traditional left-wing allies slammed the president’s performance as disastrous – with some calling on the president to step aside before the election. 

As legacy media outlets such as the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune call on Biden to map out an exit plan – with the Times describing Biden as a “shadow of a great public servant” – Biden allies such as Obama and first lady Jill Biden have reiterated their full-throated support for the 46th president’s re-election.

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President Biden has enlisted top A-listers to help push his campaign for re-election, and that includes perhaps the top Democrat of all, former President Barack Obama.

But after Biden’s creaky performance in the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump last week, it seems that even Obama might have doubts about Biden’s prospect of winning a second term this November.

Obama called Biden after the debate to offer more words of encouragement, according to The Washington Post, which also reported that Obama told private supporters that Biden’s road to re-election has become more difficult since Thursday.

OBAMA DEFENDS BIDEN, HAMMERS TRUMP AFTER TELEVISED SHOWDOWN: ‘BAD DEBATE NIGHTS HAPPEN’

President Biden received an encouraging phone call from former President Barack Obama following his poor performance during CNN’s presidential debate last week, according to The Washington Post. (Getty Images)

An Obama spokesperson didn’t comment on the remarks made privately to the Post, but a Biden campaign spokesperson said Obama has given his former vice president “unwavering” support.

“President Biden is grateful for President Obama’s unwavering support since the very start of this campaign as both a powerful messenger to voters and a trusted adviser directly to the president,” Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, said.

OBAMA HAS ‘ANXIETY’ OVER ELECTION, HOLDING SECRET MEETINGS WITH BIDEN TO STRATEGIZE ON BEATING TRUMP: REPORT

Obama hasn’t publicly called for any Biden withdrawal, but has suggested his former vice president keep pushing forward.

“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself,” Obama stated on social media after the debate.  

Obama, who defended Biden’s “bad debate” night, has acknowledged in private that Biden’s road to re-election has become more difficult over the past week, the Post reported. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

OBAMA AGAIN STEPPING INTO ROLE AS JOE’S CLOSER AHEAD OF TRUMP V BIDEN REMATCH

“Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”

This comes on the heels of Obama reportedly acknowledging the possibility of Trump’s political strengths and potential chops to win another term. 

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Obama, who remains one of the biggest names in the Democratic Party, has attended two major fundraisers for Biden in the past few months, including a ritzy fundraiser in March with former President Bill Clinton in New York City at Radio City Music Hall.

Last month, Obama attended a fundraiser with Biden in Los Angeles that was hosted by actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts, an event that raised more than $30 million.

The White House has attempted to dismiss President Biden’s gaffes, miscues and mental acuity concerns as little more than the product of “cheap fakes” and misinformation, but one of Biden’s current political rivals – who previously served alongside him – says unequivocally that the Biden seen during a disastrous national debate is “not the same man” he once knew.

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, served as physician to the president during both the Obama and Trump administrations and previously worked in the White House Medical Unit during the George W. Bush administration. It was during his time spent serving under former President Obama that he was able to most closely observe Biden, then the vice president.

“I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man we’ve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for 8 years,” Jackson said. 

Fox News Digital gathered various videos showing how Biden’s once-cogent speeches and energetic public appearances during his days as vice president have given way to a drastically different demeanor as president.

Thursday evening’s debate against Biden’s likely general election foe, former President Trump, significantly elevated concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity. 

AFTER BIDEN’S DISASTROUS DEBATE, CAMPAIGN EMAILS SUPPORTERS ON HOW TO DEFEND HIM: ‘BEDWETTING BRIGADE’

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

The debate had a cascading effect within the media and some members of the Democratic Party, too, as even traditional left-wing allies slammed the president’s performance as disastrous – with some calling on the president to step aside before the election. 

As legacy media outlets such as the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune call on Biden to map out an exit plan – with the Times describing Biden as a “shadow of a great public servant” – Biden allies such as Obama and first lady Jill Biden have reiterated their full-throated support for the 46th president’s re-election. 

Other Democratic allies floated as potential replacement presidential candidates, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, have also remained committed to their support of Biden’s re-election efforts despite media calls for Biden to step aside. 

However, the Fox News Digital video compilation illustrates the differences in Biden that even some of his supporters are beginning to publicly acknowledge.

Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician, right, said special counsel Robert Hur’s report “validates” what he and many Americans have known all along – that President Biden has “serious issues.” (Getty Images)

“Mr. President, this honor is not only well beyond what I deserve, but it’s a reflection on the extent and generosity of your spirit.  I don’t deserve this, but I know it came from the President’s heart,” Biden said in 2017 after Obama awarded him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “Mr. President, you have creeped into our heart — you and your whole family, including Mom — and you occupy it.  It’s an amazing thing that happened.  I knew how smart you were.  I knew how honorable you were.  I knew how decent you were from the couple years we worked in the Senate, and I knew what you were capable of.  But I never fully expected that you’d occupy the Bidens’ heart, from Hunter, to Ashley, my sister, all of us.  All of us.”

The emotional remarks, which included Biden tearing up, underscored Biden’s long political career, serving as a Delaware senator for nearly four decades before his eight years as vice president, and spurred headlines that Biden was an “effective” veep who left behind a “legacy of hard work.” 

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

Then-President Obama awards Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a tribute to Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 12, 2017. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images))

Though an admitted “gaffe machine,” including describing Obama to a reporter as “the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” ahead of the 2008 election, Biden did not face nearly the same wave of criticisms as he does today over his near-daily gaffes, as well as new concerns over his mental and physical health. 

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

Videos from his vice presidency era show Biden speaking in the same confident tone he held throughout his Senate career, as well as footage showing him easily striding up Air Force Two’s stairs, making coherent quips while speaking to crowds and overall employing his “Scranton Joe” demeanor as a relaxed politico representing average Americans. 

Then-Vice President Joe Biden with his wife Dr. Jill Biden wave to the press upon their arrival at the Guatemalan air force base in Guatemala City on March 2, 2015. (Johan ORDONEZ / AFP)

“Man, yeah, it feels great. I’ve always loved to drive,” Biden told Jay Leno while driving his ’67 Corvette Stingray in a segment on “Jay Leno’s Garage” in 2016. “I shouldn’t say this on TV … I like speed.” The clip showed the then-VP doing a burnout with the car, which he said was a wedding gift from his dad, and bonding with Leno over their love of flashy and fast cars. 

Another video from Biden’s vice presidency showed him easily climbing up the steps of Air Force Two, delivering an optimistic 2012 DNC speech highlighting “America’s best days are ahead of us,” and his resolutely pro-America DNC speech in 2016 that was lauded as making “patriotism liberal again.”

MOST BIDEN RALLY APPEARANCES ARE SHORTER THAN A SITCOM, HELPING FUEL STAMINA CONCERNS

Vice President Joe Biden addresses the delegates from the podium during the third day of the 2016 Democratic National Nominating Convention in the Wells Fargo Arena. (Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

“We do not scare easily, we never bow, we never bend, we never break when confronted with crisis. No, we endure, we overcome and we always, always, always move forward,” he said of the United States’ strength at the 2016 DNC. “That’s why I can say, with absolute conviction, I am more optimistic about our chances today then when I was elected as a 29-year-old kid to the Senate.”

“We are America, second to none, and we own the finish line,” he said, impassioned. “Don’t forget it.”

OBAMA LEADING BIDEN OFF LA FUNDRAISER’S STAGE JUST LATEST EXAMPLE OF ALLIES DIRECTING PRESIDENT

Vice President Joe Biden pauses while speaking during day three of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012. (Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Outside of Biden’s official speeches supporting the Democratic Party and its allies, Biden, while vice president, was also seen on camera speaking coherently and relaxed to everyday Americans. 

“So here’s the deal, I’m coming for ice cream,” he said in a 2010 call, for example, to an ice cream parlor that benefited from the Recovery Act small business loan. 

OBAMA AGAIN STEPPING INTO ROLE AS JOE’S CLOSER AHEAD OF TRUMP V BIDEN REMATCH

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni directs President Biden during a G-7 event.  (Fox News/POOL)

Fast-forward to 2024, the White House and Biden campaign are near-daily staving off criticisms and concerns regarding the president’s miscues and gaffes during public events as speculation mounts surrounding the president’s health.

Those most recently include: former President Obama taking Biden’s wrist to seemingly lead him offstage at a fundraiser in Los Angeles in June; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni directing Biden back to a gaggle of world leaders in Italy last month after he took a few steps away from the group to give a thumbs up to a parachutist; and viral video showing the president standing relatively motionless during a Juneteenth concert event at the White House. 

CELEBS SHOWER BIDEN WITH CAMPAIGN CASH, BUT COULD UNDERCUT ‘SCRANTON JOE’ IMAGE

President Obama, right, takes President Biden by the wrist at a fundraising event. (Christopher Gardner via Storyful)

The White House slammed such videos as “cheap fakes” promoted by the Trump campaign and its allies, birthing a new 2024 campaign buzzword that was soon mocked by conservatives on social media as the administration “gaslighting” Americans. Cheap fakes, under the White House’s definition, are understood as real videos that are cropped or edited in an allegedly deceptive manner. 

The Trump campaign last week demanded the White House and campaign apologize for the phrase and accusation, citing Biden’s Thursday debate performance as evidence that “everyone sees there’s NOTHING fake about Biden’s decline.”

BIDEN LOOKS TO CAPITALIZE ON STAR-STUDDED HOLLYWOOD FUNDRAISER AFTER TRUMP’S MASSIVE CASH HAUL IN BLUE STATE

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

Thursday’s debate was riddled with Biden tripping over his words, speaking in a far more subdued tenor than during his vice presidency, having a raspy and unsure voice and losing his train of thought at times. The debate unleashed panic among Democratic allies and members of the media, as they remarked his debate performance was a failure that added fuel to the fire surrounding concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and age. 

“My phone really never stopped buzzing throughout. And the universal reaction was somewhere approaching panic,” MSNBC’s Joy Reid, for example, said.

“The people who were texting with me were very concerned about President Biden seeming extremely feeble, seeming extremely weak,” she continued. “Joe Biden’s job was to reassure them tonight. His job was to calm his party, to make them feel that, ‘Yes, I can do this. I have four more years in me. I have the ability and the stamina and the strength to do four more’ … He did not do that. He did the opposite of that.”

Biden’s mental fitness has become a focal point this election season, with Trump routinely slamming the president for his garbled language in public remarks and repeated instances of Biden appearing confused while trying to find an exit off of a stage after public events. 

GAY TRUMP VOTERS SHATTER DEM ‘LIE’ LGBT AMERICANS ONLY VOTE BLUE, SAYS LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS CHIEF

In addition to his more recent gaffes and miscues, Biden has previously slipped while trying to board Air Force One, fell during the graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy last year, declared “we can’t be trusted” during a speech in April, appeared to forget the name of terror group Hamas in February, capped off a gun control speech last year with by saying “God save the Queen, man,” and appeared to nap during a climate conference in 2021. 

Biden did come under scrutiny during his vice presidency for gaffes and questionable off-the-cuff remarks to reporters, but concerns regarding his mental acuity were not floated until he made his way into the 2020 presidential election, beginning with concerns over his age. 

When asked for comment regarding videos showing the president during his vice presidency compared to his presidency and debate, the Biden campaign pointed to the president’s long list of campaign events following the debate. 

“President Biden met with supporters at 3 separate events across two states until 2:30am after the debate. He then did 3 more campaign events the following day. Meanwhile, Donald Trump held just one campaign event with supporters late in the afternoon on Friday,” the campaign said. 

TRUMP’S ‘MODERN DAY SALEM WITCH TRIAL’ VERDICT SIGNALS ‘OPEN SEASON’ ON FORMER PRESIDENTS: EXPERTS

President Biden is helped up after falling during the graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy, just north of Colorado Springs, in El Paso County, Colorado, on June 1, 2023. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

Earlier this year, special counsel Robert Hur’s report investigating the president’s handling of classified documents after his departure as vice president under the Obama administration further compounded concern over the president’s mental acuity. 

Hur announced in February that he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Again, the Biden administration and campaign faced more controversy over the president’s age and mental fitness when the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report last month detailing interviews with roughly 45 lawmakers and administration officials on Biden’s mental state, which caused alarm that the oldest sitting president in U.S. history is showing his age in meetings.

The White House hit back that the story and anecdotes were examples of partisan politics working to deride the “savvy and effective” president.

TRUMP RESURRECTS BIDEN’S ‘DEVASTATING’ 1994 CRIME BILL AS HE COURTS BLACK DETROIT VOTERS: ‘SUPER PREDATORS’

President Biden takes a question from a reporter before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 30. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

Following Biden’s debate performance on Thursday, voters, critics, and doctors sounded off that Biden’s mental acuity is on a downward spiral that is on full display for the world. 

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

Jackson, who has been a vocal critic of Biden’s stretching back to the 2020 election, added in a comment to Fox Digital that Biden “sure as heck isn’t fit for the job moving forward.”

“I’ve gone to no lengths to hide my true opinions about Joe Biden and his policies that are wrecking our country. In tandem, I have consistently shared my concerns as a former doctor of three United States Presidents regarding his fitness for office. Joe Biden was never fit for the job, and he sure as heck isn’t fit for the job moving forward. It is absolutely crazy to think he could lead this country 4-year term as our President,” Jackson continued in his comments to Fox Digital. 

“Throughout the evening, Biden struggled to maintain a coherent narrative, often losing his train of thought mid-sentence, and providing vague, rambling and undecipherable answers to highly critical questions,” Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon who specializes in cognitive function, previously told Fox News Digital.

“His difficulty in articulating clear, concise responses and his apparent disorientation during the debate were seen by many – including his own constituents – as very troubling indicators of his overall health and an obvious decline in his cognitive function,” Osborn said.

President Biden during a Juneteenth celebration at the White House. (Fox News/POOL)

While Dr. Marc Siegel, a clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, described Biden’s performance as “meandering,” noting that he ended sentences in different places than intended, and “often mixed up ‘trillions’ and ‘billions’ and ‘millions.’”

5 RECENT GAFFES BY PRESIDENT BIDEN

“The debate is, in a way, a psychiatric or cognitive stress test,” he previously told Fox News Digital. 

Critics on social media also compared Biden on Thursday to how America previously knew him as a vice presidential candidate and later a presidential candidate in 2019, echoing the sentiment that “the rapid decline is clear.” 

Biden’s 2012 vice presidential debate against Republican Mitt Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan was a success for the Obama-Biden ticket, with Politico declaring in a headline at the time that “Joltin’ Joe Biden wins the bout,” the Daily Beast reporting that Biden’s performance that year “Perfects Art of the Smirk” and the Guardian reported Biden flaunted an “alpha-male display.”  Other outlets hit back that Biden had a “laugh-filled” debate that was condescending at times, but no one floated concern the veep was losing his mental edge. 

BIDEN MOCKED AFTER ‘I’M IN THE 20TH CENTURY’ GAFFE: ‘FINALLY GOT SOMETHING RIGHT’

Vice President Joe Biden smiles during the vice presidential debate at Centre College on Oct. 11, 2012 in Danville, Kentucky. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Stop talking about how you care about people,” Biden shot at Ryan during the debate as the two sparred during the 90-minute debate. “Show me something. Show me a policy. Show me a policy where you take responsibility.” 

BIDEN MOCKED FOR ADMITTING ‘WE CAN’T BE TRUSTED’ IN LATEST GAFFE: ‘AGREED, JOE’

Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) participate in the vice presidential debate as moderator Martha Raddatz looks on at Centre College on Oct. 11, 2012 in Danville, Kentucky. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In 2024’s presidential debate, Biden was hard-pressed to deliver a similar zinger at Trump, with traditional allies of the Democratic Party arguing one of his strongest responses to Trump was when he charged, “You have the morals of an alley cat.” 

BIDEN ONCE RIPPED ‘ANTISEMITIC BILE’ BUT NOW FACES OWN ‘CHARLOTTESVILLE MOMENT’

Amid Biden falling over his words throughout the debate, Trump even flamed Biden for not understanding his argument when pressed about the immigration crisis. 

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

“What I’ve done since I’ve changed the law, what’s happened? I’ve changed it in a way that now you’re in a situation where there are 40% fewer people coming across the border illegally. That’s better than when he left office, and I’m going to continue to move until we get the total ban on… The total initiative relative to what we’re going to do with more border patrol and more asylum officers,” Biden said when asked about immigration during the debate. 

“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence, I don’t think he knows what he said, either,” Trump shot back. 

Following the debate, Biden and his allies went on a media blitz defending the president. Biden also notably made a handful of campaign events in North Carolina, New Jersey and New York, where he vowed to fight harder to retain the White House. 

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“I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” Biden told the several dozen people at a New Jersey fundraiser. 

“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.”

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady, Melissa Rudy and Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.