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President Biden held a highly anticipated solo press conference Thursday evening to speak with the White House press corps amid concerns about his mental fortitude.

For reporters, it was a definitive trial to determine if Biden’s confused and inarticulate demeanor at his first presidential debate against former President Trump was a fluke or a sign of a growing problem for the administration. 

Biden struggled with names — even for his own vice president

Before the press conference even began, Biden started out stumbling when he introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” at the NATO conference in Washington, D.C.

“And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination,” Biden said, before starting to leave the podium. “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.”

DEMS RUSH TO DEFEND BIDEN AMID HIGH-STAKES PRESS CONFERENCE: ‘VERY STRONG PERFORMANCE’

President Biden speaks to reporters at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Biden seemed to realize his embarrassing verbal stumble mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin and attempted to quickly correct himself.

“He’s going to beat President Putin. President Zelenskyy. I’m so focused on beating Putin,” he said. “We got to worry about it. Anyway, Mr. President.”

A similar gaffe happened once Biden began to speak, with the president confusing Vice President Kamala Harris with Trump.

“I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump if I didn’t think she was qualified to be president,” Biden told the press.

Biden had a list of reporters to call on

When President Biden finished his opening remarks, he opened the floor to questions but announced he had been “given a list of people to call on.”

The statement surprised many journalists, as the Biden administration’s reliance on screening questions and pre-approving reporters has been a consistent point of criticism.

Biden’s camp is touting him as a policy expert

During and after the press conference, Biden’s immediate team and wider ecosystem of allies were quick to tout the event as an overwhelming success.

Many claimed the president’s answers regarding foreign policy issues showed him to have expertise in international affairs.

BIDEN’S HIGH-STAKES SOLO PRESS CONFERENCE SLAMMED FROM THE RIGHT AS ‘ANOTHER DISASTER’

President Biden, right, and former President Trump argue on stage at the first presidential debate of the 2024 election. Biden’s performance at the event was so concerning, lawmakers in the Democratic Party have since questioned if he should stand for re-election. (Getty Images)

“To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs. He’s just that f—ing good,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote in a post to X.

Joel Rubin, a former State Department official during the Obama administration, considered Biden’s performance to be “very strong.”

“This is a very strong performance. Quite frankly. ⁦@POTUS⁩ is putting on a master class in how foreign policy and domestic policy intersect, explaining how crucial American global leadership is to our people here at home. Well done, Mr. President,” Rubin wrote in a post on X.

One Democratic activist went so far as to say he believes there are “people who owe President Biden an apology” after the president’s press conference.

Republicans are calling it another disaster

The press conference was panned as a “disaster” on social media by conservatives, who criticized the president for a performance they said featured Biden stumbling through answers to reporters’ questions about foreign policy and the 2024 presidential race.

Many cracked jokes about the president’s multiple mix-ups on names, including Trump himself.

JEN PSAKI SAYS WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE TO BIDEN HEALTH CONCERNS IS FAILING: ‘STRATEGY IS NOT GOING WELL’

Some within President Biden’s camp have touted his performance at the press conference as proof of his expertise in foreign policy and fortitude. Others say his repeated gaffes and weak cadence further harmed his image. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Crooked Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ Press Conference with, ‘I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president.’ Great job, Joe!” Trump joked on his proprietary social media platform, Truth Social. 

Democrats are still divided on whether Biden needs to step down

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Democrats in Congress and supporters of the president want to see leadership in the effort to defeat Trump in November but cannot decide how to proceed.

“Nobody knows the path forward,” Psaki said. “And members of Congress and people who are rooting for him want to know, how do you win this race? How do you defeat Donald Trump? People just want a little something to go with, and they don’t have it.”

At least 10 House Democrats and one in the Senate have publicly called on Biden to end his re-election bid, and a growing number of both House and Senate Democrats have publicly and privately warned that the president will lose to Trump in November.

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Former White House press secretary, MSNBC host Jen Psaki said that President Biden’s team was not doing enough to show his “empathy” as concerns about Biden’s cognitive ability threaten his campaign. (NBC)

Former House Speaker House Nancy Pelosi said earlier this week the Democrats are keeping their thoughts on Biden quiet “until we see how we go this week.”

“Let’s just hold off,” she said on MSNBC. “Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week.”

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Jeffrey Clark, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Emma Colton and Kyle Morris contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump maintains a lead over President Biden following the latter’s disastrous debate performance last month, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

According to the poll, Trump currently holds an approval rate of 44%, while Biden trails with 40% — with Trump leading Biden by double digits on three key issues.

Approximately 68% of respondents told Pew Research that they are generally unsatisfied with their available choices for the presidential election.

TRUMP APPROVAL RATING TOPS 50% AS HE LEADS BIDEN ON VOTERS’ TOP TWO ISSUES: POLL

Trump gives a speech at a campaign rally in Racine, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The report published Thursday is Pew’s first to come out since Biden’s confused and sometimes unintelligible performance at the first 2024 presidential debate.

Only about 24% of voters describe Biden as “mentally sharp” — a 6 point drop since January and a whopping 22% decline since Oct. 2020, according to Pew. Approximately 58% of respondents described Trump as such.

Trump’s advantage over Biden comes from his dominant position on three issues important to voters: immigration, the economy and foreign policy. 

POLL COMPARES WHETHER TRUMP, HUNTER BIDEN SHOULD GET PRISON SENTENCES, ACCORDING TO US ADULTS

Trump and Biden participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Trump holds a 17 point lead over Biden on immigration policy (52-35%), a 14 point lead over Biden on economic policy (54-40%), and a 10 point lead on foreign policy (49-39).

Biden netted an 8 point advantage over Trump on bipartisanship (40-32%) and a 4 point advantage on abortion issues (48-44%).

Third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received one of his largest cuts of the electorate in a major poll yet, netting 15% of respondents.

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Biden walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., after returning from a trip to Pennsylvania. (AP/Susan Walsh)

The Pew survey was conducted by live interviewers online or by telephone between July 1 and July 7. Pew Research Center contacted 9,424 adults, 7,729 of which were registered voters.

The pool of respondents was weighted to represent “gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors” in the U.S. adult population. The poll has a margin of error of approximately 1.3 percentage points.

Another Democratic lawmaker has weighed in on President Biden’s mental fortitude and whether he is capable of holding office for a second term.

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., admitted to NBC in a Friday interview that Biden is not the same person as he was four years ago, but asserted that he is still “mentally” fit with one of the “best minds” he’s ever worked with.

“You’re traveling with him next week, you’ve spent more time with the president than just about anybody else in the House, is this the same Joe Biden that we saw two years ago?” interviewer Craig Melvin asked Clyburn, who had endorsed Biden in the 2020 presidential race. 

DEFIANT BIDEN SAYS HE’S ‘DETERMINED ON RUNNING,’ AS NEW POLL AFTER PRESSER SHOWS SLIGHT LEAD OVER TRUMP

Biden held a news conference with members of the White House press corps during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., on July 11, 2024.  (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Well, look, I grew up in…” Clyburn started to say before he was asked again, “Is it the same Joe Biden?” 

“No,” Clyburn said emphatically, adding that, “I’m not the same Jim Clyburn that I was four years ago.” 

Clyburn later said he doesn’t think Biden, physically, is the same as he was during the last presidential election cycle. 

TOP DEMOCRAT ON THE HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE RESPONDS TO BIDEN’S PRESS CONFERENCE

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol following the presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Mentally, I do think so,” Clyburn declared. “He is still grasping what this country is all about.” 

“He has one of the best minds that I have ever been around. The people who’ve been around him will tell you that, and so I would hope that we will focus on the substance of this man, rather than these sometimes, misspoken words and phrases, and how he has run this country.”

Biden faced a wave of mockery online Thursday after he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” ahead of his press conference.

PELOSI IS WORKING TO UNDERMINE BIDEN’S ATTEMPT TO END DISCUSSION OF HIS CANDIDACY: REPORT

President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participate in the launching of the Ukraine Compact at the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, DC. Biden accidentally introduced Zelenskyy as “Putin” — the president of Russia responsible for the invasion of his home country. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

During the conference, Biden also referred to his Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, as his vice-president.

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Biden was peppered with questions from reporters who pressed him on whether he would step aside amid mounting pressure from members within his own party following his disastrous debate performance last month.

The president dismissed the notion he’s “slowing down” and insisted he was “determined on running” in this year’s election.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

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

President Biden is now declaring he would leave the 2024 race for the White House if polls showed there was “no way” he could win, after only a week ago saying it would take the “Lord Almighty” for him to drop out.

The 81-year-old president is facing mounting calls to step aside from members of his own party amid concerns he does not have the physical or mental strength to beat former President Trump nor carry out another four-year term.

Biden took questions from reporters in an hourlong press conference Thursday night as he sought to allay those concerns. The event came on the heels of Washington, D.C.’s NATO summit, though the media’s questions largely focused on Biden’s re-election.

One reporter asked the president whether he would reconsider staying in the race if his own team presented data showing Vice President Kamala Harris doing better against Trump than himself.

DEMS RUSH TO DEFEND BIDEN AMID HIGH STAKES PRESS CONFERENCE: ‘VERY STRONG PERFORMANCE’

President Biden held a press conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Getty Images)

“No,” Biden said. “Unless they came back and said, there’s no way you can win. Me.”

The president added in his trademark whisper, “There’s no one saying that. No poll says that.”

Nearly a week ago last Friday, however, he told ABC News host George Stephanopoulos that his political fate was up to deities rather than data.

Per the network’s unedited transcript of the interview, Biden said, when asked whether he would drop out if he was convinced by allies that he could not beat Trump, “It depends on- on if the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that.”

TOP DEMOCRAT ON HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE CALLS ON BIDEN TO SUSPEND CAMPAIGN AFTER NATO PRESS CONFERENCE

President Biden’s press conference comes after his interview last Friday with ABC News. (Screenshot/ABC)

When pressed again, he insisted, “Look. I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race,’ I’d get outta the race. The Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down.”

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

A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Friday morning shows Biden two points ahead of Trump in a head-to-head rematch, though Trump is one percentage point above Biden when factoring in third-party options. Both results fell within the survey’s 3.1% margin of error.

BIDEN’S HIGH-STAKES SOLO PRESS CONFERENCE SLAMMED FROM THE RIGHT AS ‘ANOTHER DISASTER’

President Biden, right, is facing calls to drop his re-election bid in the wake of his performance at the CNN Presidential Debate. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Several of Biden’s supporters lauded his press conference performance Thursday night, arguing he showed a commanding and clear sense of foreign policy experience. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “I think he convinced a lot of people he should stay in the race.”

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For others, however, it was too late. Three more House Democrats called on Biden to step aside after the press conference, including Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House permanent select committee on Intelligence.

As of Friday morning, there are 20 Congressional Democrats who have publicly called on Biden to drop out.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are defying critics calling for the president to step away from the 2024 presidential race by launching a full offensive aimed at tying former President Trump to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 platform.

The effort comes amid Trump’s attempt to distance himself from Project 2025, a highly scrutinized initiative that’s been portrayed as a blueprint for a future Republican administration to restructure many parts of the U.S. government. Trump has described elements of the plan as “ridiculous” and “abysmal.”

It also comes as Biden faces increased calls from many in his own party to bow out of the race following a disappointing showing in the first presidential debate last month. 

BIDEN CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE REVEALS PRESIDENT’S PLANS AMID CALLS TO EXIT 2024 RACE

President Biden, former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

“Donald Trump’s Project 2025 team is stacked with the same extremists who helped him rip away women’s freedoms, round up and deport Latinos, and undermine our democracy in his first term,” Biden campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika told Fox News Digital.

“If Trump wins this election, his Project 2025 allies will work around the clock to make sure he can go even further to ban abortion nationwide, gut Social Security and Medicare, and rule as a ‘dictator on day one.’ Donald Trump and Project 2025 are one and the same — and voters are going to make sure they both lose this November.”

Although it’s not officially associated with Trump’s campaign, Chitika’s use of the term “Trump’s Project 2025 team” is a reference to the individuals who created the initiative in 2023 largely having previously held roles within the former president’s administration, including Paul Dans, who directed the project and served as Trump’s White House Liaison to the Office of Personnel Management. 

OBAMA SILENT OVER REPORTS HE’S WORKING ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ TO FORCE BIDEN OUT OF THE 2024 RACE

Former President Trump appears at a campaign event at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami on Tuesday. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Dans’ associates constructing the initiative, Spencer Chretien and Troup Hemenway, served respectively as a special assistant to Trump and in the Presidential Personnel Office. In fact, 81% of individuals who worked on the initiative held formal roles within the Trump administration, and some current aides have also assisted with the project.

Biden and Harris’ rhetoric on the campaign trail in recent weeks has sought to shift focus to the project, not just as a likely distraction from the pressure facing Biden, but also because they see it as a winning message to moderate swing state voters who could very well decide the election.

“Trump’s advisers have created a 900-page blueprint — called ‘Project 2025’ — detailing everything else they plan to do in a second term, including a plan to cut Social Security, repeal our $35 cap on insulin, eliminate the Department of Education and end programs like Head Start,” Harris said at a campaign stop in Nevada on Tuesday.

GROWING LIST OF OBAMA ALLIES, FORMER ADVISERS LOOK TO SINK BIDEN RE-ELECTION BID

Vice President Kamala Harris addresses supporters at a campaign event at Resorts World Las Vegas in Las Vegas on Tuesday. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“Donald Trump wants to turn our democracy into a dictatorship, and the Supreme Court basically just declared he can get away with it,” she later added, referencing the Supreme Court’s ruling last week that a president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office.

Trump disavowed Project 2025 in a post on Truth Social last week, saying he didn’t know who was behind the initiative that offers recommendations on how a future Republican president can begin to enact conservative changes upon entering office, including overhauling the Justice Department and the FBI, as well as tackling issues like abortion and immigration.

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“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” Trump wrote. “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”

Trump’s campaign took aim at the attempts to tie him to Project 2025 on Thursday, telling Fox News Digital, “Agenda 47 and President Trump’s RNC Platform are the only policies endorsed by President Trump for a second term.

“Team Biden and the DNC are LYING and fear-mongering because they have NOTHING else to offer the American people. Remember this is the same group that lied to Americans and hid Joe Biden’s cognitive decline all these years.”

Fox News’ Kyle Morris, Andrew Mark Miller and Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report.

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

Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., publicly supports President Biden as he faces calls to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election. But in private, she is reportedly encouraging lawmakers to continue to put pressure on Biden to reconsider his decision to run for re-election, according to reports. 

A number of House Democrats told The Hill that Pelosi is advising members in their conference against rallying to Biden before there is a broader discussion over whether he is the best candidate to defeat former President Trump. While she has not called on Biden to step aside, Pelosi is reportedly telling vulnerable lawmakers in swing districts to do so if they think that will help them win re-election.

“I did have a conversation with her, she is very concerned,” one House Democratic lawmaker told The Hill. “It’s not like she’s like, ‘We’re sticking with this guy.'”

Lawmakers quoted in the report were granted anonymity to speak frankly about sensitive discussions in their conference. 

PELOSI SNAPS AT REPORTER ASKING IF SHE WANTS BIDEN TO DROP OUT OF THE RACE: ‘AM I SPEAKING ENGLISH TO YOU?’

Pelosi greets Biden in the Rotunda as he arrives to pay his respects to the late Rep. Don Young (R-Ark.) while lying in state in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol March 29, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“I’ve had my own conversations with her,” a second Democrat reportedly said. 

“It’s just an obvious concern. The stakes are so high. We can’t afford to do anything but have our best possible opportunity to win,” the lawmaker said, relaying Pelosi’s message to the conference, according to The Hill.

Pelosi is a longtime Biden ally. She led House Democrats for the entirety of Biden’s two terms as vice president and served as House speaker for the first two years of his presidency, ushering major pieces of Biden’s agenda through Congress, including the American Rescue Plan and bipartisan infrastructure law.

Even so, she likes to win. And Pelosi has repeatedly said that Trump represents an existential threat to democracy who must be defeated in November, a feat Democrats are not certain Biden can accomplish. 

MEDIA FIGURES SHOCKED AT BIDEN’S ‘BAD’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE: ‘TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISASTER’

Biden and Pelosi arrive for a signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 9, 2022.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The report said that Pelosi’s work behind-the-scenes is a response to how the Biden campaign and White House reacted to criticisms of the president’s disastrous debate performance on June 27—denying that there’s a problem with Biden’s age or mental acuity and stubbornly insisting that Democrats have no alternative to the status quo. 

Biden maintained that position during a roughly hour-long news conference on Thursday, where he took multiple questions from reporters to allay concerns that he is too old and too mentally deficient to carry Democrats through the election and keep the White House. 

“I’m determined on running,” Biden declared. 

“Am I getting the job done? Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in 3½ years? I created 2,000 jobs just last week,” the president said. “So, if I slow down, I can’t get the job done, that’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication of that yet. None.”

PROMINENT DEMS CAST DOUBT ON BIDEN’S CLAIM HE’S STAYING IN RACE

Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The president on Monday sent a letter to congressional Democrats asserting that criticisms of his candidacy “only helps Trump and hurts us.” But his attempts to strong-arm Democratic lawmakers have not stifled dissent. On the contrary, they appear to have emboldened those who believe Biden is not taking his critics seriously. 

“Pelosi speaks for the sense that, if you’re going to circle the wagons, you need a lot more wagons in the circle,” a third Democratic lawmaker told The Hill. “You have to have a real conversation with people to decide it all together. And you can’t present people with a judgment.”

Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House and the Biden campaign also did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital inquiries. 

Pelosi spokesman Ian Krager told The Hill: “Speaker Pelosi fully supports whatever President Biden decides to do. We must turn our attention to why this race is so important: Donald Trump would be a disaster for our country and our democracy.” 

DEMS RUSH TO DEFEND BIDEN AMID HIGH-STAKES PRESS CONFERENCE: ‘VERY STRONG PERFORMANCE’

On Wednesday, Pelosi insinuated that there is still a decision to be made on whether Biden will seek re-election, despite the president already stating on several occasions that he is staying in the race.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We are all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday. “He’s beloved, he’s respected, and people want him to make that decision.”

Asked about Biden already making it clear he intends to run, Pelosi again suggested that there is a still a decision to be made.

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“I want him to do whatever he decides to do, and that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with,” Pelosi said.

Regardless of whatever private discussions that may be happening, Pelosi publicly contradicted the president and opened the door for other Democrats to do the same. At least 17 Democratic lawmakers have now openly called on Biden to step aside from the nomination. The discussion is far from over, and Biden’s future is uncertain. 

Fox News Digital’s Aubry Spady and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

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

Prominent Democrats being floated as replacements for President Biden as their party’s nominee are defending his candidacy despite other members of the party calling on him to step down.

Biden is facing calls from nearly a dozen Democratic lawmakers to step down as the 2024 nominee following his damaging performance at the first presidential debate.

While many Democrats are voicing concerns over his ability to serve, several lawmakers being named as potential Biden replacements should he step down are amplifying their support for the president.

Democrats Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg have all shown support for Biden’s re-election efforts since being named as potential candidates to replace Biden.

FETTERMAN DOUBLES DOWN ON SUPPORT FOR BIDEN AMID CALLS FOR HIM TO WITHDRAW: ‘HE’S BEEN A GREAT PRESIDENT’

“@JoeBiden is in it to win it, and I’m damn proud to support him,” Whitmer wrote in a post on X Wednesday.

(L-R) President of the United Auto Workers Ray Curry, President Biden, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow arrive to tour the 2022 North American International Auto Show in Detroit Sept, 14, 2022. (Mandel Ngan)

Whitmer defended the president several times after the debate and most recently suggested on CNN that it wouldn’t hurt for Biden to take a cognitive test to address concerns about his mental competency.

HUGE MAJORITY OF DEMOCRATS SAY BIDEN MUST STEP ASIDE EVEN AS BIDEN-TRUMP HORSE RACE IS TIED: POLL

Newsom hit the campaign trial for Biden after the debate, telling voters the president has the energy to serve another term as president.

“I was asked and tasked by President Biden, proudly, to fly from California to Georgia to represent the campaign right after that debate,” Newsom recently told supporters at a Van Buren Dems BBQ for Biden-Harris in Michigan. 

Newsom joined 20 Democratic governors in a private meeting with Biden at the White House just days after the debate, which he claims eased concerns over the president’s fitness.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with supporters during a stop July 4, 2024, at the Van Buren County Democratic Party Fourth of July reception in South Haven, Mich.  (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium)

“It could have gone two or three hours,” Newsom said of the meeting. “And I mean this with absolute conviction. That was the Joe Biden I remember from two weeks ago. That was the Joe Biden that I remember from two years ago. That’s the Joe Biden that I’m looking forward to re-electing as president of the United States.”

Pritzker also voiced support for Biden this week amid growing backlash over the debate.

“I’m not engaging in hypotheticals. You can see that I’m all in for Joe Biden,” he said. “Joe Biden is going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. I’m gonna go out there and wholeheartedly campaign for him.”

Pritzker added that Biden is “of course” physically and mentally fit to serve. 

Sen Tina Smith, D-Minn., and J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois, during a news conference hosted by Biden-Harris 2024 National Advisory Board members in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2024. (Rachel Mummey)

Beshear told reporters that while the president did not perform well at the debate, he is still supporting his re-election bid.

“The debate performance was rough. It was a very bad night for the president, but he is still the candidate. Only he can make decisions about his future candidacy. So, as long as he continues to be in the race, I support him,” Beshear said.

Buttigieg told Spectrum News in an interview after the debate that, despite any concerns, Biden remains a “focused and disciplined leader.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony during Wawa Welcome America July 4, 2023, in Philadelphia. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, another candidate mentioned as a potential replacement for Biden, played a slightly different tune and suggested Biden needs to make his case to the American people that he can win in November.

“The president has a responsibility to reassure the good people of Pennsylvania and the people of this country that he can defeat Donald Trump,” Shapiro told Axios in a statement.

Vice President Kamala Harris is considered the top candidate to step in and replace Biden should he be replaced as the nominee.

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Despite growing calls to drop out of the race, Biden has made several public declarations that he will not step aside.

EXCLUSIVE — As she aims to become the first Republican in New Mexico to win a Senate election in more than two decades, Nella Domenici is shattering records.

Domenici’s campaign reports that the candidate hauled in $2.9 million during the April-June second quarter of 2024 fundraising, which they said was “the largest fundraising quarter of any U.S. Senate candidate in New Mexico political history.”

The money was raised by both Domenici’s Senate campaign and its associated joint fundraising committees. The figures were shared first with Fox News on Friday.

It has been 22 years since a Republican has won in the one-time swing state that now leans blue. The last GOP politician to win was Sen. Pete Domenici, Nella’s father, who in 2002 was re-elected to a sixth six-year term.

DAUGHTER OF NEW MEXICO’S LAST REPUBLICAN SENATOR RUNNING FOR FATHER’S OLD SEAT

Republican Senate candidate Nella Domenici campaigns in Carlsbad, New Mexico, on May 14, 2024 (Domenici campaign)

Fast-forward to the present day, and his daughter aims to end the losing streak.

The momentum is growing, the movement is building, and our state is ready for new leadership,” the candidate said in a statement. “New Mexico is at a tipping point and I’m grateful to all of those who are rallying behind our campaign to demand more for our state and our nation.”

The candidate’s haul is more than double the $1.25 she brought in during the first quarter of 2024 fundraising. Domenici’s campaign said they entered July with more than $2 million in cash on hand.

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Domenici is using her powerful political brand and ample name recognition in New Mexico as she challenges Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is running in November for a third six-year term. 

Heinrich hauled in $1.5 million during the first three months of the year but has yet to announce his second-quarter fundraising.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)

In her race against Heinrich, Domenici is also showcasing her resume. She has decades of experience in the finance industry at Bridgewater Associates, where she served as chief financial officer, Credit Suisse and Citadel Investment group.

In recent cycles, New Mexico, which was once a general election battleground, has shifted to the left and is no longer considered a crucial swing state.

Heinrich won re-election in 2018, which was a blue-wave cycle, by more than 30 points. President Biden carried the state by 10 points in 2020.

But with the turmoil surrounding Biden in the wake of his disastrous performance in his debate last month with former President Trump, which has fueled calls from within his own party for the president to end his re-election bid, the GOP sees an opportunity to expand the map in New Mexico and a couple of other states.

Internal Democrat polling conducted post-debate suggests a tightening political climate in New Mexico.

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

Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Il., on Thursday joined a growing list of Democratic lawmakers publicly calling for President Biden to drop out of the presidential race after his debate performance late last month reignited doubts about his ability to serve as commander in chief.

In a statement, Schneider praised Biden for his accomplishments while in office but said the time had come for the president to “heroically pass the torch to a new generation of leadership to guide us to the future he has enabled and empowered us to pursue.”

Schneider invoked George Washington who, despite encouragement from his supporters, declined to run for a third term “for the good of the nation and the people.”

BIDEN RESISTS MOUNTING PRESSURE TO STEP ASIDE

Representative Brad Schneider, D-Il., is calling for President Biden to drop out of the presidential race, joining several other Democrats who have done the same.  (Getty Images)

“He knew when it was time to pass the torch,” Schneider said. “In passing the torch now, President Biden has a chance to live up to this standard and seal his place in history as one of the greatest leaders our nation, and history, has ever known. He can lead the transition of power to a new generation that can build a stronger party and a stronger nation. I fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance.”

Schneider is the 11th Democratic House lawmaker who has publicly called for Biden to step down following his catastrophic performance at the recent presidential debate.

Biden’s top campaign aides have been working damage control with major donors, while the White House – and Biden himself – remain adamant that he is the right man to lead the party against former President Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.

Despite calls even from within his own party to drop out, Biden, 81, has refused to step aside. 

SECOND LOCAL RADIO HOST ADMITS TO GETTING QUESTIONS FROM BIDEN TEAM AHEAD OF INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT

Twenty-three Democratic governors from across the nation descended on the White House last Wednesday evening to meet with the embattled president, but after the gathering, only Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spoke to reporters to express their support. 

Moore described the meeting with Biden as “honest” and “candid” and said the governors were “going to have his back.”

Despite the concerns from Democrats, others within the party are still standing behind the president. 

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Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., recently said, “I don’t care what anybody says, it ain’t going to be no other Democratic candidate.” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has said, “I’ll do my best to get him elected.”

Rep. Al Green of Texas has said, “I think that we need to move forward with Biden.”

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan, Danielle Wallace and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. 

A former Democrat lawmaker in South Carolina, who has donated thousands of dollars to President Biden’s re-election campaign, warned about Biden’s age in 2019 while supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s failed presidential campaign.

“Joe Biden has been running for president since before I was born,” Bakari Sellers told Politico in 2019 while serving as a surrogate for the Harris campaign.

“Joe Biden is nearly 80 years old and he’s running to be president of the United States,” Sellers said. “My dad was president of an HBCU and will be 75 this year and his doctors told him he couldn’t do it anymore.”

Sellers, a CNN political analyst who formerly served in South Carolina’s House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, said his dad, who served for 7 years as the president of Voorhees College, a South Carolina historically black college, “didn’t have the energy and strength to lead that campus anymore.” He went on to say it “doesn’t mean he wasn’t a great man and a great leader and a great visionary.”

“It is a justifiable conversation,” he continued.

BIDEN’S AGE MUCH MORE OF A LIABILITY THAN TRUMP’S, POLL FINDS AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

CNN contributor Bakari Sellers warned about Biden’s age in 2019 (Getty Images)

Sellers also took aim at presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren over age concerns during the Democratic presidential primary in 2019.

“The three front-runners are all older than Ronald Reagan was when he took over,” Sellers said. “Democrats are afraid of criticism, which is silly to me. But we are going to have a contentious primary on vigor and issues about fitness to be president.”

AXIOS REPORTER SAYS WHITE HOUSE DID ‘NOT TELL THE TRUTH’ FOR YEARS TO MEDIA, THEMSELVES ABOUT BIDEN’S AGE

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

Sellers, who donated $10,000 to the Biden Victory Fund and $6,600 to Biden’s re-election campaign last year, making him a maxed-out donor, has repeatedly defended Biden against criticisms about his age in recent weeks, including this week when he said it was “patently absurd” to be having a discussion about a Parkinsons specialist visiting the White House.

On Thursday night, Sellers responded to Biden’s hour-long press conference by posting on X that Biden was “doing well” and reposted a post from NBC analyst Vin Gupta, a doctor, defending Biden’s press conference.

“[Biden] demonstrated tonight that he continues to function at a high-level for his age,” Gupta said. “Yes, he had gaffes, which he’s been prone to throughout his career. Yet the substance was there after a series of tough questions, ably demonstrating breadth of experience. Strong performance.”

“Biden would not only have to not run but he’d have to resign. Neither of which is happening,” Sellers said last week. “Any article about his age that is absent the fact he’s accomplished bipartisan, put black woman on Supreme Court, brought economy back from brink after COVID is an emotional play. Because it’s clear even in his age he can do the job of POTUS.”

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally on June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

One of Sellers’ most notable defenses of Biden occurred less than an hour after the CNN debate between Biden and former President Trump.

“Biden ain’t going nowhere. It’s June. Let go of your pearls and dry your bed. He lost a debate. Bad. But it’s June. You’re not replacing him,” Sellers posted on June 27 on X. “So leave your random combinations in your chats. You’re not nominating Gretch or Gavin or Wes over Kamala. Stop it. Organize. Vote. We are winning every swing state senate race and gubernatorial race (NC). Relax.”

“Choice is Trump, Biden or couch. I choose Joe. Night. Night,” he continued.

Fox News Digital reached out to Sellers for comment but did not receive a response..

The narrative aggressively pushed by the Biden campaign and White House in recent weeks about President Biden, which included trying to quash concerns about his mental fitness by calling videos of him struggling “cheap fakes,” took a significant hit on Wednesday after a top Hollywood actor and a former Obama aide spoke out.

On Wednesday, actor George Clooney called on Biden to leave the 2024 race, citing what he witnessed at a Hollywood fundraiser in late June where the president was criticized for seemingly needing to be led off the stage by former President Obama.

“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” Clooney, a longtime friend of Obama, wrote. 

That conclusion was backed by former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, who also attended the Hollywood fundraiser.

WHAT IS VP HARRIS’ ROLE IN 25TH AMENDMENT AND HOW WOULD IT WORK TO REMOVE BIDEN?: EXPERTS

President Biden and actor George Clooney. (AP | Getty)

“It was not surprising to any of us who were at the fundraiser,” said Favreau, a member of the group of staffers often referred to as the “Obama bros” during their tenure in the White House. 

“I was there. Clooney was exactly right, and every single person I talked to at the fundraiser thought the same thing, except for the people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn’t say that.”

JAMES CARVILLE DECLARES THAT BIDEN STILL RUNNING IS AN ‘IDIOTIC CHOICE’ FOR THE COUNTRY

President Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., to board Marine One on Dec. 8, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Favreau’s blunt comments come just a day after he joined two of his fellow advisers and members of the “Obama bros” in dedicating the majority of their latest “Pod Save America” episode to ganging up on Biden following his poor performance in the first presidential debate and in a subsequent interview.

Immediately following the June 18 fundraiser where videos circulated of Biden being led off the stage by Obama, the Democratic Party along with the media launched a coordinated effort to dispel any questions about Biden’s age.

“CLAIM: Biden froze onstage during his fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday night and had to be led away by Obama,” The Associated Press wrote. “THE FACTS: Biden paused amid cheers and applause as he exited the stage with his predecessor following an interview moderated by late-night host [Jimmy] Kimmel.”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates described the moment as “the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds.”

Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer attributed the negative characterizations as a distraction tactic from those who “are so scared of losing to Joe Biden, they’ll make anything up to distract from the fact that their candidate for president, Donald Trump, has been convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for sexual assault, committed financial fraud, and only cares about himself.”

In response to a question at a press briefing the following Monday about videos that have been edited to make Biden appear frail or confused, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called such footage “cheap fakes video” that are “done in bad faith.” She added that they demonstrate “everything that we need to know about how desperate, how desperate Republicans are here.”

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Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on Tuesday. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

A source who helped organize, and attended, the fundraiser told the AP that there was nothing noteworthy about this moment and that Obama wanted to be “chummy” by walking offstage with Biden.

Lewis Kay, a spokesperson for Jimmy Kimmel, who was also at the event, called the claims spreading online “nonsense.”

“Attendees in the front were shouting at him, and President Biden was trying to hear them,” he wrote in an email to the AP. “It’s as simple as that.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Biden campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said some of his concerns were “deepened” on Thursday, and he needs to see more from President Biden and his campaign to address the concerns about his candidacy in the November election against former President Trump. 

“I need to see more analytics and data that show a path to victory,” he told reporters after the special meeting with top Biden campaign advisers on Thursday. 

According to Blumenthal, “Some of my concerns are allayed. Some others have been deepened,” after the discussion at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) with senior Biden advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, and campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. 

DEM SENATOR HELPS BLOCK BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINEE AMID CONTROVERSY OVER TRANSGENDER INMATE

Sen. Blumenthal said he still has concerns after the meeting with Biden’s advisers, and some of them had “deepened.” (Getty Images)

He explained that Biden’s solo press conference on Thursday evening at the conclusion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit will be “important” and “potentially a turning point.”

“But it has to be more than one, more than just one press conference in a week,” he added. 

BATTLEGROUND DEMS TESTER, KAINE SKIP BIDEN CAMPAIGN MEETING AS 2024 FEARS GROW

President Biden has said he is staying in the race. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The event will notably be Biden’s first such solo news conference of 2024. 

“Joe Biden has to continue effectively and aggressively meeting the concerns of the American people,” Blumenthal said. 

The senator emphasized that Biden must do press conferences and interviews, similar to those he is “doing right now.”

BATTLEGROUND DEM FEELS HEAT AFTER BIDEN’S DEBATE AS PARTY TURMOIL CONTINUES

Blumenthal wants to see more data about Biden’s path to victory. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images)

While he noted the concerns he still has, Blumenthal said, “as of now, he is the Democratic nominee. He has my support.”

The Democratic senator also made a point to note that Biden must revive his campaign himself. “It can’t be done for him, his advisers or staff can’t do it for him,” he said of the changes the president needs to make. 

FIRST DEM SENATOR CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT ‘FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY’

Sen. Peter Welch was the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to drop out of the race. (Getty Images)

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who became the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to exit the race on Wednesday, attended the meeting at the DSCC as well. “This was an opportunity for the campaign to come and tell us where they’re at and for senators to ask questions [and] make comments,” he said afterward. 

When reporters asked if he now felt differently about Biden’s candidacy after hearing from the advisers, he said, “I’m where I’m at, you know.” He said in a Washington Post op-ed on Wednesday that he didn’t believe Biden was the best Democratic candidate to beat Trump. 

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Sen. Bernie Sanders said the Biden campaign needs to be “stronger.” (Getty Images)

Also following the discussion, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said, “The Biden campaign has got to be stronger and clear, not only in defending their own record, but in creating an agenda for the future, especially for the needs of the working class of this country.”

A smiling Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was asked by Fox News Digital if he was happy after the meeting. He responded that he is a “happy person” in general.

Fox News’ Anne Marie Riha contributed to this report. 

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

Former President Trump on Thursday evening formally requested Judge Merchan overturn his guilty verdict in New York v. Trump after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have immunity for official acts. 

Trump was found guilty in an unprecedented criminal trial last month on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, following a six-week trial stemming from Bragg’s investigation. 

The formal motion was filed Thursday evening. 

NEW YORK V. TRUMP: MERCHAN DELAYS SENTENCING HEARING UNTIL SEPTEMBER

“The Court should dismiss the indictment and vacate the jury’s verdicts based on violations of the Presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause,” Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche wrote in the motion. 

Former President Trump holds a rally in the historically Democratic South Bronx on May 23, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Trump signaled last week that he would move to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a former president has substantial immunity for official acts committed while in office. 

In the formal motion Thursday evening, Blanche pointed to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision, and argued that certain evidence of “official acts” should not have been admitted during the trial. 

Specifically, Blanche argued that testimony from former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; former Special Assistant to the President Madeleine Westerhout; testimony regarding The Special Counsel’s Office and Congressional Investigations and the pardon power; testimony regarding President Trump’s response to FEC Inquiries; his presidential Twitter posts and other related testimony was impermissably admitted during trial. 

Trump attorneys also pointed to Trump’s disclosures to the Office of Government Ethics as president. 

Blanche said that “official-acts evidence” that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg presented to the grand jury “contravened the holding in Trump because Presidents ‘cannot be indicted based on conduct for which they are immune from prosecution,'” the motion reads. “The Presidential immunity doctrine recognized in Trump pertains to all ‘criminal proceedings,’ including grand jury proceedings when a prosecutor ‘seeks to charge’ a former President using evidence of official acts.”

Blanche argued that Bragg “violated the Presidential immunity doctrine by using similar official-acts evidence in the grand jury proceedings that gave rise to the politically motivated charges in this case.” 

Image of Judge Juan Merchan imposed over Donald Trump (AP)

“Because an Indictment so tainted cannot stand, the charges must be dismissed,” Blanche argued. 

Blanche also explained that the Supreme Court’s decision does not allow for an “overwhelming evidence” or “harmless error” exception to “the profound institutional interests at stake.” 

“Indeed, Trump contemplates a pretrial interlocutory appeal of an adverse Presidential immunity determination precisely because even the prospect of such a trial is constitutionally unacceptable,” Blanche wrote. “It necessarily follows that the results of a trial conducted in breach of these holdings is invalid.” 

Trump was set to be sentenced Thursday, just days before the Republican National Convention where he is set to be formally nominated the 2024 GOP presidential nominee. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks after the guilty verdict in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, at a press conference in New York, U.S., May 30, 2024. (REUTERS)

But Merchan, last week, granted Trump’s request to delay that sentencing. Merchan moved the sentencing hearing to September 18, “if such is still necessary.” 

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The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on presidential immunity came from a question that stemmed from charges brought against Trump in a separate, federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith related to the events of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach and any alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in that case. 

President Biden held a roughly hour-long press conference and took multiple questions from reporters Thursday evening as he works to quell concerns over his mental fitness and age ahead of the presidential election in November. 

“I’m determined on running,” Biden declared Thursday evening in his solo press conference that lasted roughly 58 minutes. 

Biden’s press conference, dubbed by the media and repeated by the White House as the president’s “big boy press conference,” was a high-stakes public event as voters and traditional Democratic allies increasingly spoke out this week that Biden’s mental acuity and age could or should prevent him from seeking re-election. The press conference follows Biden hosting NATO leaders in Washington, D.C., for the 75th anniversary of NATO. 

“Am I getting the job done? Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in three and a half years? I created 2,000 jobs just last week. So if I slow down, I can’t get the job done,” Biden told the media of him remaining in the race. “That’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication of that yet. None.”

PRESIDENT BIDEN: EUROPEAN ALLIES TELL ME I’VE ‘GOT TO WIN’ IN NOVEMBER

US President Joe Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 11, 2024.  (Getty Images)

The press conference included a handful of gaffes from the president, including appearing to confuse Vice President Kamala Harris with former President Donald Trump, holding up a list of reporters he was instructed to call on, and repeatedly saying “anyway” while trailing off from a specific thought. 

“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president [if I thought] she’s not qualified to be president,” Biden said, not appearing to catch his mistake.

Conservatives panned the press conference as “another disaster” under the president’s belt, while some Democrats and allies of the administration defended the press event as a “very strong performance.”

“This is a very strong performance. Quite frankly. ⁦@POTUS⁩ is putting on a master class in how foreign policy and domestic policy intersect, explaining how crucial American global leadership is to our people here at home. Well done, Mr. President,” Democratic strategist Joel Rubin posted on X. 

BIDEN STUMBLES OVER ZELENSKYY INTRODUCTION, CALLS UKRAINIAN LEADER ‘PRESIDENT PUTIN’

Rubin was echoed by other Democrats, who argued Biden responded with strength as he fielded a bevy of questions from the media surrounding his foreign policy related to NATO and his mental acuity. 

Conservatives, meanwhile, overwhelmingly panned the press conference, citing the president’s handful of gaffes. 

HOUSE DEMOCRAT SUGGESTS BIDEN SHOULD RESIGN, SAYS PRESIDENCY ‘MUST COME TO AN END’

Biden said during the press conference that Harris could fulfill the role of president, despite pushing against calls for him to bow out of the race and pass the mantle to his veep. 

BATTLEGROUND DEMS TESTER, KAINE TO SKIP BIDEN CAMPAIGN MEETING AS 2024 FEARS GROW

“First of all, the way she’s handled the issue of freedom of women’s bodies to have control over their bodies. Secondly, her ability to handle almost any issue on the board. This was a hell of a prosecutor. She was a first-rate person, and in the Senate, she was really good,” Biden said.

“I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be president. From the very beginning. I made no bones about that. She is qualified to be president. That’s why I picked her,” Biden said.

BIDEN’S HIGH-STAKES SOLO PRESS CONFERENCE SLAMMED FROM THE RIGHT AS ‘ANOTHER DISASTER’

US President Joe Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 11, 2024.  (Getty Images)

Biden’s press conference followed another gaffe earlier in the day, when he confused Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

BIDEN CAMP ADDRESSES RUMORS ADVISERS ARE HATCHING PLAN TO PUSH PRESIDENT ASIDE

“And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination,” Biden said. “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.” 

Biden quickly corrected himself, saying: “President Putin? We’re going to beat President Putin – President Zelenskyy. I’m so focused on beating Putin, we got to worry about it.”

“I’m better,” Zelenskyy quipped back. 

“You are a hell of a lot better,” Biden responded.

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Concerns surrounding Biden’s health and mental fitness are at a fever pitch this summer, as some Democrats call on him to quit the presidential race following his disastrous debate against Trump last month. Biden has rejected calls to drop out, vowing to remain in the race as his campaign and the White House ramp up his number of public events in an apparent effort to quell concerns the president isn’t up for another four-year term in the Oval Office. 

Several Democrats and progressives rushed to the defense of President Biden as he fielded questions from reporters at the NATO summit about his mental acuity and whether he has what it takes to be successful in the 2024 race for the White House.

“To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs. He’s just that f—ing good,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote in a post to X.

Amid growing calls from members of his own party for him to step aside in the presidential election, Biden dismissed the notion he’s “slowing down” and insisted at a press conference Wednesday evening he was “determined on running” in this year’s election.

“Am I getting the job done? Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in 3½ years? I created 2,000 jobs just last week. So, if I slow down, I can’t get the job done,” Biden said. “That’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication of that yet. None.”

BIDEN’S HIGH-STAKES SOLO PRESS CONFERENCE SLAMMED FROM THE RIGHT AS ‘ANOTHER DISASTER’

President Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., July 11, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Despite a press conference that conservative commentators are slamming as filled with multiple gaffes, several other Democrats took to social media to defend the president’s performance.

Kate Bedingfield, a former communications director for Biden, also weighed in on the president’s performance, claiming he “needed to show up big tonight and he did.”

“Tonight Joe Biden offered a lengthy, detailed dive on the major national security issues he’s juggling combined with a comfortable but forceful defense of his view of where this race stands. 50 minutes of Qs. He needed to show up big tonight and he did,” she wrote in a post to X.

Ex-Obama adviser David Axelrod also commended the president’s performance, saying in a post on X that Biden is “very comfortable on national security issues.”

“The wisdom of doing this press conference at NATO is clear. Shaky on other stuff, the @POTUS is very comfortable on national security issues,” Axelrod wrote.

Joel Rubin, a former State Department official during the Obama administration, considered Biden’s performance to be “very strong.”

BIDEN CAMP ADDRESSES RUMORS ADVISERS ARE HATCHING PLAN TO PUSH PRESIDENT ASIDE

“This is a very strong performance. Quite frankly. ⁦@POTUS⁩ is putting on a master class in how foreign policy and domestic policy intersect, explaining how crucial American global leadership is to our people here at home. Well done, Mr. President,” Rubin wrote in a post on X.

One Democratic activist went so far as to state he believes there are “people who owe President Biden an apology” after the president’s press conference.

During the press conference, Biden’s first since his debate against former President Trump June 27, the president seemed to lose his train of thought and misspoke on a number of issues.

At the start of his remarks, Biden mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” after he was asked by an AP reporter whether he had any concerns about Harris’ ability to beat Trump if she were the top of the ticket.

President Biden answers questions from reporters at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., July 11, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president,” Biden said, not appearing to catch his mistake. “So, I think she is not qualified to be president [if I thought] she’s not qualified to be president.”

The flub came just a few hours after Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden did immediately correct his flub on that occasion.

Axelrod admitted in a separate post on X that Biden’s mix-up between Harris and Trump was “unsettling.”

Some Democrats, however, still have reservations about whether Biden is fit for office.

One Democratic source told Fox News the president’s performance at the press conference was the “worst possible outcome, unless you are Hunter [Biden] and need a pardon.”

Axelrod also highlighted concern about the issue on social media, writing, “If what he said at the end of his presser is true, it sounds like Biden’s team has not been very candid with him about what the data is showing: the age issue is a huge and potentially insurmountable concern and his odds of victory are very, very slim.”

President Biden speaks at a campaign rally in Madison, Wis. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

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With calls for Biden to drop out, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said earlier this week the Democrats are keeping their thoughts on Biden quiet “until we see how we go this week.”

“Let’s just hold off,” she said on MSNBC. “Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week.”

President Biden held a high-stakes solo press conference Thursday evening where he doubled down on his earlier pledge to remain in the presidential race while suffering a few gaffes, including trailing off on his thoughts and using the phrase “anyway” at least nine times. 

“I just got to just pace myself a lot more, pace myself. And the next debate, I’m not going to be traveling in 15 time zones a week before. Anyway. That’s what it was about,” Biden said after the media asked him about reports he needs to go to bed earlier in the day.

“That’s what it was about. And by the way, even with that, I love my staff. But they add things they add things all the time… I’m catching hell from my wife for that. Anyway,” he continued, again using the phrase, “anyway.”

Biden said “anyway” at least nine times throughout the roughly 58-minute press conference, according to a transcript of the press event, sparking some on social media to joke about an “anyway drinking game.”

DEMS RUSH TO DEFEND BIDEN AMID HIGH STAKES PRESS CONFERENCE: ‘VERY STRONG PERFORMANCE’

Biden’s press conference comes as concerns mount that he is not mentally fit to serve another four years in the Oval Office, including 17 elected Democrats calling on the president to bow out of the race as he prepares to square off against former President Donald Trump in November. 

TOP DEMOCRAT ON HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE CALLS ON BIDEN TO SUSPEND CAMPAIGN AFTER NATO PRESS CONFERENCE

President Joe Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 11, 2024.  (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Joe Biden’s record of public service is unrivaled,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on X following the press conference. “His accomplishments are immense. His legacy as a great president is secure.” 

BIDEN’S HIGH-STAKES SOLO PRESS CONFERENCE SLAMMED FROM THE RIGHT AS ‘ANOTHER DISASTER’

“He must not risk that legacy, those accomplishments and American democracy to soldier on in the face of the horrors promised by Donald Trump,” Himes continued. 

Conservatives slammed Biden on social media throughout the public event for his handful of gaffes, including holding up a list of reporters he planned to call on, appearing to confuse Vice President Kamala Harris with former President Donald Trump, in addition to repeatedly saying “anyway.”

“This NATO press conference with Biden is another disaster. It is inexplicable the people advising this man continue to think that somehow he’s not going to humiliate himself and this country. Why do they continue to allow this to happen?” Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce posted to X during the press conference. 

Allies of the president, however, championed the press event as a success, remarking on social media that Biden’s delivery to the bevy of press questions was “strong.”

BIDEN STAGES HOUR-LONG PRESS CONFERENCE, TAKES MULTIPLE QUESTIONS IN BID TO ALLAY FEARS OVER MENTAL DECLINE

US President Joe Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 11, 2024. President Joe Biden and NATO’s 31 other leaders had hoped their summit would celebrate fresh unity against Russia’s Vladimir Putin, send a warning to China and prove the alliance is as strong as ever in its 75th year, but the three days of pageantry will be overshadowed by domestic turmoil across the alliance. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty Images)

“This is a very strong performance. Quite frankly. ⁦@POTUS⁩ is putting on a master class in how foreign policy and domestic policy intersect, explaining how crucial American global leadership is to our people here at home. Well done, Mr. President,” Democratic strategist Joel Rubin posted on X. 

“Tonight Joe Biden offered a lengthy, detailed dive on the major national security issues he’s juggling combined with a comfortable but forceful defense of his view of where this race stands. 50 minutes of Qs. He needed to show up big tonight and he did,” former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield posted to X. 

The president again addressed concerns over his mental acuity during the presser, defiantly defending his record in office. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN: EUROPEAN ALLIES TELL ME I’VE ‘GOT TO WIN’ IN NOVEMBER

“Am I getting the job done? Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in three and a half years ago, created 2000 jobs just last week. So if I slow down, I can’t get the job done. That’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication of that yet… none,” he said. 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally on June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Biden also addressed whether Harris could serve as president, elaborating that he would not have chosen her as his running mate in 2020 if he thought otherwise. 

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“First of all, the way she’s handled the issue of freedom of women’s bodies to have control over their bodies. Secondly, her ability to handle almost any issue on the board. This was a hell of a prosecutor. She was a first-rate person, and in the Senate, she was really good. I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be president. From the very beginning. I made no bones about that. She is qualified to be president. That’s why I picked her,” he said. 

Biden’s press conference comes as he hosted NATO world leaders for the 75th anniversary of the defensive military alliance this week. 

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes, called on President Biden to suspend his 2024 re-election campaign, just moments after the president finished his highly anticipated press conference. 

Biden participated in a press conference with reporters at the end of the NATO summit in Washington D.C. on Thursday night. 

BIDEN’S HIGH-STAKES SOLO PRESS CONFERENCE SLAMMED FROM THE RIGHT AS ‘ANOTHER DISASTER’

Biden, during the press conference, was peppered with questions from reporters who pressed him on whether he would step aside amid mounting pressure from members within his own party following his disastrous debate performance last month.

US President Joe Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Getty Images)

Biden said he is “determined” to stay in the race and maintained that he is fit to serve as president now and for the next four years. 

But Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., sounded the alarm moments after the press conference concluded. 

“Joe Biden’s record of public service is unrivaled,” Himes posted on X. “His accomplishments are immense. His legacy as a great president is secure.” 

“He must not risk that legacy, those accomplishments and American democracy to soldier on in the face of the horrors promised by Donald Trump,” Himes posted on X.  

BIDEN CAMP ADDRESSES RUMORS ADVISERS ARE HATCHING PLAN TO PUSH PRESIDENT ASIDE

In a statement, Himes continued that it has been “the honor” of his career to work with Biden on “achievements that secured his remarkable legacy in American history.” 

“It is because of those traits, and in consideration of that legacy, that I hope President Biden will step away from the presidential campaign,” Himes said. 

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Himes is the 15th Democrat in the House of Representatives to call on the president to step aside. 

Biden, though, currently has the support of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. 

President Biden’s highly anticipated solo press conference Thursday evening was panned as a “disaster” on social media as the president stumbled through answering questions from the media regarding him remaining in the presidential race. 

“This NATO press conference with Biden is another disaster. It is inexplicable the people advising this man continue to think that somehow he’s not going to humiliate himself and this country. Why do they continue to allow this to happen?” Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce posted on X during the press conference. 

Biden joined the media Thursday afternoon while wrapping up a NATO summit in the nation’s capital, where the president made a series of gaffes, including confusing Vice President Kamala Harris with former President Donald Trump, trailing off while answering a question, and announcing to the room that he had a list of reporters he would call on. 

“This press conference is a disaster. Joe Biden is not answering the questions,” Fox News contributor Leo Terrell posted on X during the press conference. 

BIDEN CAMP ADDRESSES RUMORS ADVISERS ARE HATCHING PLAN TO PUSH PRESIDENT ASIDE

President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participate in the launching of the Ukraine Compact at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 11, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“Crooked Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ Press Conference with, “I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president.” Great job, Joe!” Trump added on Truth Social. 

Conservatives and critics of the president unleashed on Biden’s press conference.

BIDEN’S ‘BIG BOY’ NATO NEWS CONFERENCE CARRIES HIGH STAKES AS FIRST PRESSER SINCE DISASTROUS DEBATE

NATO SUMMIT IN DC IS ‘PIVOTAL’ MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT FOR BIDEN AS SCRUTINY OVER FITNESS FOR OFFICE INTENSIFIES

Biden’s press conference comes as he faces heightened concerns over his health in the wake of his poor debate performance late last month, which opened floodgates of concern in the Democratic Party that the president’s 81 years of age and alleged slipping mental acuity will cost the party as the Biden campaign squares up against Trump.

Biden has vowed to remain in the race despite rising concerns and calls for him to drop out and let another candidate take on Trump. 

BIDEN SAYS ‘WORLD’S LOOKING TO AMERICA’ AS HE FACES SCRUTINY BEFORE HOSTING NATO SUMMIT

“There’s been a lot of speculation: What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What’s he going to do?” Biden said Friday in a speech in Madison, Wisconsin. “Well, here’s my answer: I am running and going to win again.”

As speculation and calls for Biden to drop out, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said earlier this week that Democrats are keeping their thoughts on Biden quiet “until we see how we go this week.”

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“Let’s just hold off,” she said on MSNBC. “Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week.”

Thursday marks the first time Biden has held a solo press conference since November of last year. 

A moderate House Democrat said President Biden’s White House tenure must “come to an end” on Thursday, the most significant voicing of opposition to his leadership from a member of his own party so far.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., previously said she believed Biden would lose to Trump, but now she is the 15th congressional Democrat to call on the president to end his re-election bid.

“I’ve spent the past two weeks listening to my constituents express their concerns about the President’s age and health,” she said in a statement to local outlet KGW, an NBC affiliate.

“Americans deserve to feel their president is fit enough to do the job. The crisis of confidence in the President’s leadership needs to come to an end. The President should do what he knows is right for the country and put the national interest first.”

BATTLEGROUND DEMS TESTER, KAINE TO SKIP BIDEN CAMPAIGN MEETING AS 2024 FEARS GROW

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez issued a strong statement against President Biden’s continued leadership on Thursday. (Getty Images)

Gluesenkamp Perez is one of the most vulnerable Democrats of this election cycle and has frequently broken from her own party on votes.

Biden, meanwhile, is fighting for his political life in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against former President Trump late last month.

Biden spoke with a hoarse voice, which he attributed to a cold, and stumbled over his answers several times during the primetime event. Viewers also observed him appearing tired and noticeably less sharp than he looked the last time he faced Trump in 2020.

DAVE PORTNOY MOCKS GEORGE CLOONEY FOR WAITING 3 WEEKS AFTER FUNDRAISER TO ACKNOWLEDGE BIDEN IS A ‘VEGETABLE’

It spurred concerns among members of his party that he would lose to Trump in November and may not be fit to serve another four years.

Gluesenkamp Perez told KATU after the debate, “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.”

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is the latest Biden critic to come out publicly. (Bill Clark)

Biden, for his part, has maintained several times that he is not budging. 

Gluesenkamp Perez’s statement comes just a few hours before Biden’s 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time press conference. It’s a pivotal event for the president as he seeks to fight back doubts that he’s not physically or mentally fit for the White House.

House Democrats left Capitol Hill around noon on Thursday to return to their districts for a week-long break. 

Before that, left-wing lawmakers spent the week huddled as both a caucus and in smaller groups to discuss the path forward for Biden. 

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

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

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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who has said he is behind the presidential ticket, told reporters earlier Thursday that he did not believe Biden was a drag on vulnerable Democrats.

“House Democrats are engaged in conversations with House Democrats at this moment in time. Those conversations have been candid, clear eyed and comprehensive, and that’s important for us to do as a House Democratic caucus family. And as long as those conversations are ongoing, I’m going to respect the sanctity of those conversations until we conclude that process,” he said.

The Senate race in Michigan was moved to a “Toss Up” on Thursday by a top nonpartisan political handicapper, who cited the continued concerns surrounding President Biden and his candidacy as a potential “drag” on Democrats. 

The Cook Political Report changed the Senate race from “Lean Democratic” to “Toss Up,” putting Senate Democrats at greater risk of losing the majority in the next Congress. 

The seat is currently occupied by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who is retiring after her term ends. 

BLUMENTHAL SAYS SOME CONCERNS ‘DEEPENED’ AFTER MEETING WITH BIDEN CAMP ADVISERS

Biden continues to receive calls to exit the race from Democrats. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The race was already more competitive due to the loss of the Democrats’ incumbent advantage and only made more so by former President Trump’s performance in the swing state. 

The state’s Senate primaries will be held on Aug. 6, leaving just months for the general election campaigns. 

DEM SENATOR HELPS BLOCK BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINEE AMID CONTROVERSY OVER TRANSGENDER INMATE

Rep. Elissa Slotkin is running for the Democratic nomination for Senate. (Getty Images)

For the Democrats, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is considered the frontrunner for the nomination. She notably flipped a Republican district in the state when she was elected to the House. She will face actor Hill Harper in the primary, who is currently considered an underdog but has made significant efforts to appeal to the large Arab population in Michigan and contrast himself with Slotkin, particularly on the war in Gaza between Israel and terrorist group Hamas. 

BATTLEGROUND DEMS TESTER, KAINE SKIP BIDEN CAMPAIGN MEETING AS 2024 FEARS GROW

Harper is challenging Slotkin in the primary race. (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Republicans also have several choices. Former Rep. Mike Rogers is the frontrunner and enjoys the endorsement of Trump. However, he still has to beat two challengers, businessman Sandy Pensler and former Rep. Justin Amash. 

BATTLEGROUND DEM FEELS HEAT AFTER BIDEN’S DEBATE AS PARTY TURMOIL CONTINUES

Rogers was endorsed by Trump.  (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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In Cook’s rationale for changing the race’s rating, analyst Jessica Taylor wrote, “Following Joe Biden’s debate performance two weeks ago, many Democrats’ concerns turned to not whether the president would win reelection — a diminishing prospect — but if he would drag down-ballot Democrats down with him.”

A Fox News Poll from April, several months prior to Biden’s poor debate showing, showed Trump defeating the president, 49% to 46%. In April 2020, before Biden flipped the swing state, he polled ahead of Trump, 49%-41%. 

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