What's happening on the campaign trail
- Former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Florida tonight as anticipation grows over whom he will name as his running mate. Trump has said he will announce his pick shortly before or during next week's Republican National Convention.
- President Joe Biden continues to push back against calls for him to drop out of the race, criticizing "party elites" and calling Democratic anxiety a distraction.
- House Democrats have remained largely supportive of Biden despite party divisions over his re-election, though Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey today became the latest Democrat in Congress to say the president should step aside.
Biden speaks with mayors in hourlong call
Biden’s call with mayors lasted about an hour, a source familiar with the call said, and did not include any talk of medical conditions, naps or doctor’s visits.
“He sounded really good,” the source said. “He was fired up for sure.”
It was a lot of “by the numbers” and “rah rah” stuff, this person said.
Biden talked about what the administration has done for cities, and he said it would have their backs on education and gun reform. He also took a couple of questions.
Neurologist saw Biden in January, White House clarifies
Biden was seen by Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist, at the White House on Jan. 17 as part of his physical ahead of his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February, and the results from the exam were reported as part of his annual physical on Feb. 28, according to the White House.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed the timeline tonight after having inaccurately said at today’s news briefing that the Jan. 17 meeting was not related to Biden in response to a question from The Associated Press.
"Because the date was not mentioned in the question, I want to be clear that the January 17th meeting between Dr. O’Connor and Dr. Cannard was for the President’s physical," Jean-Pierre said in a statement first reported by The Associated Press. "It was one of the three times the President has seen Dr. Cannard, each time for his physical. The findings from each exam have been released to the public." Dr. Kevin O’Connor is Biden’s physician.
Asked by a reporter whether the meeting between Cannard and O'Connor was related to care for Biden, Jean-Pierre responded, "I can say that it was not."
Sen. Bennet says Biden can't beat Trump: 'I think we could lose the whole thing'
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said during an interview on CNN that he doesn't believe Biden can win a second term, warning that it could be a "landslide" victory for Trump.
“Donald Trump is on track, I think, to win this election and maybe win it by a landslide,” said Bennet, who unsuccessfully ran against Biden in 2020.
He added that if Biden loses, it could also cost Democrats more seats in the House and their slim majority in the Senate.
"This isn't a question of polling; it's not a question of politics. It's a moral question about the future of our country," he said, adding later, "I think that we could lose the whole thing."
Bennet also blamed the White House for having “done nothing to really demonstrate that they have a plan to win this election, that they have a convincing plan to win in the battleground states where we have to win in order to win this election.”
Biden seeks to undermine a Trump talking point in NATO summit address
Biden sought in a speech today to rebut a critique of the NATO military alliance that Trump has made in arguing that the U.S. should abandon its obligations to allies in the pact.
In the address to kick off the NATO summit meeting as it began in Washington, Biden made a point of noting that on his watch, the number of NATO member countries that are spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense has jumped from nine to 23. Trump frequently argued that by pressuring allies to spend more on defense, he was protecting American taxpayers from shouldering too much of the load.
Biden didn’t mention Trump by name, but his message was unmistakable: For all Trump’s bluster about NATO countries that don’t meet their financial burden, more have met the budgetary target since he left.
Trump teases his VP pick while taking sharper aim at Kamala Harris
Biden’s poor debate performance has not only thrown Trump’s long-anticipated announcement of a vice presidential running mate into a holding pattern.
The fallout, which has included a relentlessly bad news cycle for Biden, has also provided Trump an opportunity to gut-check perhaps the biggest decision of his bid to return to the White House.
Trump acknowledged as much last night. Two weeks after telling reporters that he had made up his mind, the former president told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he was still evaluating his options. Trump indicated that the debate — and uncertainty about whether Biden will be the Democratic nominee — had emerged as a last-minute factor in his deliberations.
Biden campaign responds to Trump's golf challenge
A Biden campaign spokesperson tonight rejected Trump's call for the president to battle him on the golf course, saying Biden "doesn't have time for Donald Trump's weird antics."
“Donald Trump hasn’t been seen in public for 12 days, now he’s inviting fictional serial killers to dinner, teasing lil’ Marco Rubio, praising Project 2025 architect Tom Homan, and challenging the President of the United States to golf," James Singer said in a statement.
“Joe Biden doesn’t have time for Donald Trump’s weird antics — he’s busy leading America and defending the free world. Donald Trump is a liar, a convict, and a fraud only out for himself — par for the course,” Singer added.
The campaign did not respond to Trump's challenge to hold another debate with Biden this weekend. The next presidential debate is scheduled for September.
Trump introduces youngest son: 'Welcome to the scene, Barron'
Trump introduced his youngest son, 18-year-old Barron Trump, at his rally tonight, which drew loud applause from the crowd in Doral, Florida.
“Stand up, look at him," Trump said, suggesting that he "might be more popular than Don or Eric," two of the former president's older children.
"Welcome to the scene, Barron," he added.
Barron Trump was expected to be a delegate to the Republican National Convention after the Republican Party of Florida selected him in May to be one of the state’s at-large delegates. Former first lady Melania Trump later said in a statement that her son would decline the invitation to participate because of previous commitments.
Trump jokingly teases Sen. Marco Rubio as his running mate
Trump further teased his eventual running mate announcement, this time mentioning the speculation that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., could be named at tonight's rally in Doral, Florida.
“They probably think I’m going to be announcing that Marco’s going to be vice president, I don’t know," Trump said. "That’s a lot of press."
Later, talking about potential legislation to ban taxes on tips, Trump asked Rubio, who is in attendance, whether he would vote for it. Trump then added, "You may or may not be there to vote for it," suggesting he could be vice president instead of a senator.
Trump zeroes in on Kamala Harris: 'She's not doing too well'
Trump ramped up his attacks on Harris at tonight's rally, mispronouncing her name repeatedly, criticizing her record on immigration and suggesting she had flubbed efforts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump also said Biden's choosing Harris as a running mate was "the best insurance policy I'd ever seen," implying that no one would want to see her replace him on the ticket. His comments come after some Democrats (and social media users) have suggested Harris could run, instead.
He also suggested without evidence that Harris was "cognitively impaired," saying, "She’s not doing too well."
Trump challenges Biden to a debate this week and a golf match
At a campaign rally tonight, Trump challenged Biden to another debate, as well as an 18-hole golf match.
"Let’s do another debate this week so that sleepy Joe Biden can prove to everyone all over the world that he has what it takes to be president," Trump said in Doral, Florida. "But this time, it will be man to man, no moderators."
He also challenged Biden to a golf match, a topic that came up during the June 27 debate in Atlanta.
