Biden tells ally he is weighing whether to withdraw from 2024 race against Trump: Live updates

President struggling to soothe Democratic fears about his health as Republican rival continues to gloat over Supreme Court immunity ruling shielding him from criminal prosecution

President Joe Biden addresses the nation after the US Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity

Joe Biden has reportedly told a key ally he may not be able to continue with his 2024 campaign if he cannot change the American electorate’s mind about his health and well-being with his next handful of public appearances, the first indication from the president that he understands the seriousness of the damage done by his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump in Atlanta, Georgia, last week.

But Biden also said on a call with White House staff on Wednesday: “No one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.”

Biden, 81, has an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News scheduled on Friday and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as he seeks to reassure voters and his party that he remains the right man to lead the country.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates wasted no time in dismissing the story, calling the claim “absolutely false” and attacking The New York Times for not giving the West Wing sufficient time to respond to its request for comment.

Key Points

• Biden insists ‘I’m not leaving’ while allies prepare for end of his campaign
• Trump moves ahead of Biden in new CBS post-debate poll
• Press secretary reiterates that Biden isn’t dropping out
• Biden staffers preparing to move Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket: ‘It’s a case of when, not if’
• Biden: ‘I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end'

[3 July 2024 15:35 · Joe Sommerlad]

Biden campaign raises more money in June than Trump despite disastrous debate

The president’s campaign raised more than Trump in June, despite his disastrous debate performance last week.

The Biden team raised $127m last month, compared to his Republican rival’s $111.8m, according to announcements from the two campaigns on Tuesday.

The president’s June fundraising haul includes $38m in the four days after the Atlanta debate, which is at least encouraging for Democrats.

Martha McHardy reports.

[3 July 2024 15:15 · Joe Sommerlad]

How Biden’s potential replacements have reacted to rumors they could step in

President Biden’s debate performance on Thursday sent Democrats into a tailspin of panic.

But while the party has an abundance of young talent, any ambitious politician who comes forward to say Biden should step aside immediately risks becoming a pariah.

That may be why, for the time being, only a single sitting Democrat has spoken out about replacing the president at the top of the ticket.

Eric Garcia reports on what his potential successors have been saying instead.

[3 July 2024 14:55 · Joe Sommerlad]

‘Enough is enough’: Marianne Williamson volunteers to be Democrats’ saviour

Don’t ever change, Marianne.

“President Biden deserves our respect, and our compassion, and our gratitude,” she says in a new five-minute video statement posted to X.

“But the debate on Thursday night made it very clear that the Democrats need a new nominee on the ballot in November.”

The former self-help guru, 72, is once more throwing her hat in the ring and calling on the party to “recalibrate” and hold an open nomination at its convention in Chicago in August.

[3 July 2024 14:35 · Joe Sommerlad]

RFK Jr confronted with allegations about barbecued dogs and sexual assault

And you thought Joe Biden was having a rough week...

He says the accusations are “garbage” but that he is not a “church boy” (?) and had a “rambunctious youth”.

[3 July 2024 14:15 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump-backed challenger ousts Freedom Caucus chair Bob Good in revenge for DeSantis support

The GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee has taken his revenge against the chair of the House Freedom Caucus in a primary that proves his endorsement is still a kingmaker within the Republican Party.

The race in Virginia’s 5th district was called Tuesday afternoon, with all 24 localities reporting.

Virginia’s Department of Elections declared that John McGuire, a retired Navy SEAL and state senator, won the primary with 31,209 votes compared to representative Bob Good’s 31,583, creating a margin of just 374 votes.

The results took days to come in as the race remained on a knife edge and Good, who earned Trump’s animosity by backing Florida governor Ron DeSantis in the primaries, has already said that he will ask for a recount.

Here’s more from John Bowden and Eric Garcia.

[3 July 2024 13:55 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump sneaker line sues over knockoffs

The company behind Trump’s line of vulgar “Never Surrender” high-top sneakers has filed a lawsuit alleging trademark and copyright infringement against a number of retailers it accuses of marketing and selling knockoff versions of the shoes online.

And one of their customers appears to be MAGA favourite Lauren Boebert!

Here’s our story.

[3 July 2024 13:35 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump on the importance of ratings: ‘You can be evil, horrible, cruel, or elegant'

Ramin Setoodeh, author of the new book Apprentice in Wonderland, is proving a real thorn in Trump’s side and yesterday emerged with fresh audio in which the Republican offers some revealing thoughts on the oxygen of publicity.

Here’s some of our previous reporting on the writer’s other revelations from the six interviews he conducted with the the former reality TV star turned aspiring dictator.

[3 July 2024 13:15 · Joe Sommerlad]

Ivanka to attend RNC as she calls Trump’s conviction ‘painful’

Trump’s daughter plans to attend the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) and witness his formal nomination as the GOP’s presidential candidate, despite maintaining more public distance from his political machine in recent months.

Josh Marcus reports.

[3 July 2024 12:55 · Joe Sommerlad]

Democratic congressman says Trump will win election ‘and I’m OK with that’

If the Doggett line weren’t bad enough for Biden, Jared Golden of Maine is also distancing himself from the president in an op-ed in his state’s Bangor Daily News.

Golden writes that Biden’s debate performance “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.”

He continues: “There are winners and losers in every election. Democrats’ post-debate hand-wringing is based on the idea that a Trump victory is not just a political loss, but a unique threat to our democracy. I reject the premise.

“Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system.”

Golden argues that the election is about the economy, not democracy and “when it comes to our economy, our Congress matters far more than who occupies the White House”.

[3 July 2024 12:35 · Joe Sommerlad]

First Democratic lawmaker calls for Biden to drop out of 2024 race

Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas has called for Biden to end his re-election campaign, marking the first time a sitting Democratic member of Congress has supported the president dropping out of the race.

Biden has run “substantially behind” other Democratic candidates in high-stakes races, has trailed Trump in most polls and then “failed” to expose his Republican rival’s lies during the debate, according to Doggett.

“Our overriding consideration must be who has the best hope of saving our democracy from an authoritarian takeover by a criminal and his gang,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Alex Woodward reports.