Biden tells governors he’ll stop hosting events after 8pm as Trump mocks him: live

Democrat says his health is fine and that he’s remaining in race as Republican rival sneers at possibility of Kamala Harris succeeding him

Trump falsely claims ‘broken down’ Biden is quitting White House race and derides Harris

President Joe Biden told a group of Democratic governors that he needs to work fewer hours and get more sleep, which includes limiting events after 8pm, two people who took part in the meeting told The New York Times.

Biden also told the governors that he’s staying in the race. He outlined his recent foreign travel in the weeks ahead of his dismal debate performance on 27 June, during which he lost his train of thought, his voice was raspy, and he made several gaffes.

Biden said on several occasions on Wednesday that he had not been listening to his staff about his schedule.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green, a physician, asked Biden about his health, to which Biden said his health is fine.

“It’s just my brain,” he added.

Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said Biden had said, “All kidding aside.”

“He was clearly making a joke,” she told The Times.

Meanwhile, a gloating Trump has posted a video to Truth Social in which he is seen falsely claiming that the embattled president has already quit the race for the White House, referring to him as a “broken down pile of c***” and ridiculing his Vice President Kamala Harris as “pathetic.”

Key Points

• Biden campaign uses July 4th to blast Trump for turning U.S. ‘into monarchy’
• Biden admits to Democratic governors he’s tired and needs to work less: ‘It’s just my brain’
• Trump lashes out at Biden, Harris, and special counsel in July 4 message
• Netflix co-founder and major Democratic donor calls for Biden to exit race
• Recap: Biden admits he ‘screwed up’ debate

[3 July 2024 18:20 · John Bowden]

Who could replace Joe Biden? Debate performance has Democrats in crisis talks

“Sleepy” Joe Biden gave the Democratic Party a wake-up call last week. And the concerns about the incumbent president’s age and mental fitness are not going away.

Last week’s debate in Altanta, Georgia, was the president’s shot to bat away concerns about whether he can effectively serve a second term, one that would end well into his 80s.

Instead, apparently battling a cold, Biden appeared raspy and hoarse onstage, forgetting words at times and at other points seemingly losing track of his point altogether.

Democratic sources who spoke to The Independent and a wide range of other media outlets immediately after the debate were in panic mode, with some openly fretting about whether it was possible for their party to do the unthinkable: replace a sitting, incumbent president on the ticket after he breezed through primary season virtually uncontested.

[3 July 2024 18:06 · Gustaf Kilander]

White House chief attempts to rally staffers during all-hands meeting after debate debacle

During an all-hands meeting on Wednesday, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said President Joe Biden “didn’t have a great night but that was one night and what we all know is he is a great president,” in reference to the debate.

“Put your head down. Execution. Execution. Execution,” he added, according to Axios. “At the same time, hold your head high. There’s so much the President has accomplished for the American people.”

Zients continued: “As almost everybody knows ... I’m obsessed with teams ... we need to stay together as a team and have each other’s back.”

“The president and his team have been through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and you know what? That will continue, and the only way to get through it is as a team,” he said. “There’s so much to be proud of and so much more we can do together”

“This is a period of intense noise out there. People are looking for chatter. Tune it out,” he added.

Zients quoted Biden’s words from the day after the debate – “When you get knocked down, you get back up.”

“That’s what he is doing and that’s what we all need to do ... follow the president’s lead,” Zients said, according to The Washington Post.