The Conversation -- July 12, 2024

Julia Jacobs of the New York Times: "A judge in New Mexico dismissed the case against Alec Baldwin on Friday after finding that the state had withheld evidence that could have shed light on how live rounds got onto a film set where the cinematographer was fatally shot. The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning that the prosecution of Mr. Baldwin is over.... 'There is no way for the court to right this wrong,' Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said in court as Mr. Baldwin wept. It was a stunning end to the trial of Mr. Baldwin, who was rehearsing with a gun on the 'Rust' film set in 2021 when it fired a live round, killing Halyna Hutchins, the movie's cinematographer. Mr. Baldwin had been told the gun was 'cold,' meaning it should have been impossible to fire."

Washington Post Editors: "With time running out before the Democratic National Convention opens Aug. 19, [President] Biden and his inner circle of advisers seem to be playing for time. Indeed, based on his comments Thursday, Mr. Biden seems to be somewhat oblivious to the political furor surrounding him and in denial about his frailty, personally and politically.... What makes Mr. Biden's cognitive decline especially damaging is that he and his aides have systematically failed to level with the public about it.... Eighty-five percent of Americans now say Biden is too old to serve four more years as president, according to a Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll published this week, and 56 percent of Democrats say he should end his candidacy. His approval rating is 36 percent. Just 14 percent of adults think Mr. Biden has more of the mental sharpness it takes to effectively serve as president than Mr. Trump. Of course, Mr. Biden's defenders are right to insist on more attention to the dangers Mr. Trump poses.... But the best way to keep Mr. Trump away from the Oval Office is by offering a strong alternative."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post contrasts President Biden and Donald Trump. "In Washington, President Biden assembled world leaders to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO, which Biden has rebuilt and expanded over the last 3½ years.... In Miami a few hours later, former president Donald Trump assembled supporters at his Doral golf club -- another transfer of wealth from his campaign to his personal accounts -- and ridiculed NATO partners. 'I didn't even know what the hell NATO was too much before' he became president, Trump told them.... If [Biden graciously bows out]..., he will be remembered for the most substantial record of accomplishment of any president in decades. If he holds on in the face of mounting evidence that he can't win, he will be remembered for selfishness -- a trait incompatible with his character...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's a quote Milbank relates which I had not heard: "Also this week, longtime Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka told Newsmax that Vice President Harris is 'a DEI hire, right? She's a woman. She's colored.'" The last public figure to use such language was probably Strom Thurmond. Really unbelievable in the 21st century.

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Rudy Giuliani is no longer entitled to bankruptcy protection, a judge decided Friday, making it possible for creditors to immediately pursue his assets within days. The former mayor of New York sought bankruptcy protection after a jury awarded two Georgia election workers $148 million because Giuliani defamed them after the 2020 election. The judge's decision Friday, to end his bankruptcy, paves the way for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, as well as other creditors, who are trying to collect on the more than $150 million Giuliani owes. Judge Sean Lane of the federal bankruptcy court in New York made the decision partly because of Giuliani's lack of transparency after he filed for bankruptcy more than six months ago..... 'Mr. Giuliani has failed to provide an accurate and complete picture of his financial affairs in the six months that this case has been pending,' Lane wrote in his decision Friday. 'The lack of financial transparency is particularly troubling given concerns that Mr. Giuliani has engaged in self-dealing and that he has potential conflicts of interest that would hamper the administration of his bankruptcy case.'" The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Who could possibly have guessed America's Mayor was a lying SOS?

Here We Go Loopty-Loo. Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: The Heritage Foundation, progenitor of Project 2025, gave a presentation at its Washington, D.C., headquarters stating "as a given that the Biden administration was already engaged in a sweeping conspiracy to use multiple forms of federal power to influence the presidential election. It did not supply any evidence. 'As things stand right now, there's a zero percent chance of a free and fair election,' said Mike Howell, executive director of Heritage's Oversight Project.... The report said a key finding was that the sitting president is the greatest danger to the peaceful transition of power, with no mention of Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 loss. Instead it offered that conclusion as justification for doubting the outcome of the 2024 election and trying to reject anything other than a Trump victory."

Caitlyn Kim of Colorado Public Radio: "Freshman Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen is calling on President Joe Biden to drop his bid for reelection. She is the first Colorado congress member to take such a step. 'Joe Biden saved our country once, and I'm joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again. Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump, who is the greatest threat to the foundation of this country that we have ever faced,' she said in a statement."

Mike Lillis & Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is working furiously behind the scenes to put pressure on President Biden to reconsider his place at the top of the 2024 ticket, according to a number of Democratic lawmakers familiar with her efforts. The Speaker emerita is talking to a broad swath of House Democrats -- from front-liners in tough districts to hardened veterans with institutional clout -- to pump the brakes on the notion that Biden should definitively be the party's nominee heading into November, these lawmakers said."

Domenico Montanaro of NPR: "The race for the presidency remains statistically tied despite President Biden's dismal debate performance two weeks ago, a new national NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds. Biden actually gained a point since last month's survey, which was taken before the debate. In this poll, he leads Trump 50% to 48% in a head-to-head matchup. But Biden slips when third-party options are introduced, with Trump holding the slightest advantage with 43% to 42%. Those numbers, though, do not represent statistically significant differences, as the margin of error in the survey is +/- 3.1 percentage points, meaning results could be 3 points higher or lower. The poll also found that, at this point, no other mainstream Democrat who has been mentioned as a replacement for the president on the ticket does better than Biden." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case you're thinking, "Okay, it's a toss-up," let me disabuse you of that idea. On November 2, 2020, Joe Biden was beating Donald Trump by an average of eight points. It was days after the election before he was declared the winner, and even then he barely won, eking out victories in a few swing states by a few thousand votes. (No doubt you know it was 11,700 votes in Georgia.) Therefore, Biden needs to be trouncing Trump in the polls to demonstrate even minimal dominance in the Electoral College count.

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, met one-on-one with President Biden on Thursday night to discuss the deep concerns many of his members harbor about the viability of the president's re-election campaign. In a brief letter he sent to House Democrats on Friday morning, Mr. Jeffries, a deliberate politician and a relatively untested leader, offered few details about the meeting, which took place at the White House after the president's high-stakes news conference. The private meeting, Mr. Jeffries told his colleagues, had been set at his request. 'In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the caucus has shared in our recent time together,' Mr. Jeffries wrote. In a moment when every word from Democratic leaders is being parsed, it was notable that Mr. Jeffries, who has said he supports Mr. Biden, left out any endorsement of the president in his three-paragraph letter."

Marie: According to Erica Green of the New York Times, writing in a liveblog covering President Biden's press conference and other aspects of the presidential race, "Biden said that if his staff showed him data that Vice President Harris could beat Donald Trump, he wouldn't consider dropping out unless he was shown he couldn't win. He said no one is saying that to him." It struck me then that Biden had set up a "heads I win, tales you lose" challenge. ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post agrees: "Those in the Democratic Party hoping to replace Biden with someone better positioned to win are obstructed, in part, by this obstinance from Biden. But they are obstructed, too, because while Biden's position is historically weak, polling doesn't (and perhaps can't) show someone else doing demonstrably better.... No poll says he can't win and no poll says that some other candidate definitely will win."

Meredith McGraw, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump's advisers and allies viewed President Joe Biden's press conference as the best-case scenario for the Republican's campaign: not enough to force him out but with enough errors that they can mine the event for opposition material. Trump's campaign is still hoping Biden stays in the race, believing he is the weakest candidate for the former president to face in November. His strategy, in part, centers on the notion that Biden is not mentally fit to be president."

The Big Grift, Ctd. Russ Buettner of the New York Times: "As he seeks to reclaim the presidency, [Donald] Trump has reprised the pitchman role from his reality TV days, with a crucial difference: He has intertwined the marketing of his private business affairs with the messaging of his campaign, leveraging his political stature for profit. All of it could be described as Martyr Inc., a machinery that makes Mr. Trump money and promotes his re-election by characterizing him as unjustly persecuted and selflessly saving his supporters from a similar fate."

Angry White Male. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) blamed the 'angry feminist movement' for emasculating men and called for the nation to 'work our way back' to the 1960s if ... Donald Trump wins reelection. In a lengthy House floor speech on Thursday, Grothman claimed feminists and former President Lyndon B. Johnson's 'war on poverty' had removed men from families."

Patrick Smith & Jason Abbruzzese of NBC News: "Hackers stole six months' worth of call and text message records of nearly every AT&T cellular network customer, the company said Friday, a breach that has the potential to reveal sensitive information about millions of Americans. The company said in an SEC filing that it learned from an internal investigation that in April, hackers 'unlawfully accessed and copied AT&T call logs' that were saved on a third-party cloud platform."

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Presidential Race

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "For nearly an hour, at the most anticipated news conference of his presidency, Mr. Biden held forth on the nation, the world and his political future. He demonstrated a grasp of the issues and seemed most comfortable during a long discourse on foreign policy. He argued that age gave him wisdom and made clear that he had no intention of dropping out of the race. The challenge, however, is that every momentary flub, every verbal miscue, even if quickly corrected, now takes on outsized importance, ricocheting across the internet in viral video clips, some more distorted than others, that may reinforce doubts about his capacity. He gets no free passes anymore, not since last month's debate. The reality is that every public appearance between now and November will be scrutinized for evidence of infirmity."

From the New York Times liveblog of election developments: "Under siege from fellow Democrats, President Biden's campaign is quietly testing the strength of Vice President Kamala Harris against ... Donald J. Trump in a head-to-head survey of voters, as Mr. Biden fights for his political future with a high-stakes news conference on Thursday." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "A close look at more than two dozen radio and podcast interviews given by [President] Biden over the past two years reveals a distinct pattern: In appearance after appearance, the president has been served up nearly identical questions, prescreened or suggested ahead of time by campaign staff members. And in nearly every case, the questions set the president up to deliver on-message talking points, without notable flubs. The review sheds light on a tactic the Biden campaign has used liberally to control the president's interactions in public, one that appears to have accelerated as the election has approached. Mr. Biden has given fewer interviews with news outlets than any modern president, and many of those have been with friendly interviewers, rather than journalists...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Schmidt, et al., of the New York Times: "Some longtime aides and advisers to President Biden have become increasingly convinced that he will have to step aside from the campaign, and in recent days they have been trying to come up with ways to persuade him that he should, according to three people briefed on the matter.... They said they have to make the case to the president, who remains convinced of the strength of his campaign, that he cannot win against ... Donald J. Trump. They have to persuade him to believe that another candidate, like Vice President Kamala Harris, could beat Mr. Trump. And they have to assure Mr. Biden that, should he step aside, the process to choose another candidate would be orderly and not devolve into chaos in the Democratic Party." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Allen, et al., of NBC News: "Several of President Joe Biden's closest allies, including three people who are directly involved in efforts to re-elect him, told NBC News they now see his chances of winning as zero -- and the likelihood of him taking down fellow Democratic candidates growing. 'He needs to drop out,' one Biden campaign official said. 'He will never recover from this.'... The set of Democrats who think he should reconsider his decision to stay in the race has grown to include aides, operatives and officials tasked with guiding his campaign to victory." (Also linked yesterday.)

Edward-Isaac Dovere & Jeff Zelany of CNN: "Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi have spoken privately about Joe Biden and the future of his 2024 campaign. Both the former president and ex-speaker expressed concerns about how much harder they think it's become for the president to beat Donald Trump. Neither is quite sure what to do. Democrats are desperate for the dispiriting infighting to end so they can get back to trying to beat the former president. And they're begging either Obama or Pelosi to help them get there, aware that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer doesn't have the trust of Biden and that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries doesn't have the depth of relationship to deliver the message."

Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "President Biden entered Thursday night hoping that a steady performance at a news conference with the national press corps would quell dissension among Democrats.... But within minutes of his departure from the stage, two more Democratic representatives joined the growing number of party members calling for him to end his re-election campaign.... 'The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump's promised MAGA authoritarianism,' Representative Jim Himes, a moderate Democrat from Connecticut and the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.... And Representative Scott Peters of California also argued that Mr. Biden should leave the race, saying, 'The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course.' Later in the evening, Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois joined their ranks, becoming the 18th Democratic member of either the House or the Senate to call for Mr. Biden to step aside.... But other Democrats said Mr. Biden's deft grasp of policy -- and the fact that he answered questions for nearly an hour -- was heartening, despite awkward moments like a flub in which he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as 'Vice President Trump.'" A related Politico story is here.

Here's the New York Times list of Democratic members of Congress, as well as one senator and one governor who have called on President Biden to resign as well as those who have expressed "concern" or support. Earlier on Thursday, the following members of the House called on him to resign: Greg Stanton, Arizona; Brad Schneider, Illinois; Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington; Ed Case, Hawaii, and Hillary Scholten, Michigan. ~~~

~~~ Anthony Adragna of Politico: "Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), a frontline Democrat from a critical swing state, became the 11th Democratic member of Congress and 10th from the House to call for President Joe Biden to stand down from his reelection bid on Thursday. In a Thursday statement and social media post, Scholten said, 'President Biden has served his country well, but for the sake of our democracy, he must pass the torch to a new candidate for the 2024 election.' In an interview with The Detroit News, she said she would respect Biden's decision and vote for him if he ultimately continues in the race." (Also linked yesterday.)

MJ Lee, et al., of CNN: "At a star-studded fundraiser for President Joe Biden in Los Angeles last month, George Clooney wasn't the only one who came away concerned about the president.... 'There is a marked difference in the president from the spring to the summer,' a senior Democrat told CNN.... Back in Washington, there have been clear signs throughout his term of Biden being increasingly stage-managed, with lists of talking points, names of questioners and drawings of where he should walk presented to him by aides. Ahead of closed-door Cabinet meetings that Biden attends, it is customary for Cabinet officials to submit questions and key talking points that they plan to present in front of Biden ahead of time to White House aides, two sources with direct knowledge told CNN.... 'There's this general sense of just, unbelievable holding your breath every time he does an event, every time he's with people,' one top Democrat in close touch with Biden's inner circle of advisers told CNN. This person added that some of those advisers have privately acknowledged: 'This is going to get worse.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

AND, as a reminder, an effigy of Joe Biden would be a better president than Donald Trump: ~~~

~~~ Dictators' Club Members to Meet. Mariana Alfaro & Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: "As President Biden met with world leaders at the NATO summit this week, his opponent..., Donald Trump, was scheduled to meet with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- the autocratic leader who, like Trump, has questioned NATO policy toward Ukraine and Russia. The two will meet in Florida, a Trump campaign official confirmed. Orban, who attended this week's NATO summit, has pursued a Russia-friendly foreign policy that has put him out of step with the Biden administration and with other European allies. Inside NATO, he has slowed steps to bolster defenses against Moscow. At the European Union, which handles economic policy, he has watered down Russia sanctions."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. If you read yesterday's long New York Times editorial declaring Donald Trump was not fit to be president*, you may have noticed what Steve M. points out: "...what's really striking about the editorial -- although it's not surprising at all, given the tone of mainstream media coverage since the Reagan era -- is the fact that its message is 'Republicans have an awesome party, and it's really a shame that that Trump fellow came along to ruin it.' Many Republicans are trotted out as examples of the party's awesomeness, though, notably -- although the editorial never notes it -- all are dead or estranged from the GOP."

Katie Lillis, et al., of CNN: "US intelligence discovered earlier this year that the Russian government planned to assassinate the chief executive of a powerful German arms manufacturer that has been producing artillery shells and military vehicles for Ukraine, according to five US and western officials familiar with the episode. The plot was one of a series of Russian plans to assassinate defense industry executives across Europe who were supporting Ukraine's war effort, these sources said. The plan to kill Armin Papperger, a white-haired goliath who has led the German manufacturing charge in support of Kyiv, was the most mature. When the Americans learned of the effort, they informed Germany, whose security services were then able to protect Papperger and foil the plot. A high-level German government official confirmed that Berlin was warned about the plot by the US." (Also linked yesterday.)

Katie Lobosco of CNN: "The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday that it has collected more than $1 billion in past-due taxes from millionaires since last fall -- thanks to a ramp up of enforcement efforts funded by the Democrat-backed Inflation Reduction Act that passed Congress nearly two years ago. The Biden administration is eager to show how the IRS is using the money to crack down on wealthy tax cheats and improve taxpayers services. Republicans, who have criticized the funding as wasteful spending, have made several efforts to chip away at the 10-year investment provided by the legislation."

Mike Can't Count. Caitlin Emma & Jennifer Scholtes of Politico: "House Republicans failed to pass their $7 billion funding bill for parts of the legislative branch on Thursday, a surprise misstep in what should have been an easy victory for GOP leaders. The failure is an ominous sign for Republicans' push to pass the rest of their fiscal 2025 spending bills on the floor before August recess, with seven bills -- most of which are far more politically divisive -- tentatively slated for floor action during the last two weeks of July. The measure collapsed on the House floor in a 205-213 vote, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats to tank the legislation as well as several GOP absences. A longstanding and contentious freeze on a cost-of-living pay raise for members of Congress, in addition to concerns about higher spending, contributed to the GOP dissension." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jordain Carney of Politico: "The House on Thursday rejected a rare effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in 'inherent contempt' after a handful of Republicans helped squash the resolution. Democrats and a handful of Republicans defeated the measure on a 204-210 vote. It was forced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and would have required the top Justice Department official to pay fines of $10,000 per day until he handed over audio of former special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Joe Biden." (Also linked yesterday.)

** Read Ian Millhiser's analysis of Supreme Court incompetence, also linked yesterday.

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.

Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The Biden administration will soon permanently shut down the star-crossed $230 million temporary pier that the U.S. military built to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza, American officials said on Thursday.... On Wednesday, personnel from the military's Central Command attempted and failed to reattach the makeshift pier to the beach in Gaza after rough seas forced operators to remove the structure several days ago to avoid damage, the Pentagon said."

News Lede

New York Times: "Shelley Duvall, whose lithesome features and quirky screen personality made her one of the biggest film stars of the 1970s and early '80s, appearing in a string of movies by the director Robert Altman and, perhaps most memorably, opposite Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining,' died on Thursday at her home in Blanco, Texas. She was 75."

The Conversation -- July 11, 2024

The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the presidential race. Reporters are folowing Biden's press conference here; I know I won't be watching live as I'm no glutton for punishment. ~~~

David Sanger: "Biden's opening statement is being read from a teleprompter."

Maggie Haberman: "Biden's presentation is fairly forceful as he talks. Biden is invoking Trump, 'my predecessor,' saying he has 'no commitment to NATO.'"

Reid Epstein: "It is pretty unusual for a president to use a foreign policy event to attack a political opponent, but Biden is making all efforts to focus attention on what Trump would do if he returns to the White House."

Haberman: "This is a mini-campaign speech.'

Epstein: "Biden just said 'Vice President Trump' when he meant Harris."

Sanger: "Biden says his fellow leaders told him 'you've got to win,' because Trump would be a disaster."

Michael Crowley: "Biden has his wobbly rhetorical moments, but his answer to our colleague David Sanger's question about Chinese economic support for Russia shows a strong grasp of U.S.-China relations.... Biden's ability to speak in detail about policy highlights something important: No one has clearly shown that he is losing his grasp on the substance of his job. His problems are mainly to do with public speaking, appearance and fatigue."

Lisa Lerer: "Biden is demonstrating control and fluency when discussing the thorny situation in Gaza and Israel, drawing parallels with Afghanistan, and addressing a series of criticisms of how he's handled the conflict."

Nicholas Nehamas: "'I've taken three significant and intense neurological exams,' Biden says, in response to a question about whether he would take a cognitive test before the election."

Erica Green: "Biden said that if his staff showed him data that Vice President Harris could beat Donald Trump, he wouldn't consider dropping out unless he was shown he couldn't win. He said no one is saying that to him."

Theodore Schleifer: "President Biden says his campaign fundraising is going great. In reality, his high-dollar fundraising has cratered, as Reid and I report in this article tonight."

Katie Rogers: "Biden confirms a story Lisa Lerer and I wrote in February about Biden's gait being impaired by breaking his foot. He was told to wear an orthopedic boot afterward.... After about about an hour, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, ended the news conference and the president left the stage."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Biden on Thursday mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as President Putin when introducing him at a NATO event, a gaffe that came shortly before a high-stakes press conference.... 'Now, I want to hand it over the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentleman, President Putin,' Biden said. 'He's going to beat President Putin. President Zelensky,' Biden said, quickly correcting himself. 'I'm so focused on beating Putin, we've got to worry about it.' 'I'm better,' Zelensky quipped. 'You are, a hell of a lot better,' Biden added."

MJ Lee, et al., of CNN: "At a star-studded fundraiser for President Joe Biden in Los Angeles last month, George Clooney wasn't the only one who came away concerned about the president.... 'There is a marked difference in the president from the spring to the summer,' a senior Democrat told CNN.... Back in Washington, there have been clear signs throughout his term of Biden being increasingly stage-managed, with lists of talking points, names of questioners and drawings of where he should walk presented to him by aides. Ahead of closed-door Cabinet meetings that Biden attends, it is customary for Cabinet officials to submit questions and key talking points that they plan to present in front of Biden ahead of time to White House aides, two sources with direct knowledge told CNN.... 'There's this general sense of just, unbelievable holding your breath every time he does an event, every time he's with people,' one top Democrat in close touch with Biden's inner circle of advisers told CNN. This person added that some of those advisers have privately acknowledged: 'This is going to get worse.'"

Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "A close look at more than two dozen radio and podcast interviews given by [President] Biden over the past two years reveals a distinct pattern: In appearance after appearance, the president has been served up nearly identical questions, prescreened or suggested ahead of time by campaign staff members. And in nearly every case, the questions set the president up to deliver on-message talking points, without notable flubs. The review sheds light on a tactic the Biden campaign has used liberally to control the president's interactions in public, one that appears to have accelerated as the election has approached. Mr. Biden has given fewer interviews with news outlets than any modern president, and many of those have been with friendly interviewers, rather than journalists...."

Michael Schmidt, et al., of the New York Times: "Some longtime aides and advisers to President Biden have become increasingly convinced that he will have to step aside from the campaign, and in recent days they have been trying to come up with ways to persuade him that he should, according to three people briefed on the matter.... They said they have to make the case to the president, who remains convinced of the strength of his campaign, that he cannot win against ... Donald J. Trump. They have to persuade him to believe that another candidate, like Vice President Kamala Harris, could beat Mr. Trump. And they have to assure Mr. Biden that, should he step aside, the process to choose another candidate would be orderly and not devolve into chaos in the Democratic Party." ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Allen, et al., of NBC News: "Several of President Joe Biden's closest allies, including three people who are directly involved in efforts to re-elect him, told NBC News they now see his chances of winning as zero -- and the likelihood of him taking down fellow Democratic candidates growing. 'He needs to drop out,' one Biden campaign official said. 'He will never recover from this.'... The set of Democrats who think he should reconsider his decision to stay in the race has grown to include aides, operatives and officials tasked with guiding his campaign to victory."

From the New York Times liveblog of election developments: "Under siege from fellow Democrats, President Biden's campaign is quietly testing the strength of Vice President Kamala Harris against ... Donald J. Trump in a head-to-head survey of voters, as Mr. Biden fights for his political future with a high-stakes news conference on Thursday.'

Anthony Adragna of Politico: "Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), a frontline Democrat from a critical swing state, became the 11th Democratic member of Congress and 10th from the House to call for President Joe Biden to stand down from his reelection bid on Thursday. In a Thursday statement and social media post, Scholten said, 'President Biden has served his country well, but for the sake of our democracy, he must pass the torch to a new candidate for the 2024 election.' In an interview with The Detroit News, she said she would respect Biden's decision and vote for him if he ultimately continues in the race."

Mike Can't Count. Caitlin Emma & Jennifer Scholtes of Politico: "House Republicans failed to pass their $7 billion funding bill for parts of the legislative branch on Thursday, a surprise misstep in what should have been an easy victory for GOP leaders. The failure is an ominous sign for Republicans' push to pass the rest of their fiscal 2025 spending bills on the floor before August recess, with seven bills -- most of which are far more politically divisive -- tentatively slated for floor action during the last two weeks of July. The measure collapsed on the House floor in a 205-213 vote, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats to tank the legislation as well as severaL GOP absences. A longstanding and contentious freeze on a cost-of-living pay raise for members of Congress, in addition to concerns about higher spending, contributed to the GOP dissension."

Katie Lillis, et al., of CNN: "US intelligence discovered earlier this year that the Russian government planned to assassinate the chief executive of a powerful German arms manufacturer that has been producing artillery shells and military vehicles for Ukraine, according to five US and western officials familiar with the episode. The plot was one of a series of Russian plans to assassinate defense industry executives across Europe who were supporting Ukraine's war effort, these sources said. The plan to kill Armin Papperger, a white-haired goliath who has led the German manufacturing charge in support of Kyiv, was the most mature. When the Americans learned of the effort, they informed Germany, whose security services were then able to protect Papperger and foil the plot. A high-level German government official confirmed that Berlin was warned about the plot by the US."

Jordain Carney of Politico: "The House on Thursday rejected a rare effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in 'inherent contempt' after a handful of Republicans helped squash the resolution. Democrats and a handful of Republicans defeated the measure on a 204-210 vote. It was forced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and would have required the top Justice Department official to pay fines of $10,000 per day until he handed over audio of former special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Joe Biden."

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** Read Ian Millhiser's analysis of Supreme Court incompetence, also linked below.

Michael Birnbaum, et al., of the Washington Post: NATO leaders, meeting in Washington, D.C. under the dark cloud of an impending Trump presidency*, are working to establish ways to Trump-proof the alliance and its support for Ukraine. "Alliance policymakers have moved control of major elements of military aid to Ukraine away from U.S. command to the NATO umbrella. They appointed a new NATO secretary general who has a reputation as being especially agile with Trump's unpredictable impulses toward the alliance. They are signing decade-long defense pledges with Ukraine to try to buffer military aid to Kyiv from the ups and downs of politics. And they are pushing up their defense spending, Trump's single biggest anger point when it comes to NATO.... Four nations also announced Wednesday that donated F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will be operational later this summer. And alliance leaders called out China for being a 'decisive enabler' of Russia's war in Ukraine, its toughest language yet toward Beijing." (Also linked yesterday.)

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "As NATO leaders gathered in Washington this week, one American president [Biden] hailed the 75-year defensive alliance as the greatest 'in the history of the world.' Another described it as a virtual protection racket and declared that he would abandon 'delinquent' members to the mercies of Russian invaders.... Mr. Trump..., at a campaign event in Doral, Fla..., acknowledged that he had been largely ignorant about the organization until he became president. But he then boasted about how he berated the allies as deadbeats.... Every recent American president has pressed NATO allies to spend more on their own armed forces, but Mr. Trump is the only one who has ever threatened to let them be attacked by Russia.... As he has done repeatedly over the years, Mr. Trump distorted how NATO works, making it sound like the allies were supposed to pay the United States.... During his term in the White House, Mr. Trump came close more than once to pulling the United States out of NATO altogether, only to be talked out of it by his advisers.... Many European officials credit Mr. Biden with strengthening the alliance, which had frayed under Mr. Trump." ~~~

~~~ Digby in Salon: At a rally Donald Trump held Tuesday "at his Doral golf resort..., he sounded as unhinged as usual, delivering his greatest hits to a hot and wilted but adoring Florida crowd. He admitted that when he became president he didn't even know what NATO was before he launched into his tiresome rant about making the alliance countries pay their dues (they don't have dues) and reiterating that he told some unnamed foreign leader that he wouldn't defend them against Russian aggression if they were 'delinquent.'... It was especially crude of him to say it on the day the NATO meeting began in Washington D.C., marking the 75th anniversary of the alliance. He was speaking at roughly the same moment as President Biden, in fact, and the contrast couldn't be starker[.]" ~~~

Trump on his speech to NATO: I didn’t even know what the hell NATO was too much pic.twitter.com/yO9lJZPv6i

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 10, 2024

Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "Britain's new Labour government will make supporting Ukraine's war against Russia a top international priority, the country's incoming defense chief said, as he takes on a mission to counter Kremlin adventurism and bolster British military might at a time of fiscal constraints.... Tasked with ensuring Britain's military, a close but smaller partner of the United States, can meet global security demands in that context is John Healey, a veteran Labour politician whom [PM Keir] Starmer named as defense secretary. Healey visited Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odessa on his second day in the job, holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and emphasizing the United Kingdom's commitment to blocking Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempt to overwhelm Ukraine by force."

Presidential Race

Tyler Pager, et al., of the Washington Post: "Democratic leaders called on President Biden and his campaign Wednesday to provide convincing evidence of a viable path to victory amid a steady tide of bad battleground state polling and growing concerns that he cannot defeat ... Donald Trump in November. The calls came as top union leaders expressed grave concerns about his candidacy, more members of Congress and other Democrats called on him to step aside, and even members of Biden's senior campaign staff began to exchange doubt about his prospects. In a closed-door meeting Wednesday, some of the country's union leaders -- many of whom are strident backers of Biden -- said Americans' doubts about Biden's ability to do the job were damaging his candidacy and repeatedly asked Biden campaign officials for their plan to defeat Trump, according to two people familiar with their comments...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, Democrats are getting real and concentrating on what really bothers them about Biden's candidacy: he will lose the race and bring down Congressional candidates with him. (If he were winning by a large margin instead of losing by an increasingly larger margin, most probably would care of their candidate were a drooling fool.) IMO, if Biden continues to stubbornly refuse to exit stage left, the professions of love we're hearing from Democrats will become more muted.

Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "Senator Peter Welch of Vermont on Wednesday became the first Democratic senator to publicly call on President Biden to withdraw as the party's presidential candidate in the aftermath of his disastrous debate performance last month." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) in a Washington Post op-ed: "I have great respect for President Biden. He saved our country from a tyrant. He is a man of uncommon decency. He cares deeply about our democracy. He has been one of the best presidents of our time. But I, like folks across the country, am worried about November's election. The stakes could not be higher. We cannot unsee President Biden's disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night.... For the good of the country, I'm calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race.... States that were once [Democratic] strongholds are now leaning Republican. These new shifts -- in Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia -- must be taken seriously, not denied or ignored. The good news is that President Biden has united the party and created a deep bench that can defeat Trump. Vice President Harris is a capable, proven leader, and we have other electable, young, energizing Democratic governors and senators in swing states."

Hans Nichols & Stephen Neukam of Axios: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is privately signaling to donors that he's open to a Democratic presidential ticket that isn't led by President Biden.... In public, Schumer has been insistent that he is 'for Joe.' In private, he's singing a different tune.... The majority leader is one of several Democrats, including former President Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has the political and personal standing to convince Biden to step aside. Even so, Biden can still dig in and the delegates are pledged to him."

Nicholas Wu, et al., of Politico: 'House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has told lawmakers in private meetings that he'll relay concerns regarding the president's electability to Joe Biden, according to two people familiar with the situation, as more Democrats call for him to step aside. Jeffries has convened listening sessions in recent days with rattled members of the caucus, including a Wednesday meeting with members of the centrist New Democrat Coalition to discuss how having Biden at the top of the ticket could impact incumbents in battleground districts.... Some key Democrats who have won tough races have started to urge Biden to get out of the race. Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), who represents a purple district, became the eighth House Democrat to publicly call for Biden to step aside on Wednesday, writing in an op-ed: 'for the good of our country, for the future of our kids and grandkids, I am asking Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming election and deliver on his promise to be a 'bridge' to a new generation of leaders.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Rebecca Picciotto of CNBC: "Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday refused to explicitly endorse President Joe Biden as the party's presidential nominee, and encouraged her colleagues in Congress to pause from making public statements either for or against Biden. 'Let's just hold off. 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,' Pelosi said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Watch at least the part (begins at about 1:18 min. in) where Fallon recounts the discussion between Pelosi & Biden:

George Clooney in a New York Times op-ed: "... I have led some of the biggest fund-raisers in my party's history.... Last month I co-hosted the single largest fund-raiser supporting any Democratic candidate ever, for President Biden's re-election. I say ... this only to express how much I believe in this process and how profound I think this moment is. I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he's won many of the battles he's faced. But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.... 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.... We're all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we've opted to ignore every warning sign.... Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024 [by stepping aside]." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Firestone of the New York Times: "The president should be required to watch all 80 minutes of the unhinged rant let loose by [Donald Trump] on Tuesday in Florida.... [Trump's] weird pauses and bumbled words often rivaled Biden's speaking problems, and the content was far worse.... Trump's remarks should prompt revulsion and an immediate desire to do whatever it takes to keep him from the White House. No sacrifice should be considered too great for this cause, even the self-sacrifice of Biden's personal ambitions. By staying in the race, Biden is making it far more likely that a disordered fearmonger is going to displace him." (You'll probably have to scroll down to read this essay.) Thanks to laura h. for the link.

Dan Balz, et al., of the Washington Post: "Most Democrats nationwide say that President Biden should end his reelection campaign based on his performance in the presidential debate two weeks ago, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. The poll results contradict Biden's claim that only party elites want him to step aside.... The poll finds that 56 percent of Democrats say that he should end his candidacy, while 42 percent say he should continue to seek reelection. Overall, 2 in 3 adults say the president should step aside, including more than 7 in 10 independents....

"The poll finds Biden and ... Donald Trump in a dead heat in the contest for the popular vote, with both candidates receiving 46 percent support among registered voters. Those numbers are nearly identical to the results of an ABC-Ipsos poll in April. That finding is at odds with some other recent public polls. Across eight other post-debate national polls tracked by The Post, Trump leads by 3.5 percentage points on average, compared with a one-point Trump edge in those same polls before the debate."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Marcy Wheeler complains about the New York Times' David Sanger & Lara Jakes' coverage of President Biden's NATO speech (story also linked here yesterday), which Wheeler says was written to "sustain [the] NYT's non-stop campaign against Joe Biden." Wheeler proves her point.

Seth Abramson, in a Substack essay, goes over-the-top in extolling Biden's virtues and making excuses for his poor debate performance. Marie: Abramson's criticisms of Trump and of the MSM for their coverage of both candidates is closer to realistic. As far as I can tell, the major media outlets -- with the exception of MSNBC -- have done very little to record Trump's obvious cognitive decline. I know about it only because of liberal-leaning reports. At the same time, until the debate, these same outlets also did little or nothing to highlight Biden's decline, even though various MSM reporters (Jeff Zeleny of CNN & Peter Baker of the NYT come immediately to mind) are suddenly claiming they have been aware for months that Biden was falling to pieces. In any event, what's happening now, in regard to Biden, is that news outlets are playing catch-up. In regard to Trump, crickets. Thanks to pat for the link.

Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: "... in an uncharacteristic display of discipline, [Donald Trump has] restrained his id and listened to his superego, largely disappearing from view to let the Democratic infighting play out." On Tuesday night, he spoke to a crowd at his Doral club in Southeast Florida. "Mr. Trump had every reason to be magnanimous Tuesday night: He was on his own property, playing paterfamilias, while his wife was out raising money for him and his opponents were dissolving into molten dread. And yet, at various points in his 90-minute performance, Mr. Trump sounded eye-wateringly cruel." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No, Trump has not "restrained his id and ... largely disappearing from view," as Chris Hayes pointed out on his Wednesday night MSNBC show. Trump has been posting daily on his failing social media platform, and as Hayes said, if Joe Biden ever wrote or said anything as crazy as any one of Trump's posts, the entire Democratic party would rise up and demand Biden drop out of the race.

Marie: Yesterday, a reader wondered how Democrats could possibly nominate a presidential candidate other than Biden. Over the past couple of weeks, I have linked to several opinion pieces suggesting ways that could happen in a more-or-less orderly manner. As I stated from the get-go (and as some of these opinionators -- including George Clooney [opinion linked above] -- agreed), the 2024 Democratic convention could be the most interesting major party convention in decades. I do recall watching the 1956 convention when presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson left the selection of the vice-presidential nominee up to the convention and nobody knew what the outcome would be. I was too young to fully grasp the thrill of it all, but my mother found the proceedings really exciting. Since then, with the exception of a few well-received speeches and a few crisis moments -- Democrats 1964, 1968 & 1980 -- the major parties' conventions have been borrrring. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: The New York Times publishes an article today spelling out exactly how Democrats would nominate a candidate for president under a few different scenarios.

** New York Times Editors: "Next week, for the third time in eight years, Donald Trump will be nominated as the Republican Party's candidate for president of the United States. A once great political party now serves the interests of one man, a man as demonstrably unsuited for the office of president as any to run in the long history of the Republic, a man whose values, temperament, ideas and language are directly opposed to so much of what has made this country great.... Mr. Trump has shown a character unworthy of the responsibilities of the presidency. He has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people. Instead of a cogent vision for the country's future, Mr. Trump is animated by a thirst for political power: to use the levers of government to advance his interests, satisfy his impulses and exact retribution against those who he thinks have wronged him. He is, quite simply, unfit to lead."

Marie: As we know, last week Donald Trump pretended he knew nothing about Project 2025 and its creators. Here was Trump in 2022 slurring his support for what would become the "Heritigsss (trails off in a mumble)" Project 2025 blueprint for a second Trump presidency*:

President Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025, a 900-page transition guide for how to overhaul and run the Executive Branch.@VaughnHillyard joins @KatyTurNBC to explain more about it and how some of Trump's closest allies are involved. pic.twitter.com/llnmagO8KY

— MSNBC Reports (@MSNBC_reports) July 10, 2024

~~~ Steve Contorno of CNN: "Donald Trump has lately made clear he wants little to do with Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for the next Republican president that has attracted considerable blowback in his race for the White House. 'I have no idea who is behind it,' the former president recently claimed on social media. Many people Trump knows quite well are behind it. Six of his former Cabinet secretaries helped write or collaborated on the 900-page playbook for a second Trump term.... Four individuals Trump nominated as ambassadors were also involved, along with several enforcers of his controversial immigration crackdown. And about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff. In fact, at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025, a CNN review found, including more than half of the people listed as authors, editors and contributors.... Dozens more who staffed Trump's government hold positions with conservative groups advising Project 2025, including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and longtime adviser Stephen Miller. These groups also include several lawyers deeply involved in Trump's attempts to remain in power, such as his impeachment attorney Jay Sekulow and two of the legal architects of his failed bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Cleta Mitchell and John Eastman." Emphasis added.

Sarah Murray & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "Seven battleground states are sending fake electors and others who worked to upend the 2020 election results to represent their state parties at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where they will officially anoint Donald Trump as their presidential nominee. The fake electors and other election deniers identified by CNN include several who are currently facing criminal charges for their efforts in helping Trump try to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 victory. They hail from the states that were central to that plot last presidential cycle: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico and Wisconsin, according to lists published by state parties and other documents obtained by CNN."

Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "The Energy Department on Thursday unveiled $1.7 billion for retooling 11 auto factories to make electric vehicles and their components, with a focus on facilities that have shuttered or could close without federal help. The funding underscores how the Biden administration is racing to get climate money out the door before the November election, even as it faces criticism for not moving faster on green lending. Should ... Donald Trump win a second term, he could try to scrap billions of dollars worth of federal spending aimed at accelerating America's shift to clean energy and electric vehicles. Much of this money comes from President Biden's signature 2022 climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, which also provides tax credits of up to $7,500 for consumers to buy EVs. Trump has falsely claimed that EVs don't work, and he vowed to gut Biden's EV policies during an April meeting with oil industry donors."

Sahil Kapur & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation led by Democrats to revive the protections of Roe v. Wade in the wake of the Supreme Court eliminating the nationwide right to abortion. The vote was 49-44, falling short of the super-majority needed to defeat a filibuster due to broad opposition from Republicans, who dismissed it as a political stunt. The Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, introduced last month around the second anniversary of the court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, is just a few sentences long. It states that ... 'the protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade ... should be restored and built upon, moving towards a future where there is reproductive freedom for all.' It's part of a series of reproductive rights bills that Senate Democrats, who narrowly control the chamber 51-49, have forced votes on ahead of the 2024 elections."

Sam Levine & Maya Yang of the Guardian: "Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced articles of impeachment against the conservative US supreme court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on Wednesday over the justices' 'pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court'. The articles of impeachment are unlikely to gain traction in the US House, which is controlled by Republicans. The effort follows calls from two US senators, Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden, for the US attorney general to appoint a special counsel to investigate potential criminal violations of federal ethics and tax laws by Thomas. 'Justice Thomas and Alito's repeated failure over decades to disclose that they received millions of dollars in gifts from individuals with business before the court is explicitly against the law. And their refusal to recuse from the specific matters and cases before the court in which their benefactors and spouses are implicated represents nothing less than a constitutional crisis,' Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While you might be tempted to consider AOC's impeachment move a stunt akin to, say, MTG's various efforts to impeach whoever, to the extent that AOC's effort involve, well, facts, it fundamentally differs from right-wing impeachment movements against Democrats Biden and Garland.

** Ian Millhiser of Vox: "All of the United States' most important governing institutions are failing at once.... The [Supreme Court] justices are barely able to manage their own docket, even though it's been shrinking for decades. They publish incompetently drafted decisions that sow confusion throughout the judiciary, then refuse to accept responsibility when those decisions lead to ridiculous and immoral outcomes. They take liberties with the facts of their cases, and they can't even be trusted to read the plain text of an unambiguous statute correctly. In just the last few years, they've overruled so many seminal precedents that law professors no longer know how to teach their classes. If the justices did not wield such awesome power, and if lawyers who practice before them did not have to treat them with ritualized obsequiousness, most of the justices would be laughingstocks." Thanks to RAS for the lead. MB: If law professors "no longer know how to teach their classes," they might prepare their syllabi with Millhiser's essay as a guide. They must muster the guts to tell the bright-eyed young things that the Court's majority is a cabal of partisan nitwits.

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.

Russia. Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "A Russian court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of the self-exiled widow of the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, accusing her of 'participating in an extremist community.' The court order against Yulia B. Navalnaya, who left Russia in 2021, comes five months after her husband died under murky circumstances in a harsh Russian penal colony. He was imprisoned after being convicted of various trumped-up charges when he returned to Russia after a near-fatal attempt to poison him in August 2020. Ms. Navalnaya has repeatedly accused President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia of murdering her husband and has vowed to continue his opposition work. She has become an outspoken critic of Russia's war in Ukraine, using episodes like a Russian missile hitting a children's hospital in Kyiv on Monday to blame Mr. Putin and the Kremlin for the bloodshed. MB: Just a reminder: Trump and many of his followers think the U.S. should become more like Russia. (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

New York Times: "The Consumer Price Index climbed at a moderate pace in June compared with a year earlier and fell on a monthly basis, welcome news for Federal Reserve officials who are watching for further evidence that they have wrestled rapid inflation under control. Overall inflation was 3 percent in June on a yearly basis, down from 3.3 percent in May, and softer than the 3.1 percent that economists had forecast in a Bloomberg survey. After stripping out food and fuel prices for a sense of the underlying trend, the 'core' price index climbed 3.3 percent compared to year earlier, down from the previous report. And compared to the previous month, prices dropped 0.1 percent, while the core index ticked up only slightly." An NBC News report is here.

The Conversation -- July 10, 2024

Michael Birnbaum, et al., of the Washington Post: NATO leaders, meeting in Washington, D.C. under the dark cloud of an impending Trump presidency*, are working to establish ways to Trump-proof the alliance and its support for Ukraine. "Alliance policymakers have moved control of major elements of military aid to Ukraine away from U.S. command to the NATO umbrella. They appointed a new NATO secretary general who has a reputation as being especially agile with Trump's unpredictable impulses toward the alliance. They are signing decade-long defense pledges with Ukraine to try to buffer military aid to Kyiv from the ups and downs of politics. And they are pushing up their defense spending, Trump's single biggest anger point when it comes to NATO.... Four nations also announced Wednesday that donated F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will be operational later this summer. And alliance leaders called out China for being a 'decisive enabler' of Russia's war in Ukraine, its toughest language yet toward Beijing."

Nicholas Wu, et al., of Politico: "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has told lawmakers in private meetings that he'll relay concerns regarding the president's electability to Joe Biden, according to two people familiar with the situation, as more Democrats call for him to step aside. Jeffries has convened listening sessions in recent days with rattled members of the caucus, including a Wednesday meeting with members of the centrist New Democrat Coalition to discuss how having Biden at the top of the ticket could impact incumbents in battleground districts.... Some key Democrats who have won tough races have started to urge Biden to get out of the race. Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), who represents a purple district, became the eighth House Democrat to publicly call for Biden to step aside on Wednesday, writing in an op-ed: 'for the good of our country, for the future of our kids and grandkids, I am asking Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming election and deliver on his promise to be a 'bridge' to a new generation of leaders.'"

Rebecca Picciotto of CNBC: "Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday refused to explicitly endorse President Joe Biden as the party's presidential nominee, and encouraged her colleagues in Congress to pause from making public statements either for or against Biden. 'Let's just hold off. 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,' Pelosi said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'"

George Clooney in a New York Times op-ed: "... I have led some of the biggest fund-raisers in my party's history.... Last month I co-hosted the single largest fund-raiser supporting any Democratic candidate ever, for President Biden's re-election. I say ... this only to express how much I believe in this process and how profound I think this moment is. I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he's won many of the battles he's faced. But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.... 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.... We're all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we've opted to ignore every warning sign.... Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024 [by stepping aside]."

Marie: As we know, last week Donald Trump pretended he knew nothing about Project 2025 and its creators. Here was Trump in 2022 slurring his support for what would become the "Heritigsss (trails off in a mumble)" Project 2025 blueprint for a second Trump presidency*:

President Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025, a 900-page transition guide for how to overhaul and run the Executive Branch.@VaughnHillyard joins @KatyTurNBC to explain more about it and how some of Trump's closest allies are involved. pic.twitter.com/llnmagO8KY

— MSNBC Reports (@MSNBC_reports) July 10, 2024

Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.

Russia. Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "A Russian court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of the self-exiled widow of the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, accusing her of 'participating in an extremist community.' The court order against Yulia B. Navalnaya, who left Russia in 2021, comes five months after her husband died under murky circumstances in a harsh Russian penal colony. He was imprisoned after being convicted of various trumped-up charges when he returned to Russia after a near-fatal attempt to poison him in August 2020. Ms. Navalnaya has repeatedly accused President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia of murdering her husband and has vowed to continue his opposition work. She has become an outspoken critic of Russia's war in Ukraine, using episodes like a Russian missile hitting a children's hospital in Kyiv on Monday to blame Mr. Putin and the Kremlin for the bloodshed." MB: Just a reminder: Trump and many of his followers think the U.S. should become more like Russia.

~~~~~~~~~~

David Sanger & Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "President Biden opened NATO's 75th anniversary summit on Tuesday seeking to bolster confidence in both the alliance and his own political standing with a forceful speech warning of the threat posed by Russia and other authoritarian states as the world plunges into a new era of superpower conflict. Mr. Biden, speaking in a strong voice, with few errors, sounded themes from some of the most memorable speeches of his presidency, painting an image of a fearsome and growing NATO with an ironclad commitment to Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion. And he announced a pledge of more weapons to help the Ukrainians fend off air attacks.... The three-day celebration, opened with pageantry in the same gilded auditorium where the NATO treaty was signed by a dozen nations in 1949, came at a moment of enormous testing for both Mr. Biden and the alliance." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be damned if I can understand some of the words & phrases Biden slurs.

Presidential Race

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "... Democrats on Capitol Hill are stifling their doubts and falling in line behind [President Biden] anyway. Having spent the last week and a half in various stages of private panic and public skepticism about Mr. Biden's viability as a candidate and whispering among themselves about what the best way to push him aside might be..., top Democrats on Tuesday settled on a strategy many of them conceded could be disastrous: They would do nothing, at least for now.... Never mind that Mr. Biden had done almost none of the kind of unscripted events, town halls or interviews his critics had said he needed to show that he was still fit to run.... A defiant letter Mr. Biden sent to lawmakers on Monday in which he refused to drop out of the race -- coupled with members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus vociferously rallying to his side -- appeared to have successfully paralyzed the entire party into a state of uncertainty and inaction...."

Mariana Alfaro, et al., of the Washington Post: "No additional House Democrats publicly called on President Biden to abandon his reelection campaign after an all-member meeting Tuesday morning, suggesting the ground may be subtly shifting toward acceptance that Biden will remain in the race. As they trickled out of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters, some House Democrats expressed brief support for Biden's bid and at times gave stilted comments to reporters. And while many described the meeting as positive for Biden, others privately scoffed at their colleagues' comments. Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) -- who just two days ago privately called for Biden to leave the ticket -- said that, while he still has concerns over the president's candidacy, those are now 'beside the point.'... He's going to be our nominee, and we all have to support him,' Nadler said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie's Translation: "Donald Trump will be the next president*." We can quit pointing at Republicans for capitulating to Donald Trump. Democrats are doing so as well. Shame on the lot of them.

     ~~~ The WashPo story has been updated. For instance, "In a searing indictment of the stakes for Democrats, Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.) went on CNN on Tuesday night and said that as things stand, Trump would win in a 'landslide' in November.... 'The White House, in the time since that disastrous debate, I think has done nothing to demonstrate that they have a plan to win this election....'" ~~~

     ~~~ Stephen Neukam of Axios: "Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) told their colleagues during a closed-door caucus meeting that they doubt [President] Biden's ability to beat former President Trump, a source familiar with the session told Axios. Tester and Brown are waging two of the most competitive re-election campaigns in the country, trying to hold on to Democratic seats in states that Trump easily carried in 2020."

Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "George Stephanopoulos, the ABC news anchor who recently interviewed President Biden about his fitness for the presidential race, was caught on camera Tuesday indicating that he doesn't think Biden can serve another four years. Stephanopoulos, a former Democratic operative turned news anchor, is seen in gym clothes in a video published by TMZ when he is asked by a passerby: 'What do you think, do you think Biden should step down? You've talked to him more than anybody else has lately. And you can be honest.' Stephanopoulos, then just off camera, is captured on fuzzy audio responding that he doesn't think 'he can serve four more years.'"

Nick Robertson of the Hill: "Former President Trump is gaining ground in key swing states and could threaten to take states once considered to be safe for Democrats, as President Biden struggles to regain ground after a shaky debate performance, according to a new Cook Political Report analysis Tuesday."

Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "CNN commentator and New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said Donald Trump and his team are 'delighting in' the fact that President Joe Biden is refusing to drop out of the presidential race.... On Tuesday, Cook Political Report moved five states Biden won in 2020 into Trump's column."

Andrew Goudsward & Christopher Bing of Reuters: "The U.S Justice Department said on Tuesday that it disrupted a Russian operation that used fake social media accounts enhanced by artificial intelligence to covertly spread pro-Kremlin messages in the United States and abroad." The DOJ's press release is here.

Dan De Luce of NBC News: "Russia's efforts to influence this year's U.S. election through information warfare have the same aim as in previous elections -- to undermine President Joe Biden's campaign and the Democratic Party and weaken public confidence in the electoral process, intelligence officials said Tuesday."

Marie: Yesterday, a commenter who has derided me in the past questioned my honesty and my intelligence. That's fair but I think wrong-headed. Apparently some people who disagree with me believe that an honest, intelligent person would not only see their point of view but adopt it. Another person said he found it wrong that "after a primary, some folks" would change the results. I see the point there, too, but a fundamental caveat arises when one learns that the Biden campaign deceived those primary voters about his competence. Evidence has emerged not just that Biden had "a bad debate night" but that his team -- including Lady MacBiden there -- have been knocking themselves out to hide Biden's cognitive decline from voters. Biden himself should know it's time for him to go, but few politicians are good at self-evaluation. So it was up to those close to him to be patriotic and discourage him from running for re-election.

Maya Miller of the New York Times: "Two top Democratic senators have asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation of Justice Clarence Thomas for possible violations of federal ethics and tax laws. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Ron Wyden of Oregon sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland last week asking that he appoint a special counsel to investigate Justice Thomas's failure to disclose lavish gifts, luxury travel, a loan for a recreational vehicle and other perks given to him by wealthy friends." An NBC News story is here.

David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movements, republished by the Raw Story: "U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) declared Monday he is advocating for Christian nationalism, a far-right ideology that claims there is no separation of church and state in the Constitution, and promotes as a national religion Christian fundamentalism, a hardline, extremist brand of Christianity at odds with the religious beliefs of many Christians across the country.... 'Some will say I'm calling America a Christian nation. And so I am. Some will say I'm advocating Christian nationalism. And so I do. My question is - is there any other kind worth having?' Senator Hawley said at 'NatCon 4,' the National Conservatism conference being held in Washington, D.C., this week..., as reported by Semafor's David Weigel. Sen. Hawley, not backing down, promoted his remarks by reposting them on social media."

Benjamin Weiser, et al., of the New York Times: "A lawyer for Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, in a fiery closing argument on Tuesday at the senator's trial on bribery charges, accused prosecutors of building a case that relied on half-truths, unsupported inferences, factual leaps and guesses. 'The gaps you are being asked to fill are not based on evidence,' the lawyer, Adam Fee, told the jury at the trial, which is in its ninth week in Federal District Court in Manhattan. 'Don't fall into a trap of buying a story -- a forceful, well-told, long, long story,' Mr. Fee said.... Mr. Fee's presentation followed a vigorous closing argument lasting about five hours over two days by a federal prosecutor, Paul M. Monteleoni, who asked jurors to return a guilty verdict against Mr. Menendez and two businessmen -- Wael Hana and Fred Daibes -- on trial with him."

Sorry, Kids, Bob Is a Violent Felon. Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "Actor Jay Johnston, who voiced a pizzeria owner in the television show 'Bob's Burgers' and had roles in 'Better Call Saul,' 'Arrested Development' and the movie 'Anchorman,' has pleaded guilty to interfering with police at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Johnston admitted being part of a crowd that pressed up against officers in the lower West Terrace tunnel at the height of the uprising, including the widely shown incident in which a D.C. police officer screamed for help as he was being crushed between the rioters and a door. Johnston, 55, pleaded guilty to felony civil disorder in a hearing Monday before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols.... Johnston was fired from the popular cartoon ['Bob's Burgers'] after his role in the uprising was publicized...."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "An attorney for the Oath Keepers charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack will plead guilty after being charged with conspiring with the right-wing group's founder to obstruct Congress's certification of the results of the 2020 election, her attorney and federal prosecutors said. In separate court filings Monday, Kellye SoRelle's federal defender and a prosecutor wrote that SoRelle is set to enter a guilty plea on July 17 after entering into a deal with the government." (Also linked yesterday.)

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A member of Justice Sonia Sotomayor's protective detail fended off and shot an armed attempted carjacker in the early morning of July 5, according to a charging document recently unsealed in federal court in Washington, D.C. U.S. marshals wearing shirts that identified the agency were sitting in an unmarked car near Sotomayor's residence when a silver van pulled up and an individual -- later identified as Kentrell Flowers -- exited, pointing a gun into the window of the marshals' vehicle. One of the marshals drew his gun and fired it four times at Flowers, striking him in the mouth, according to the complaint. The marshal then recovered the weapon Flowers had pointed at them and administered first aid until he was transported to a hospital."

Robert McFadden of the New York Times: "James M. Inhofe, a five-term Republican senator from Oklahoma and, until ... Donald J. Trump's arrival in 2017, arguably Washington's most prominent denier of the established science of human-generated climate change, died on Tuesday in Tulsa, Okla. He was 89." (Also linked yesterday.)