Joe Biden gets support from top staff giving him the ‘weekend at Bernie’s’ treatment as Democrats move to pick a running mate for Kamala

By Jon Michael Raasch, US political reporter

Joe Biden’s White House and campaign staff are “miserable” as his top aides scramble to “support” the president in desperate situations while calls for him to show his wit grow ever louder.

“The only thing that can really allay concerns is for the president to prove he’s capable of running this campaign,” said a senior Democratic National Committee official. Axios“Everything else seems like a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ according to his inner circle to support him.”

Sources said deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, Jill Biden’s top adviser Anthony Bernal and longtime aide Ashley Williams have been helping the president in extraordinary ways.

“Annie, Ashley and Anthony create a protective bubble around the president. He has so many staff under him that he has lost all independence. The president relies on his staff to remind him who he is meeting with, including former staffers and advisers who Biden should easily remember without needing Annie to remind him,” said one former aide.

At first, the protective cocoon of attendants was seen as helpful, but now, sources said, they are seen as potentially misleading.

Donald Trump has sent warm congratulations to his friend Nigel Farage on becoming a member of the British Parliament for the first time.

“Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a seat in Parliament amidst Reform UK’s electoral success. Nigel is a man who truly loves his country! DJT,” the Republican presidential candidate wrote in a post on TruthSocial.

But in his social media post, Trump made no reference to newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had already said his government would work with whoever occupies the White House after the November election.

By Emily Goodin, Senior Political Reporter

Democrats have begun speculating about who Kamala Harris’ running mate might be if Joe Biden drops out of the presidential race.

Names on the list include several governors: North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Illinois’ JB Pritzker and Minnesota’s Tim Walz, CNN reported.

Additionally, party operatives are circulating an anonymously written Google document titled “Freed from What Has Been: The Case for Kamala,” which includes a blueprint for a Harris presidential campaign.

“There is only one way out of this mess, and that is Kamala,” the document says.

Biden, his campaign and White House officials have said he will remain in the race, but the clock is ticking for the president to prove he is up to the job.

By Jon Michael Raasch, US political reporter

Joe Biden’s campaign staff is working to reassure angry donors that their money will be spent and not go to a fading candidate.

“We are fully planning for President Biden to be the nominee, but the majority of the money raised through the Biden Victory Fund is going to the DNC, which supports every Democrat on the ticket,” a staffer told donors, the New York Times reported.

The granddaughter of Roy Disney, co-founder of the Walt Disney Corporation, has often made noise for her liberal politics despite her wealth, believed to be around $120 million.

“I intend to stop making contributions to the party unless Biden is replaced at the top of the ticket. This is realism, not disrespect. Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are too high,” she said in a statement.

Emily Goodin, Senior Political Reporter, USA

President Joe Biden is heading to Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday for a campaign event but, more importantly, he’ll sit down for the biggest television show of his career.

Biden, 81, will be interviewed by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in his first on-camera interview since last week’s debate.

The president is trying to rally Democrats behind his candidacy as concerns grow within the party over whether he can beat Donald Trump in November.

Biden has reportedly acknowledged that he faces a ticking clock when it comes to convincing people of his competence and the ABC interview will be a big part of that.

The network will air the interview in its entirety at 8 p.m. ET.

Donald Trump has challenged Joe Biden to another debate, offering a “no holds barred” discussion on the issues of the day “anytime, anywhere, any day.”

He proposed having just the two of them on stage without a moderator.

Trump launched his challenge as Biden struggles to maintain support among Democrats to remain their nominee after failing in the first presidential debate last week.

The former president argued that another debate would generate massive ratings and allow Biden to “prove his ‘competence,’ or lack thereof,” adding that “it would be another test for me.”

I have the answer to the riddle of corrupt Joe Biden’s incompetence. Let’s have another debate, but this time no holds barred: a discussion with all of us on stage, talking about the future of our country.

It would also prove, under great pressure, his “competence,” or lack thereof. It would also be another test for me. It would be a great evening, just the two of us, one on one, in a good old-fashioned debate, as it used to be. ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYWHERE!

While many wondered if she could replace Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee if he dropped out, she appeared positively excited as she gave the speech.

He said: ‘We thank our commander in chief, the Vice President of the United States! The extraordinary President of the United States, Joe Biden!’

Biden then received applause from the Washington crowd and wished everyone a happy Independence Day amid calls for his resignation from many of his fellow Democrats.

The brief gaffe was similar to one Biden himself had made in an interview with a black radio station in Philadelphia.

Biden described himself as a black woman during a radio interview gaffe, as calls mount for the 81-year-old president to abandon his re-election bid.

The gaffe-prone president stumbled over his words during Thursday’s interview with Philadelphia’s WURD, seemingly confusing himself with his Vice President Kamala Harris.

“By the way, I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, the first black woman… to work with a black president. Proud to be the first black woman on the Supreme Court. There’s so much we can do because, look… we are the United States of America.”

Biden appeared to be highlighting his appointment of Kamala Harris as the first Black female vice president of the United States.

It is confusing that he himself has previously served as vice president, and that is likely what he meant when he said “serving under a black president.”

President Joe Biden told Democratic governors he plans to stop holding events after 8 p.m. so he can get more sleep.

The New York Times reported about the detail that emerged from the high-stakes meeting with some of the Democratic Party’s rising stars at the White House on Wednesday night, in which Biden told the group he would remain in the race.

And this comes after Axios quoted staff members as saying he had already logged a concise 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. workday, with an afternoon nap.

Biden told governors “that he told his staff he needed more sleep,” the Times reported, citing several sources familiar with the meeting, and “said he needed to work fewer hours and avoid events after 8 p.m.”

During the same meeting, Hawaii Governor Josh Green asked Biden about his health.

The president responded that his health is good.

“It’s just my brain,” he later said, a comment that some governors took as a joke, while at least one found it odd.

The governors said they provided “feedback” and expressed “concerns,” but the 81-year-old president stood firm.

Biden and his White House team blamed jetlag and a cold for his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump a week ago.

Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon responded to the comment: “He was clearly making a joke,” she said.