Biden defiant: "I'm staying in the race"

More Dems call for him to consider stepping aside

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for July 6, 2024:

• Biden on debate debacle: “I was exhausted.”

• Trump pulls a Sgt. Schultz on Project 2025.

• Jobs report blotted out by other events.

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BIDEN. Ignoring calls from fellow Democrats to reconsider his reelection bid in 2024, President Joe Biden used a campaign trip to Wisconsin on Friday to send a clear message about his plans. "Let me say this as clearly as I can," Biden said at a rally in the state capital of Madison. "I'm staying in the race. I'll beat Donald Trump."

• TARMAC. At one point, Biden sparred with reporters on the tarmac Friday, as he repeated his vow to run in November. "Are you going to drop out of the race or are you completely ruling that out?" one reporter asked. "Completely ruling that out," Biden shot back.

• DEBATE. As for his debate debacle, Biden took full responsibility. "Nobody's fault but mine," he said. "Any mistake made is my fault." What happened? Biden said he was sick, and very tired. "I was exhausted."

• OBVIOUS QUESTION. Of course, that raises a simple and straightforward question. Why were you exhausted? We all understand that the President has a busy schedule. But not being ready for the big game seems a bit odd.

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ABC NEWS. As for Biden's interview last night with George Stephanopoulos broadcast last night on ABC News, it didn't really shut down criticism of his debate performance - and it didn't really end concerns for Democrats about Biden going forward. It was sort of a ‘push’ to use a gambling term.

• GOP. Republicans didn't waste time attacking after it was over. "That was not a media interview of a sitting President," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). "That was a therapy session with a former Democratic operative begging President Biden to get out of the race."

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STEP ASIDE. Meanwhile, Biden continues to face strange rumblings on Capitol Hill from his own party. A fourth House Democrat called on Biden to step aside. "Mr. President, your legacy is set," Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) said Friday on MSNBC. "The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this."

• SIMMER. Other Democrats made clear that they still want something more out of the President. "We need an extended live interview that focuses on where Biden plans to lead us over the next 4 years," said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA).

• THINK ABOUT IT. Some Democrats were publicly giving Biden an off-ramp, like Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts. "Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump," Healey said.

• CONGRESS. Friday also brought other threats. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) is reportedly trying to get Senate Democrats to meet Monday night about Biden’s future. And there was talk that some top House progressives might also urge Biden not to run again.

• SCENE. How can I best describe things? We have reached Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky territory with this Biden-2024 story. What I mean by that is that when the Clinton story was going off the rails, it felt like the new developments were arriving almost hourly. And that's what it felt like on Friday with Biden.

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MIKE LEE. One of the weirdest things to watch on Capitol Hill in recent months has been the social media transformation of Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). He has gone from a fairly normal Republican Senator to a conservative conspiracy theorist who has seemingly been radicalized by social media and the internet.

• AIR FORCE ONE. Without trying to verify anything, Lee repeatedly tweeted out claims last night that Biden had some kind of medical emergency aboard Air Force One. If that happened, then they must have had a body double of Biden, as video showed him stepping off his plane in Wilmington, Delaware, smiling, and looking fine as he walked down the stairs.

• TIMING. Lee sent out his Biden-medical emergency claim at 8:03 pm EDT. The White House Pool informed reporters that Biden arrived at his home in Delaware at 7:50 pm EDT, and that a 'lid' was called at 7:56 pm (that means, no more news is expected). In other words, Biden was already home when Lee was claiming there was an emergency.

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TRUTH SOCIAL. Donald Trump has been staying below the radar since the debate, as he held no public events this week. But he hasn't been quiet. Trump has been very active on his Truth Social platform, taking his usual wild jabs at Biden and other Democrats. And there was one comment Friday which deserves more scrutiny.

• PROJECT 2025. Out of the blue, Trump weighed in with a post about Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation battle plan for a GOP President, which includes all sorts of social policy items. It's been getting a lot of press of late, and has a lot of support among Republican groups.

• TRUMP. But evidently, the former President must be worried about some of the details - because he suddenly acted like he had no idea what was involved, even though its backers include a number of top officials from his administration.

• SGT. SCHULTZ. "I know nothing about Project 2025," Trump wrote. "I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them."

• DEMS. "Someone should check his cognitive ability if he thinks anyone would believe he isn't connected to Project 2025," Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) said of Trump.

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JOBS REPORT. Normally, the big campaign story on Friday would have been the latest jobs report, which held good news for the President and Democrats, as 206,000 jobs were added in June. "A record 15.7 million jobs have been created during my Administration," Biden said.

• NUMBERS. Job gains are averaging 222,000 per month halfway through 2024. That's higher than the 216,000 per month in the second half of 2023. The jobless rate ticked up to 4.1 percent, the first time it has been above 4.0 percent since November of 2021.

• WHAT'S LEFT. There are only three more jobs reports before the November elections. At this point, it's pretty much too late for the economy to tank before the voters go to the polls. But as you may have noticed in recent days, there is a lot of other stuff getting more play than the economy right now.

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RAP SHEET. A Florida man has been arrested and charged with assaulting police officers on Jan. 6. Michael Amos joined rioters in knocking down barricades outside the Capitol that day as Trump supporters laid siege to the building. Amos is also charged with using pepper spray against police. 140 people from Florida have been arrested in this investigation, the most of any state.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  July 6, 1882.  On this date, Senators scrapped over money in a rivers and harbors bill.  Recounting his time fighting in North Carolina for the Confederacy, Sen. John Morgan of Alabama said there was no need for a new bridge across the French Broad River near Asheville.  "North Carolina was the first to declare her independence of the British rule," Morgan said.  "I hope she will be the first to declare her independence of the United States Treasury."

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House next has votes on Monday.

The Senate next has votes on Monday.

Check President Biden’s schedule.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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