July 11, 2024, Biden press conference at NATO Summit, presidential debate and election news

President Joe Biden indicated openness to a neurological exam as some in his party have suggested he receive one to quiet concerns about his mental fitness to serve a second term, but only “if my doctors tell me I should.”

He continued, “Every single day I’m surrounded by good docs. If they think there’s a problem, I promise you – or even if they don’t think it’s a problem and think I should have a neurologic exam again, I’ll do it. No one’s suggesting that right now.”

But, the president lamented growing concerns about his age, “No matter what I did, no one’s gonna be satisfied.”

Biden reiterated that he has taken three neurological exams while in office, the last one in February. 

President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday he’s committed to remaining in the race ahead, but acknowledged he has to make his case to detractors and to American voters concerned over his fitness for office following a disastrous debate performance.

He cited his robust travel schedule in the days since the debate, pointing to “over 20 major events, from Wisconsin and North Carolina,” emphasizing he’s “going out to the areas where we can persuade people to move our way or people are already there.” 

“I’m going to be going around making the case of the things that I think we have to finish and how we can’t afford to lose what we’ve done,” he said, citing efforts under his administration.

As the dominoes continue to fall on Capitol Hill and across the country with more and more Democratic elected officials publicly calling on President Joe Biden to drop out by the hour, those dominoes are slowly — and quietly — beginning to fall inside the president’s own reelection operation. 

One Democrat directly involved in the president’s reelection efforts told CNN on Thursday night that they believe Biden should drop out and has no path to victory.

The Biden campaign continues to insist that the president is not going anywhere, but a growing number of officials inside the campaign and others directly involved in the effort to reelect the president are privately acknowledging that the president does not have a shot at defeating Donald Trump, two additional sources tell CNN. 

One senior Democrat familiar with the quiet dissent — but has not yet reached the point of personally believing Biden must to step aside — described a prevailing mood of anxiety all around them. 

Campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, who has been putting on an upbeat face in internal and meetings and conversations with Democrats since the debate, has in more private conversations acknowledged how “awful” the current situation is, another senior Democrat said.

Biden speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 11.

President Joe Biden’s solo news conference has concluded.

He faced an intense line of questioning from the press corps on a range of topics, including his health, the viability of his reelection bid, the deep concern about his candidacy among the Democrats and the drying up of donor funding.

He also took questions on Ukraine, China and Israel.

President Joe Biden defended his future ability to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping and ticked through a swath of global issues in detail amid questions over whether he would have the stamina to face those leaders one on one in the future.

Biden also in detail addressed the ongoing partnership between Russia and China amid the Kremlin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“The point is that Xi believes that China is a large enough market that they can entice any country, including European countries, to invest there in return for commitments from Europe to do a, b, c, or d. Or not to do certain things,” he said. “We have to make clear that China has to understand that if they are supplying Russia with information or capacity along with working with North Korea and others to help Russia in armament that they’re not going to benefit economically as a consequence of that.”

Biden also pointed to actions and suggested that some fellow European countries may take to curtail investment in China in reaction to Beijing’s openness to helping Russia.

President Joe Biden holds news conference at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 11 in Washington, DC. 

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the “gravity of the situation” has changed when he was asked about comments he made on the campaign trail in 2020 calling himself a “bridge” candidate to the next generation of party leaders. 

Some background: Campaigning alongside his running mate, Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in March 2020, Biden called himself a bridge to future Democratic leaders. 

“Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,” Biden said in 2020. “There’s an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.”

President Joe Biden said Thursday he was prepared to talk to any world leader – including Russia President Vladimir Putin – but said he would not do so unless the Russian leader indicated a major change in his behavior.

He added that it is “not likely” that Russia fundamentally changes in the near term, but he warned that if it succeeds in Ukraine, it won’t stop there.

President Joe Biden holds news conference at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 11, in Washington, DC. 

President Joe Biden told reporters during Thursday’s press conference that foreign leaders he’s met during this week’s NATO conference haven’t expressed concerns over his fitness for office.

Instead they have expressed fear over the prospect of a second Trump term if Biden loses in November, he said.

 “I think I can I say this without sounding too self-serving – I’ve not had any of my European allies come up to me and say, ‘Joe don’t run,’” he said. “What I hear them say is, ‘You gotta win – you can’t have this guy come forward, he’d be a disaster, he’d be a disaster.’” 

Biden pointed to comments from former President Donald Trump during a recent rally at which he acknowledged he wasn’t familiar with the NATO alliance before taking office, joking, “Foreign policy has never been his strong point.” 

And he expressed concern over what he described as Trump’s “affinity to people who are authoritarians.”

U.S. President Joe Biden attends a press conference during NATO's 75th anniversary summit, in Washington, U.S., July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis

Biden has been talking to members of the press for more than 30 minutes.

He made remarks off the top and took questions from reporters — many of them about his political future stemming from concerns about his age and vitality.

The president shot down questions about possible limitations on his ability to perform all the duties of his office. Still, he acknowledged that he needs to “pace” himself as he goes about the rigors of being president. 

While making some verbal flubs, Biden has also delved deep into foreign policy, discussing China and the war between Russia and Ukraine.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that his staff members “add things” to his schedule and that he is “catching hell” from the first lady for it, suggesting that his staff has over-scheduled him.

“The next debate I’m not going to be traveling in 15 time zones,” the president added, echoing comments Biden’s team has made following his halting performance in last month’s debate.

CNN had previously reported that Biden told Democratic governors during a meeting at the White House that part of his plan going forward is to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so that he can get more sleep, according to three sources briefed on his comments.

President Joe Biden attends a press conference on Thursday in Washington, DC.

President Joe Biden pushed back Thursday on reporting that he has privately suggested that he may push for earlier evening events while still acknowledging that he needs to “pace” himself as he goes about the rigors of being president. 

The president also lashed out at former President Donald Trump and accused him of doing “virtually nothing” as he argued that he has pursued a rigorous schedule. 

“My schedule has been full bore. I’ve done — where’s Trump been? Riding on his golf cart, filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball? I mean, look. He’s done virtually nothing,” Biden said.  

President Joe Biden offered praise to Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday amid questions about his political future. 

The president pointed to Harris’ handling of women’s reproductive rights in the aftermath of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision, and her capacity to handle other big issues.  

“The way she’s handled the issue of freedom of women’s bodies — to have control over their bodies. Secondly, her ability to handle almost any issue on the board. This was a hell of a prosecutor. She was a first-rate person in the Senate — she was really good,” he said of his running mate. 

Harris has spent the week on the campaign trail during the NATO Summit, looking to bolster support with key coalitions.

President Biden smiles during a press conference in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

President Joe Biden said he was not hurting the standing of the United States in the world and defended his performance on the world stage on Thursday.

He defended a misspeak earlier in the day, saying he immediately caught it when he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” at a NATO event. 

“I was talking about Putin and I said, and now, the very end. I said here I mean, Putin. I said, ‘No, I’m sorry. Zelensky,’” Biden told a reporter who asked about the misspeak. “And then I added five other names.” 

Asked if he was hurting America’s standing in the world, Biden responded: “Did you see any damage of our standing in my leading this conference? Have you seen the more successful conference? What do you think?” 

Throughout this news conference, President Joe Biden has been picking reporters to call out questions from a notecard in his hand.

That’s not an unusual practice. It prevents the mass yelling that’s commonplace whenever reporters are clamoring to have their questions answered.

But the Biden campaign’s media strategy has still come under intense scrutiny lately, after it was revealed the campaign had been feeding questions to friendly radio interviewers in the days since the debate, and demanding one station edit out responses that might make the president look like he was rambling.

President Joe Biden is seen speaking on a screen in the press media center during NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC, on July 11.

President Joe Biden has been facing an intense line of questioning from reporters for the first time since his disastrous performance at the CNN debate.

It includes media members from a variety of outlets, including Reuters, Agence France-Press, the Associated Press, CBS and others.

Questions so far have focused on the debate fallout and concerns about his reelection viability, him calling Ukraine’s leader by the Russian president’s name at the NATO summit on Thursday, and the lack of donor support, among other issues.

President Joe Biden holds a press conference on Thursday in Washington, DC.

President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that he’s not in the 2024 presidential race for his legacy, pushing back on questions of his fitness for office and political future. 

The president was asked if he has spent time thinking about his legacy in the wake of his debate performance.

President Joe Biden holds news conference at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 11 in Washington, DC. 

President Joe Biden began his response to a question with a gaffe by mistaking Vice President Kamala Harris for “Vice President Trump.”

Biden was asked if he was concerned about Harris’ ability to beat Trump if she were tapped to run against him.

Biden’s remarks come as advisers and allies have called on him to participate in more off-the-cuff engagements to combat anxieties about his age and capacity to serve – but it remains unclear if the high-stakes news conference will have its intended effect. 

People in the International Media Centre watch a live feed of US President Joe Biden’s press conference during during NATO's 75th anniversary summit, in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

President Joe Biden vowed to stay in the presidential race Thursday, saying he will “keep moving” as a mounting list of Democratic officials and allies have called for him to step aside.

He continued, “There’s a long way to go this campaign, and so I’m just going to keep moving.”

Fourteen Democratic members of Congress, including one senator, Peter Welch of Vermont, have called on Biden to step aside.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the number of Democratic lawmakers who have called on Biden to step aside. It is 14.

UAW President Shawn Fain chairs the 2023 Special Elections Collective Bargaining Convention in Detroit, Michigan in March 2023.

UAW President Shawn Fain and other members of the union’s board have expressed concerns about President Joe Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November, a source close to the union said.

Reuters was first to report on Fain’s concerns.

Concerns from the UAW would be significant at a time when Biden is working to shore up support within the labor community. The president spent about 30 minutes at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, DC on Wednesday, describing the group of union leaders as his “domestic NATO.” After Biden’s drop-by, the group met privately for some time, including hearing from campaign officials.

Fain, a vocal critic of Trump, is a member of the AFL-CIO’s executive council, which on Wednesday announced it “unanimously voted to reaffirm its commitment to re-electing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the leadership of the most pro-union administration in our lifetimes.”

The UAW formally endorsed Biden in January after months of White House overtures to the union chief. The endorsement was seen as a major boon for Biden as he looked to court working class voters in states like Michigan and Wisconsin.

The president is set to visit Michigan on Friday as he pushes forward with his campaign in the face of deep reservations within his party over his ability to win in November.

President Joe Biden attends a press conference during NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC, on July 11.

President Joe Biden is holding his first solo news conference since his disastrous CNN debate performance in late June — the most high-pressure presidential news conference in modern history — after a staggering 24 hours cracked the political foundation of his reelection bid.

This comes as a growing number of prominent allies are calling for him to step aside, including Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, more than a dozen House Democrats, and megadonor George Clooney.

The president, who was in poor political shape even before the debate, is adamant that he won’t pass the torch to a younger Democrat. But three factors could make his position untenable: a fracturing of support in his party, the drying up of fundraising, and damning polling data.

The NATO summit in Washington, DC, provides a backdrop for this news conference. Biden has engaged world leaders and led discussions about how to save Ukraine there, seeking to project strength to allies. But he also misspoke at the summit Thursday, calling Ukraine’s leader by the Russian president’s name.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has submitted signatures to qualify in Colorado as an independent candidate, creating potential confusion around Colorado’s ballot after the Libertarian Party of Colorado said it planned to nominate Kennedy as its presidential candidate earlier this month.

Kennedy’s campaign announced it submitted more than 30,000 signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State’s office on Thursday. Independent candidates are required to submit 12,000 valid signatures to gain ballot access in the state. 

But Kennedy’s independent petition comes after the Libertarian Party of Colorado announced earlier this month it voted to nominate Kennedy as its candidate as part of a “partnership” that included Kennedy signing a pledge committing to upholding Libertarian values as president.

A spokesperson for the Colorado Secretary of State’s office told CNN the Libertarian Party of Colorado has yet to submit paperwork to the Secretary of State’s office formally nominating Kennedy as their candidate.

 It’s unclear whether the Libertarian Party of Colorado will be allowed to nominate Kennedy as its candidate after the National Libertarian Party submitted some paperwork earlier this week to nominate Chase Oliver, the candidate who won the national party’s nominating convention in June.

A spokesperson for the Colorado Secretary of State confirmed to CNN on Thursday the National Libertarian Party has submitted paperwork nominating Oliver and his running mate Mike ter Maat, but still needs to submit the names of 10 presidential electors to complete their nomination.

Kennedy has qualified for the ballot in eight states: Minnesota, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, Utah, Hawaii and Tennessee.

A long-time adviser to President Joe Biden says that he’s angry and frustrated with the president’s inner circle and family over the current situation.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they exit the stage during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 28.

While a slow drip of Democrats is calling for President Joe Biden to step aside in the 2024 race, an untold number seems to be hoping he will take a look at the polling that suggests he stands a good chance of losing the general election and read the room.

What happens if Biden does decide to drop out? CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf talked to Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has written extensively as an academic about the primary process and is also deeply involved with the Democratic Party, in which she serves on the Rules and Bylaws Committee. She told CNN how the process of replacing Biden would work considering nearly all of the 3,949 pledged convention delegates are currently pledged to support him.

Is it unprecedented for a president to face this kind of challenge?

KAMARCK: No, it’s not unprecedented. You had it with (Jimmy) Carter. An incumbent president who everybody thought was going to lose, and so there was a check to him (by Sen. Edward Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention in 1980). Certainly LBJ (in 1968) was forced to step down, or he thought he was forced to step down, by a bad showing in the New Hampshire primary and his inability to win over the trust of the anti-war movement. So, yes, presidents have been in trouble before. They’ve never been in trouble for this reason, and never so late in the process.

Is it too late to replace Biden?

KAMARCK: No, it is not too late to replace him. Sort of legally, according to party rules, he could be replaced anytime up to the roll call at the convention. Politically, it’s very hard to replace him, because with the exception of his vice president, none of the people mentioned have risen to national stature. And their ability to talk to the Alabama delegates, as well as the Maine delegates as well as the Utah delegates is very truncated. And they don’t have time to develop it. We’re just running out of time.

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President Joe Biden accidentally called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "President Putin" while speaking at a Ukraine Compact meeting on Thursday in Washington, DC.

US President Joe Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin,” during remarks Thursday — the latest gaffe for a president who’s sought to project strength and lucidity following a disastrous debate performance two weeks ago today.

Biden was joined on stage by 32 allies and foreign leaders to announce their support for Thursday’s newly announced “Ukraine Compact,” which would bolster aid to the country as its war with Russia continues more than two years since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Biden was inviting Zelensky to speak when he made the verbal misstep.

Biden is scheduled to field questions with reporters later this evening, another make or break moment for the president on the world stage amidst growing calls from political allies for him to step aside from his 2024 campaign.

Watch the moment here:

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01:53 - Source: cnn

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West’s campaign is seeking to combat what it calls “deceptive digital practices” after website domain names featuring West and his running mate Melina Abdullah’s names redirected users to former President Donald Trump’s campaign website. 

West’s campaign says it is working with the website domain hosting company GoDaddy to halt the “unauthorized redirection” of the domain names WestAbdullah.com, WestAbdullah2024.com and WestAbdullah.org to the Trump campaign’s website.

In a statement, West called the website redirection “deceptive tactics” that undermine the democratic process. 

In the statement, the West campaign did not make a direct accusation as to who they believe is responsible for redirecting the domains. But they did criticize the pro-Biden super PAC Clear Choice for actions taken by the PAC to obstruct West’s ballot access in North Carolina, and suggested the PAC is behind the website redirection without presenting evidence. 

CNN has reached out to Clear Choice for comment. 

Former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump stand together as he speaks with the media after voting at a polling station setup in the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center on March 19, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. 

Former first lady Melania Trump is planning to attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, next week, making a rare public appearance alongside her husband on the campaign trail, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN. 

Discussions regarding whether or not she will speak on stage or be a formal part of the program are still underway, the sources said.

Melania Trump has maintained a low profile throughout her husband’s campaign, having attended just two public appearances since Donald Trump launched his third presidential bid: The kickoff of his campaign in November 2022 at their Mar-a-Lago home and a brief appearance in March when she accompanied Trump to vote in the Florida presidential primary.

A spokesperson for Melania Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Her return to the spotlight for one of the most high profile moments of Trump’s campaign comes as questions over whether she will ramp up her public schedule as the 2024 elections draws nearer continue to go unanswered. She notably did not attend at any of Trump’s court appearances in New York for his hush money trial earlier this year, nor did she appear with him for the June 27 presidential debate in Atlanta. 

Trump’s campaign advisers and close allies insist the former first lady is supportive of her husband and his political ambitions and that she has been focused on raising their son Barron. They add that she is very selective in choosing her political appearances.

Melania Trump has appeared infrequently at private events in recent months, including hosting a fundraiser for the conservative LGBTQ group, the Log Cabin Republicans, at her residence at Trump Tower in New York on July 8, as well as attending an April fundraiser alongside her husband at the home of investor John Paulson. 

President Joe Biden’s fitness for office has not “been a part of the conversation” at NATO, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday, despite comments in recent days from some leaders. 

“I can’t speak for individual leaders here and there I can tell you two things,” Kirby said on “The Lead.” “One, it just hasn’t been a part of the conversation here. In fact, the conversations that the president has been having at the summit have really been all around American leadership on the world stage, how important his leadership and stewardship over the alliance has been.”  

Kirby also said that some individual leaders, like UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “said publicly today that he found the president to be very much in good form.” 

“Maybe it depends on who you talk to, but again, it just hasn’t been a focus of the conversations,” Kirby said.

Hawaiii Rep. Ed Case on Tuesday joined a growing group of House Democrats who have called for President Joe Biden to step aside.

“Difficult times and realities require difficult decisions. This is one of those times, realities and decisions. My guidepost is what is the best way forward for our country,” he said. “I do not believe President Biden should continue his candidacy for re-election as President. This has nothing to do with his character and record. If it did, there would be no decision to make.”

Case is the fourth Democrat on Tuesday to ask Biden to withdraw, speaking to a growing sense of momentum on Capitol Hill to ask the president to step aside in the 2024 race.

President Joe Biden and his inner circle have – as of this morning – not decided to change course in the 2024 election and remain committed to his candidacy, a senior administration official told CNN.

Biden’s closest advisers have long held a morning meeting helmed by chief of staff Jeff Zients and – after the June 27 debate that gave rise to discontent within the Democratic party – instituted a 9 p.m. call as well. The purpose of both calls is to define the path forward in the race and the team had established that one existed as of the most recent call that was held, the official said.  

Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton called for a new nominee Thursday, joining the growing number of Democratic lawmakers who are urging President Joe Biden to suspend his reelection campaign.

“For the sake of American democracy, and to continue to make progress on our shared priorities, I believe it is time for the President to step aside as our nominee,” Stanton said in a statement posted on social media.

Stanton is now the 12th House Democrat calling for Biden to step aside, alongside Vermont Sen. Peter Welch.

Two sources in the closed-door meeting with Biden campaign officials said the team presented little new information to Democratic senators on the state of the campaign.

Instead, senators ended up talking most of the time. 

Some members expressed deep concerns about the state of the campaign. And the Biden team responded by pointing to the president’s upcoming news conference, his Monday NBC interview and his plans to stump in battleground states next week.

There was no indication that he might drop out of the race from the Biden team, the sources said.

The officials did not present polling or data to convince members, but instead convened more of a listening session, a person briefed on the meeting said.

“They didn’t come to plead their case, which they needed to do,” the source said. “Hard to see how this helped.”

A third source in the room tells CNN it was a “serious, frank, constructive— sometimes emotional” exchange.

New rules set to be approved by the Republican National Convention next week could allow presumptive nominee Donald Trump to hold his vice presidential choice a secret until the last possible minute.

According to the changes, which were approved by the convention rules committee Thursday and obtained by CNN, Trump will be able to submit the name of his vice presidential pick immediately before the convention takes action to approve it. Under the previous rules, the name had to be submitted at least an hour ahead of time. 

Before the name is submitted, the Trump campaign will have to gather signatures from delegates in five states in support of the pick.

Other rules changes approved by the committee Thursday would make it harder for smaller groups of delegates to be heard on certain issues.

The proposed rules also tweak how the party’s 2028 presidential nominating process will work. Starting next cycle, states will get a bonus delegate if they use a closed primary or caucus system which only allows Republicans to participate. Also, in any states that use ranked choice voting, parties will be prohibiting from using anything other than voters’ first choices to calculate delegate allocations.

A Milwaukee radio station agreed to make two edits to an interview it recorded with President Joe Biden earlier this month at the request of his campaign, the station’s owner Civic Media said Thursday.

The July 3 interview with WAUK-AM host Earl Ingram was one of the first media engagements Biden had following his poor performance at the June 27 CNN Presidential Debate. 

Civic Media, a Wisconsin-based radio network, posted the edited clips and the entire unedited interview on its website Thursday. 

A Biden campaign spokesperson acknowledged it had asked the station to edit the interview.

Civic Media CEO Sage Weil said in a statement that the station was made aware on Monday that “immediately after the phone interview was recorded, the Biden campaign called and asked for two edits to the recording before it aired.”

Weil added that “Civic Media disagrees with the team’s judgments in the moment” and that they are clarifying their internal polices “to ensure that everyone in the organization understands the standards we expect for live and pre-recorded interviews.” 

Despite the edits, Civic Media “unequivocally stands by Earl Ingram and his team,” saying that the edits were made in “good faith” even if Civic Media “disagree with the decision.” 

Donald Trump Jr. speaks during a campaign rally for his father in Doral, Florida, on July 9.

Donald Trump Jr. is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday — shortly before his father’s pick for vice president does, a source familiar with the schedule tells CNN. 

The schedule is notable given how involved the former president’s eldest son has been in the vice-presidential selection process. Trump Jr. has been one of the most – if not the most — ardent supporters of Ohio Sen. JD Vance. 

Given this was scheduled weeks ago, it doesn’t indicate who Trump will pick as his running mate, a source told CNN, as many of those around him remain unsure about what his final decision will be. 

Rep. Brad Schneider speaks during a press conference on preventing gun violence outside of the US Capitol building on January 10 in Washington, DC.

Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois calls on President Joe Biden to step aside, making him the 11th House Democrat to do so.

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik arrives with other members of House Republican leadership speak to the press at the US Capitol on July 9 in Washington, DC.

Republican House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik will speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, next week, according to a source familiar with the plans.

Two Biden campaign officials met with a group of Nikki Haley supporters via Zoom Wednesday night, with some expressing concerns about the president’s health and a desire for the campaign to change direction, according to a source who was on the call. 

Austin Weatherford, the leader of the Biden campaign’s Republican outreach and Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz were on the call with 14 Haley supporters, who are part of the Haley Voters Working Group. While a small group, the concerns in the wake of Biden’s disastrous debate performance reflect how some voters are torn between their choices at the top of the ticket. 

The source told CNN some voters were in the “pass the torch camp” and called directly for a new nominee with others believing the coverage of the president was overblown. 

One voter said they saw January 6, 2021, and can’t vote for Donald Trump, but that they also can’t unsee what they saw on June 27.  

Some people on the call even said they are leaning toward leaving the top of the ticket blank in November.

The campaign officials acknowledged what happened at the debate, saying that it was not a pleasant night and was difficult to watch, but characterized it as just that – an “off-night.” 

They said the campaign will work harder to show Biden is up to the task and basically prove that he’s still got it.

“The clear message is like it’s going to be even harder now, and I think the Biden campaign is saying we’re up to the challenge,” the source said. 

CNN previously reported on the first Zoom call with the group, which focused more on initiating a conversation and hearing policy concerns. 

CNN has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.

Sen. Maggie Hassan during a press conference on June 4, in Washington, DC.

Senate Democrats met with Biden campaign officials Thursday afternoon amid anxiety over the viability of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

CNN’s Capitol Hill reporters asked several lawmakers about the meeting. Here’s what some of them said:

Two top Biden campaign officials are calling on Democrats to unify as cracks within the party continue to spread over President Joe Biden’s political future.

In a new memo obtained by CNN, Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez acknowledged that “the debate was a setback.” But they stressed that “Biden and this campaign have made it through setbacks before.”

“We are clear eyed about what we need to do to win. And we will win by moving forward, unified as a party, so that every single day between now and election day we focus on defeating Donald Trump,” they wrote.

O’Malley Dillon and Chavez Rodriguez argued that concerns over the president’s age and the viability of his campaign is distracting from the goal of beating former President Donald Trump.

“The surest way to help Donald Trump is to spend his convention talking about our nominating process instead of the MAGA extremism that will be on stage in Milwaukee,” they said.

The campaign will seek to return focus to Trump’s agenda next week as Republicans gather for their convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In recent days, Biden and top campaign surrogates have been highlighting “Project 2025,” a conservative group’s plans to radically reshape the federal government and American life. Trump has sought to distance himself from the closely aligned group.

Guests attend a campaign rally hosted by President Joe Biden at Sherman Middle School on July 5 in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Top Biden campaign officials acknowledged “increased anxiety” following President Joe Biden’s debate performance, but maintained there is still a path to 270 electoral votes as calls within the Democratic Party for the president to step aside mount.  

In a new memo from Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez obtained by CNN, the campaign argues the most direct path to victory runs through Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. 

Biden has “prioritized the region,” they said, pointing to recent campaign stops by Biden in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and Friday’s forthcoming visit to Detroit. Biden is also expected to travel to Austin, Texas, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, and to Las Vegas for appearances aimed at shoring up his Latino and Black coalitions.

They downplayed the possibility of another Democratic nominee faring better than Biden against Trump, despite growing calls for another candidate to replace Biden. 

O’Malley Dillon and Chavez Rodriguez highlighted its ongoing efforts to organize in key battleground states. The campaign currently has over 1,200 coordinated staff in battlegrounds, they said, with over 2,000 by the end of the summer.

Rep. Gerry Connolly speaks to reporters outside of a House Oversight Committee hearing on May 16, 2023 in Washington, DC. 

Virginia congressman Gerry Connolly called on Democrats to make “hard, cold decisions” about the future of the 2024 campaign and stated that “we need the White House to take that frame of mind” in an interview on CNN’s Inside Politics, adding the assessment needs to be made “quickly.” 

Connolly stated “the president has to be respected,” and “I’m not going to engage in quick decisions that throw him under the bus, but I also believe we have to make some hard choices here and the president has to be part of the process.”

“I don’t know. Events are unfolding very fast,” Connolly replied when Raju asked if he believed Biden would be the Democratic nominee next week.

Some advisers to President Joe Biden are trying to come up with a plan to convince him to suspend his reelection bid, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The reporting comes as the president has remained defiant that he will stay in the race amid growing calls from Democrats for him to step aside.

Sources told the Times that advisers are aware that in order for Biden to drop out, they have to convince him that he would not win against former President Donald Trump, and that another candidate — such as Vice President Kamala Harris — has a better chance of doing so. They must also reassure him that the process to choose another nominee would be organized.

The White House denied the report, telling the Times: “President Biden’s team is strongly behind him.”

Meanwhile, the Biden campaign’s analytics team has commissioned a survey that would give insight into Harris’ strength should she lead the ticket and go head-to-head with Trump, the Times also reported.

A recent CNN poll conducted after the debate showed the vice president outpacing Biden in a hypothetical race against Trump. But CNN has previously reported that Harris and her staff have purposely snubbed most of the calls and texts coming their way, reiterating that the vice president intends to stick by Biden’s side.

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.

Even before Biden made remarks that night, whispers of concern rippled through the audience at the Peacock Theater about the president who had just arrived from a long flight from Italy. Some of the biggest donors at the $30 million fundraising event, who had waited in line to take pictures with Biden, expressed unease at how the president looked and carried himself.

Biden’s appearance in California struck attendees as starkly different from a fundraising gala he attended in March at Radio City Music Hall in New York, one Democrat guest told CNN, when Biden appeared on stage with Obama and former President Bill Clinton. 

“There is a marked difference in the president from the spring to the summer,” a senior Democrat told CNN. “He’s just not the same.”

Back in Washington, there have been clear signs throughout his term of the president 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. 

Read more here.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans will show their “dysfunction” next week as the party gathers at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

He continued, “The notion that the extreme MAGA Republicans can convince anyone that they truly don’t want to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban is a joke. The extreme MAGA Republicans are responsible for the situation that tens of millions of women find themselves in right now.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said that it’s important for members to stay engaged with their constituents back home when asked at his weekly news conference what advice he has for lawmakers as they weigh how to respond to a critical moment for the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden.

Hakeem Jeffries speaks during his weekly press conference on Thursday.

When asked if he’s worried if President Joe Biden is a liability to the most vulnerable members, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said “no.”

The Democratic leader told reporters at a press conference that Democrats will win back the House if they’re able to communicate their agenda.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not answer directly when asked by a reporter if he believes it is time for President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

“Throughout this week, as House Democrats, we have engaged in a process of talking to each other,” Jefferies said at his weekly news conference in response to a question about whether he believes Biden should drop out. “Those conversations have been candid, comprehensive and clear-eyed and they continue. Until that process has concluded, I’m not going to address what any outside stakeholders may have to say about this matter.”

The question referenced reporting that several close Biden allies now say he has no chance of winning the 2024 presidential election and believe he should drop out. 

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a Working Session of the NATO Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, July 11. 

Former President Donald Trump will meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán tonight at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, according to a Trump campaign official. 

Trump’s meeting with Orbán is at 7p.m. ET and came together in the last few days, according to a senior Trump adviser.

The meeting will be a “social visit” with no big party or events like the last meeting between the pair in March, the adviser told CNN.

It comes after Orbán was in Washington, DC, for the NATO summit and just a week after Orbán met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Trump regularly heaps praise on the Hungarian autocrat on the campaign trail and previously hosted Orbán at Mar-a-Lago for a meeting and a concert in March.

“There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orbán. He’s fantastic,” the former president said at the time.

Orbán’s far-right populism, fierce anti-immigration rhetoric, Christian nationalism and hostility to LGBTQ rights has made him a popular ideological model for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” followers.

Bloomberg was first to report their upcoming meeting. 

Allies of President Joe Biden are hoping that his news conference on Thursday will help assuage concerns from those who think he needs to step aside.

Two of the House Democrats calling for Biden to drop out, Reps. Seth Moulton and Mike Quigley, say they don’t see it changing their opinions. 

“I obviously hope the president does well at the press conference but you can’t ask Americans to unsee what they saw with their own eyes,” Moulton told CNN. 

Quigley said “the cake is baked” and in fact, the presser has the potential to make matters a lot worse.

Quigley added that he expects some of his colleagues are waiting until after NATO is over to come out against Biden, but affirmed “I know you will hear more today.”

Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, a former member of House Democratic leadership, suggested Thursday that he is still waiting on President Joe Biden to make a final decision on staying in the presidential race, even as Biden insists that he will remain Democrats’ 2024 nominee.

“I think he’s going to make a decision – I think he’s still working on that – I don’t have any comment beyond what I just said,” Hoyer told reporters outside the Capitol.

Pressed on Biden’s public statements about his intention to stay in the race, Hoyer responded, “I’m gonna speak for myself – and right now, I have no further comment.”

The White House is not “directly” aware of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s expected meeting with former President Donald Trump this evening in Florida following the conclusion of the NATO summit in DC.  

“I’ve not heard directly from anybody about this meeting. I have heard indirectly about it, as many of you have,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters when asked about the meeting.  

The expected meeting follows Orban’s recent trips to both China and Russia as part of a ‘Peace Mission’ over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine that is not backed by Kyiv and has angered some European leaders. 

When asked whether he believed Orban’s efforts are coordinated with the former president, Sullivan declined to speculate and slammed the “fake” peace effort. 

“And the US position, the Biden administration position, is nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. So whatever adventurism is being undertaken without Ukraine’s consent or support, you know, is not something that’s consistent with our policy, the foreign policy of the United States. But I can’t speculate as to what Orban is up to exactly or what other people are up to,” he said.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Thursday that he has no plans “as of now” to head to Pennsylvania for former President Donald Trump’s rally. 

Rubio, one of the VP contenders, told reporters he has not spoken to Trump today and that he is heading back to Miami tonight. 

Megastar George Clooney’s op-ed Wednesday calling on President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race has struck a nerve with Biden allies, who are strenuously rejecting the actor’s characterization of one particular Los Angeles fundraising from several weeks ago. 

In his op-ed, Clooney wrote that when he saw Biden during a June 15 fundraiser, Biden 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,” Clooney went on to say, referencing Biden’s halting performance at the June 27 CNN presidential debate.

A senior Biden official who was at the fundraiser told CNN that – while there is “no doubt that (Biden) was tired that night” given that he had just flown back from Italy after attending the G7 summit – the president had been “animated and extremely present.”

“That is an inaccurate characterization of the way the president was in those private meetings,” the official, who was not willing to be named, told CNN. “The op-ed paints a picture that … jet lag aside, just doesn’t feel accurate to me.”

Responding to Clooney’s op-ed, a campaign official who attended had also told CNN on Wednesday that Clooney left the event well before Biden. The anecdote was meant to defend Biden’s stamina – a suggestion that raised many eyebrows – and to point out that Clooney missed much of the president’s engagement at that fundraiser.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Capitol Hill that leadership is trying to speak with every member of the Democratic Caucus but that “we will convene as a leadership team and figure out the next step” when that process is concluded. 

Jeffries said “by necessity, it’s a process to make sure that every voice is authentically and clearly heard.”

Jeffries said he has no plans to meet with President Joe Biden at this time. He said they are trying to get through conversations with Democrats as soon as they can and that the goal is to talk to every single person. 

Jeffries’ comments come after a 10th House Democrat came out and asked Biden to step aside.

Sen. Peter Welch speaks with reporters as he departs a Senate Democratic Caucus meeting at the US Capitol July 9.

Democratic Sen. Peter Welch on Thursday stood by call for President Joe Biden to step aside and said that his campaign should be focused on convincing voters – not senators – that Biden is the best choice. 

“It’s a ‘show me,’ not ‘tell me’ issue,” he added. “I think for Americans, it’s not so much about individual senators or members of Congress.”

Welch added that today’s press conference won’t be enough to prove to Americans that Biden is capable. “It’s over the course of time,” he said. 

Pressed on whether his decision to speak out could hurt the president if Biden stays in the race, the Vermont Democrat replied, “I’m expressing my opinion. You know, ultimately, the president’s going to have to make his own decision.” 

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens – a congresswoman from swing state Michigan – said that she will be participating in a rally alongside President Joe Biden in Detroit on Friday.

Stevens said that she does not have concerns about Biden’s acuity, pointing to time she spent with him in the Oval Office working on electric vehicle tariffs as a positive sign of his abilities.

“He can do this and I trust him and we’re going to win in November, particularly in my swing state of Michigan,” Stevens said.

She also highlighted the backing of Michigan Democrats in statewide offices – including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Sen. Gary Peters – as reasoning for her backing the president.

Stevens repeated a common party line heard in recent days: “the big uniting force” is “Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda.”

Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan becomes the 10th House Democrat to call for President Joe Biden to step aside.

 Rep. Becca Balint participates in the House Oversight and Accountability Committee organizing meeting in the Rayburn House Office Building on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. 

Concern among congressional Democrats over President Joe Biden remaining their party’s 2024 nominee does not just pertain to lawmakers running in competitive districts, it extends to representatives of deep blue pockets across the country.

In the last three days, lawmakers from New York, California, Oregon and even Vermont have come out with real concerns about Biden, with some even calling for him to step aside. This is just the latest sign that the fractures in the party over Biden are not being contained.

Balint’s statement comes on the heels of Vermont Sen. Peter Welch becoming the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to step aside. 

Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, reversed course on Wednesday and went public with his concerns that Biden remaining at the top of the ticket could hurt Democrats’ chances of winning back the House of Representatives. Torres said in a statement Wednesday that “there must be a serious reckoning with the down-ballot effect of whomever we nominate,” when two days prior had called the intra-party controversy “self-destructive.” 

Democratic Reps. Scott Peters and Jared Huffman of California have both expressed concerns about the prospect of Biden staying the party’s nominee. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal told reporters that he wants the President Joe Biden’s advisers to show evidence that he can beat former President Donald Trump. 

Pressed on whether Biden should address senators’ concerns directly, Blumenthal replied that it was still possible at some point. “The president may come to talk to his former colleagues in the Senate,” he told CNN. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Peter Welch, the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to step aside, would not comment on why he decided to speak up, or expand on his op-ed in the Washington Post. 

“Well, I wrote about it. I mean it’s everything that I think was in my statement,” he told reporters. 

Other Democratic senators were tight lipped, with Sens. Cory Booker and Jon Ossoff only saying they are looking forward to the conversation with Biden’s advisors at lunch later today.  

A House Democrat from Ohio said Thursday that he is getting “closer and closer” to calling on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race because his ability to win reelection “may be just too high of a hill for him to climb.”

Landsman, who flipped a seat long held by a Republican in 2022, added: “I had hoped — and still do, to some extent — that (Biden) can go out and make the case that Donald Trump is unfit to be president, that he is going to undermine if not destroy our democracy, but I think that’s becoming more and more — less likely.”

The background: Congressional Democrats are concerned about Biden’s chances to win reelection, particularly in the wake of his disastrous debate on CNN last month, and that having him at the top of the ticket could also hurt the party in down-ballot races this fall. Most Democrats have been reluctant to publicly call on Biden to step aside, but a growing number are saying so out loud, even after Biden has gone on the offensive this week to shore up support. He told congressional Democrats in a letter on Monday that he will continue his reelection bid despite mounting concerns, while also hitting back at party “elites” in an interview.

Landsman told Hunt that Biden could be an American hero and say, ‘Look, ‘I’ve got to step down now.’” The Ohio Democrat also echoed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s argument that it’s ultimately up to Biden as to continue his reelection bid but cautioned that he “doesn’t have much time.” He also warned that a second term under former President Donald Trump “would be dangerous.”

Biden will hold a closely watched news conference on Thursday, marking another high-stakes moment for the president to show off his skill in answering questions in an unscripted setting.

Outlining his concerns about a second Trump presidency, Landsman wondered aloud if Biden will be able to convincingly make that case to the American people.

“To be able to make the case against this person, the former president, should not be that hard. Biden has to do it. If he can’t do it, then he’s got to let somebody else do it,” Landsman said.

President Joe Biden’s campaign released a new ad Thursday blasting his opponent, former President Donald Trump, for “siding with Putin,” and calling Trump a “lap dog for a dictator,” while touting Biden’s support for the NATO alliance.

The ad – released to coincide with the last day of this week’s high-stakes NATO summit in Washington – is part of a larger $50 million paid media buy for July. It slams Trump for suggesting Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members who don’t meet defense spending targets, warning that the GOP president is “a lapdog for a dictator who blames ‘America first.’”

The ad also comes as Biden faces his own test on the world stage – a rare solo press conference, where he’ll seek to reassure voters and fellow world leaders of his own fitness for office following a disastrous debate performance.

As President Joe Biden faces waning political support at home, three US officials say that among NATO leaders gathered in Washington facing flagging approval ratings in their own countries, he’s in good company.

The uncertainty of the US election – and the impact of recent elections overseas – has produced a dynamic where many allies are on unsure footing as they try to assess what long-term agreements they can reach. The possibility of a potential second Donald Trump term and the continued rise of far-right leaders on the other side of the Atlantic have loomed large in negotiations over language and deliverables leading up to the summit. 

“If you’re worried about that possibility, then you’re going to hedge,” one US official says. “Everyone is hedging.”

As a result, mobilizing allies has been much harder. Whereas the agreements reached two years ago at the outset of the war in Ukraine were attained in a matter of days, discussions over recent policy or phrasing changes have taken months. 

But the fact that agreements can still be reached gives officials hope on both sides of the Atlantic, regardless of what happens at the ballot box. As a consensus-driven organization, NATO has been able to overcome opposition from governments like Hungary, Turkey, and Slovakia to defend Ukraine and expand the alliance – and they retain hope that no one member state can singlehandedly drive the agenda.

Former President Donald Trump has again claimed he has “nothing to do with” Project 2025 and said Democrats are “having a field day, however, trying to hook me into whatever policies are stated or said.” 

At least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025, a CNN review has found.

What it is: Project 2025 — widely viewed by conservatives as a blueprint for Trump’s potential second-term transition — is run by several former Trump administration officials and includes many policy priorities that are aligned with those of the former president, especially relating to a crackdown on immigration and a purge of the federal bureaucracy by making it easier to dismiss civil servants and career officials.

But it also includes controversial proposals Trump has not discussed, including banning pornography, reversing federal approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, excluding the morning-after pill and men’s contraceptives from coverage mandated under the Affordable Care Act, and making it harder for transgender adults to transition. 

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a meeting of the heads of state of the North Atlantic Council at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 10 in Washington, DC.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to address world leaders at the NATO summit in Washington, DC, in a solo news conference on Thursday.

The remarks are expected to be closely watched, marking another high-stakes moment for the president to show off his skill in answering questions in an unscripted setting.

The appearance will come at the conclusion of the critical summit, where foreign diplomats will have a front-row seat to observe his ability to lead on the global stage.

Biden lags behind his most recent predecessors for the number of formal news conferences he has held throughout his presidency.

It will be the 37th press conference and 15th solo press conference since he took office. It marks his first solo press conference since November 2023. He has held three press conferences so far this year, all alongside another world leader. Biden’s most recent formal press conference was with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in June. 

Former presidents’ remarks: Former President Donald Trump, by contrast, held 88 press conferences overall during his presidency, and at the same point in his presidency, he had held 64 press conferences, 16 of which were solo, per an analysis of University of California at Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project data.

Former President Barack Obama held 163 press conferences and had held 72 at this point in his presidency, 32 of which were solo. And former President George W. Bush held 210 press conferences during his presidency, and 82 at this point in his presidency, 15 of which were solo. 

Recent presidents who had held fewer press conferences at this point include former President Ronald Reagan, at 25, and former President Richard Nixon, at 24.  

President Joe Biden arrives for the NATO summit in Washington, DC, on July 10.

A staggering 24 hours that cracked the political foundation of Joe Biden’s reelection bid leaves him facing the most high-pressure presidential news conference in modern history on Thursday.

The stakes for Biden’s solo appearance at the conclusion of the NATO summit multiplied by the hour as his political position unraveled at a dignity-sapping rate. Supporters from Congress to Hollywood warned that he needed to step aside for the sake of party and country, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a clear signal that a recalcitrant president should rethink his options.

The rebellion, joined by just a small minority of congressional Democrats but appearing to run deeper, reflects the fear now surging through Capitol Hill that ex-President Donald Trump could conjure a GOP landslide that sweeps conservatives to a monopoly on power in Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court.

Some Democrats fear that the 81-year-old Biden’s determination to run again, despite the diminished skills exposed by the debate, could endanger the very democracy that he says he’s trying to save.

The president — who was in poor political shape even before the disastrous debate — is adamant that he won’t pass the torch to a younger Democrat. But three factors could make his position untenable: a fracturing of support in his party; the drying up of fundraising; and damning polling data. As Biden greeted world leaders at the NATO summit on Wednesday and led discussions about how to save Ukraine, pieces were falling into place that could make this fateful trifecta a reality.

Nothing less than Biden’s hopes of a second term will be on the line at the news conference exactly two weeks after his incoherent and dazed debate performance sent his campaign into free fall.

Read the full analysis.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at his golf resort in Doral, Florida, on July 9.

A new poll from ABC News, The Washington Post and Ipsos finds no clear leader in the presidential race following the presidential debate, with 46% of registered voters supporting each candidate. The finding is largely unchanged from a previous ABC News/Ipsos poll in April.

Trump continues to lead Biden in the CNN Poll of Polls of all national polling on the race since the presidential debate, with the new poll included, 48% in the average support Trump to 44% for Biden.

The new poll is one of two post-debate to show no clear leader in the race, CBS/YouGov also found the contest within its poll’s margin of error shortly after the debate happened, while CNN, The New York Times/Siena College and the Wall Street Journal each found Trump significantly ahead. The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll was conducted from July 5 to 9.

In the new poll, 67% of all Americans say that given his performance in the debate, Biden should step aside and let someone else run, while 56% of Democrats say the same.

A smaller, but sizable 50% of Americans say that Trump should step aside and let someone else run for president, while 47% say he should continue in the race and just 11% of Republicans feel that way. 

Trump is more often seen as having the physical health and the mental sharpness to serve effectively as president: 44% say Trump has the physical health needed compared with 13% who say Biden does, and 44% say Trump has the mental sharpness needed while 14% say Biden does. About four in 10 Americans say neither does on both questions.

Former President 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,” he 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 published by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation. 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.

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 to “Mandate for Leadership,” the project’s extensive manifesto for overhauling the executive branch.

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.

Overall, CNN found nearly 240 people with ties to both Project 2025 and to Trump, covering nearly every aspect of his time in politics and the White House.

The extensive overlap between Project 2025 and Trump’s universe of allies, advisers and former staff complicates his efforts to distance himself from the work. Trump’s campaign has sought for months to make clear that Project 2025 doesn’t speak for them amid an intensifying push by President Joe Biden and Democrats to tie the Republican standard bearer to the playbook’s more controversial policies.

Read more about CNN’s findings.

Many anxious Democrats who have been holding their breath and waiting to see what happens to President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign have been stunned by the past few days.

One widely shared view had been that everything was likely to come to a head after this week’s NATO conference that the US is hosting just blocks away from the White House. Instead, a series of devastating headlines have come out in rapid succession as Biden has been juggling various engagements on the global stage.

Here’s what’s happened in recent days:

Trouble may continue.

When Biden heads to Michigan on Friday, swing-district Rep. Elissa Slotkin will not be appearing alongside him. And Slotkin declined to say Wednesday night whether she still supported him.