Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July! I’m catching some rays from the “free state of Florida” this weekend. I’ve had so much fun authoring the newsletter this week. You can find me over at TheHill.com and various other newsletters you should be subscribing to, including Campaign Report and Evening Report.
Coming up in today’s newsletter:
The stage is set for what could be the biggest interview of President Biden’s political career. The U.K.’s Labour Party had a stunning election sweep this week, setting the stage for Keir Starmer to become prime minister. The Arizona race for an open House seat just keeps getting weirder.
I’m Elizabeth Crisp with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. Cate will be back in your inboxes on Monday. |
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Biden faces make-or-break moment: |
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President Biden is facing a critical point for his presidential campaign: An ultra-high-stakes, nationally televised interview and two campaign events in crucial swing states on the heels of last week’s disastrous debate performance against rival former President Trump that has fueled chatter he should abandon his reelection bid altogether.
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos’s exclusive interview with Biden will air “in its entirety as a primetime special” tonight at 8 p.m., with a preview to air on “World News Tonight with David Muir” at 6:30 p.m.
ABC News plans to release a full transcript of the unedited interview Friday, which Biden is expected to record in Wisconsin after a campaign event in Madison and before he heads to Delaware for the weekend. In the days since last week’s debate, Biden, 81, and his allies have sought to tamp down concerns about his ability to win and serve another four-year term. Biden’s often confusing responses and bewildered appearance at the debate boosted chatter about his age and health for the job.
Trump, who is suing Stephanopoulos as part of a defamation case over a report on Trump’s legal issues, slammed the ABC anchor as “the meanest and most vicious Interviewer out there” ahead of the Biden interview.
Will it be enough?: Biden continues to face scrutiny as he tries to course-correct. This week, he mangled a talking point about his record of serving with the first Black president and the first Black vice president, who also happens to be the first female vice president. Here’s how it came out during an interview with Philadelphia’s WURD radio station: “By the way, I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first Black woman… to serve with a Black president.”
Keeping family close: Biden spent the weekend after the debate at Camp David with his family, including first lady Jill Biden and son, Hunter Biden, who was recently convicted on federal gun charges. The Hill’s Alex Gangitano has more insight into how the president is leaning on his tight-knit clan amid the debate fallout.
The Wall Street Journal’s headline here: “Jill Biden’s Dilemma: Is Pressing Ahead Still the Loving Thing to Do?” |
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© Andrew Caballero-Reynolds,AFP via Getty Images; Justin Sullivan, Getty Images |
Trump is already looking to the next presidential debate, suggesting it should be “no holds barred,” as in, “just the two of us on stage, talking about the future of our Country.”
“The ratings were massive for the First Debate, record setting, in fact, but this one, because of the format, would blow everything away!” he wrote on Truth Social late Thursday evening. |
🔹 Olivia Nuzzi at New York Magazine had an explosive story over the July 4 holiday (and apparently months in the making) that gives more insight into what people around Biden have been privately whispering about his reelection bid.
Eye-popping excerpt: “In January, I began hearing similar stories from Democratic officials, activists, and donors. All people who supported the president and were working to help reelect him to a second term in office. Following encounters with the president, they had arrived at the same concern: Could he really do this for another four years? Could he even make it to Election Day?”
🔹 CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a brain surgeon and medical expert, has called for Biden to undergo cognitive and neurological testing, citing his “concerning” debate performance. Gupta said he had been consulting with other medical colleagues who found Biden’s quirks were not “necessarily new but that it was particularly pronounced, and right from the start of the debate.”
“From a neurological standpoint, we were concerned with his confused rambling; sudden loss of concentration in the middle of a sentence; halting speech and absence of facial animation, resulting at times in a flat, open-mouthed expression,” Gupta wrote in a piece published Friday. (Read more)
🔹 Consultant Myra Adams, who worked on the creative teams of two Republican presidential campaigns, wrote in an op-ed for The Hill that both Trump and Biden could pose national security problems. |
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UK sees changing of the guard after Labour victory: |
Delivering Conservatives their worst defeat in the party’s nearly 200-year history, Britain’s Labour Party has swept into power after a landslide victory in this week’s elections. Under a new prime minister, Labour faces a daunting task after spending 14 years in the minority.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, 61, is taking over as prime minister as government confidence has sagged. Labour won 412 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, while the Conservatives claimed just 121 in Thursday’s general election. (BBC)
Rishi Sunak, the Conservative leader who called the surprise election six weeks ago hoping for a summer advantage, quickly resigned as prime minister after the embarrassing showing. He said he would also step down as Conservative leader once a successor is chosen. “This is a difficult day, but I leave this job honored to have been prime minister of the best country in the world,” Sunak said in his farewell address outside 10 Downing St.
➡️ More on what Labour’s ascent means here from The New York Times.
📸 King Charles III welcoming Starmer to Buckingham Palace. |
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Menendez closing arguments likely next week:
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Sen. Bob Menendez‘s bribery trial is coming to an end, after his defense team rested without the New Jersey Democrat taking the stand to field questions about the allegations that he traded political favors for cash and gold.
Closing arguments could begin as early as Monday, wrapping up the months-long ordeal that has embroiled Menendez, 70. He has denied any wrongdoing but has faced calls even from within his own party to step down.
Menendez defended his decision not to take the stand, telling reporters outside the courthouse Wednesday: “From my perspective, the government has failed to prove every aspect of its case.” “I expect my lawyers will produce a powerful and convincing summation, deduce how the evidence came out, and where they failed across the board, and how the jury will render a verdict of not guilty,” he added. Earlier in the week, Judge Sidney Stein chided Menendez’s attorneys, without the jury present, after defense witnesses testified about the senator’s penchant for hoarding money because of his Cuban roots. “I said, don’t make this a soap opera. You’re not only making it a soap opera, you’re making it a bad soap opera,” Stein said Monday. |
GOP congressional campaign takes another turn in Arizona: |
The drama in a tense Arizona race for a coveted House vacancy just won’t end.
Politico first reported, citing an unnamed source, that former President Trump‘s campaign manager Susie Wiles has urged Arizona congressional candidate Blake Masters‘s team to stop implying he has Trump’s endorsement in the race. Trump endorsed Masters’s opponent, former military intelligence officer and attorney Abe Hamadeh, back in December.
Reading the fine print: Masters’s ads have leaned heavily on lines like, “President Trump endorsed Blake Masters in his Senate campaign” and photos of the two men together. Trump did back Masters in his failed 2022 Senate campaign, but not in his House race.
Masters and Hamadeh are facing off in a six-way primary to replace GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko, who opted against seeking reelection this year because “Washington, D.C. is broken.”
Where it gets twistier: Masters is an ally and longtime friend of Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican who is thought to be on Trump’s VP shortlist. Vance endorsed Masters’s congressional bid about two months ahead of Trump’s endorsement of Hamadeh.
That’s not all: Don’t forget that this is also an office being sought by ex-Rep. Trent Franks, the Republican who resigned from the seat in 2017 as two female staffers alleged he offered them millions of dollars in exchange for carrying his child. His resignation left an opening for Lesko to fill in a special election.
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Checking in on patriotism… |
The Fourth of July always brings about renumerations on patriotism, particularly in big election years. Here’s a pulse check on how Americans are feeling this time around…
✨ Proud to be an American? It seems that could depend on your political party, based on polling analysis from The Washington Post.
✨ A Gallup poll out this week found that, overall, extreme pride in being an American remains at a near record low (The Hill) ✨ Writer Justice Brown penned this op-ed for Teen Vogue on what being a patriot means to this generation: “Does the Word ‘Patriotism’ Give You the Ick? You can redefine it.“ |
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👙 It’s National Bikini Day! As mentioned above, I’m on the beach in Florida so I am celebrating accordingly.
🎥 The Real Housewives of Potomac ladies are filming in Panama. (Photos)
🗽️ In light of last week’s presidential debate and the Independence Day holiday, this video of the late comedian George Carlin ranting about politicians and the virtues of voting (or not) has been making the rounds again on social media. Watch here
⏱️ Back in time: This week marked the 39th anniversary of the iconic film “Back to the Future.” Here are some fun facts about the whole trilogy to enjoy.
🍷 Some D.C. restaurateurs are feeling the love this week from Wine Spectator. You know the old downtown standbys: Charlie Palmer, Joe’s, Sushi Nakazawa, The Capital Grille. But here’s a list that goes beyond the Northwest quad to hopefully open foodies’ eyes to more that The District has to offer.
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The House and Senate are wrapping up the holiday break away from D.C. President Biden is in Wisconsin, and Vice President Harris is traveling to New Orleans. (all times Eastern) |
2:15 p.m.: President Biden will hold a campaign event in Madison, Wis. 5:25 p.m.: Biden is scheduled to leave Wisconsin en route to Wilmington, Del.
7:05 p.m.: Biden is scheduled to land in Delaware. 8 p.m.: ABC News’s exclusive interview with Biden will air “in its entirety.”
Coming up: Vice President Harris will take part in the 30th annual ESSENCE Festival of Culture this weekend in New Orleans. Sunday: Biden’s heading to Philadelphia.
Next week: The House returns to D.C. from its holiday recess Monday, with much to discuss. The Senate is back Tuesday. Tuesday: Former President Trump will hold a campaign rally in Doral, Fla., home to his Miami-area golf club.
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