Biden challengers speak up
President Joe Biden and his team have had a full week to run damage control on the first presidential debate that revealed the president’s glaring weaknesses and sent the Democratic Party into days of scrambling.
Biden has offered various explanations of the case for his poor performance as he has stumped around the country trying to burnish his image as a capable executive with the stamina not only to lead but to campaign. At a North Carolina event not 24 hours after he left the post-debate Waffle House appearance where he looked far more energetic than what he had shown on the stage, Biden admitted he wasn’t as good at debating as he had been in his youth.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reminded reporters several times in the last week the president had a cold, hampering his ability to speak forcefully and bringing down his energy level.
With the president showing no signs of offering to step aside in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris or anyone else, there is little anyone can do to force a change at the top of the ticket — but that hasn’t stopped some of Biden’s former challengers from piling on the criticism.
Presidential candidate and author Marianne Williamson talked with White House Reporter Naomi Lim about the disaster she saw “blow up” in the Democratic National Committee’s face after they boosted Biden.
“It was the wrong thing to do to suppress other candidates,” Williamson told Naomi of the DNC. “How can a party saying we’re working to save democracy say, except in this case, where we believe that even if democracy is so important that we need to suppress democracy?”
“The fact that this sort of blew up in their face, I think it almost was going to blow up in somebody’s face regardless of what the specific detail was because it was simply wrong,” she said. “It was not in alignment with the highest integrity. It wasn’t in alignment with democracy.”
What started as backroom whispers and anonymous quotes from representatives and senators questioning Biden’s ability to win in November has started to turn into a torrent of doubt.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (R-TX) was the first elected Democrat to go on the record with a demand for Biden to step aside earlier this week.
On Thursday, reports filtered out that Biden told a group of Democratic governors who made their way to the White House to be reassured by the president that he has admitted he needs to get more sleep and to stop scheduling events for after 8 p.m.
Click here to read more about Williamson’s and Democrats’ frustrations with the DNC.
Golden State’s debt dilemma
California is struggling to balance its budget after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) oversaw the state’s coffers go from having a $100 billion surplus to a $45 million deficit in the course of two years.
And rising debt is a problem for more than just the elected officials in Sacramento, according to Trending News Editor Heather Hamilton.
“Several California cities are leading the United States with residents facing a rise in credit card delinquencies,” Heather writes.
“A new report from WalletHub found that Chula Vista, a suburb of San Diego, has seen the greatest increase in residents struggling to pay their credit card bills, with an 85% rise in credit card delinquencies in the first quarter of 2024 when compared to the same time period one year ago.”
The cost of living is pushing people to turn to credit cards more often. And, according to the WalletHub study, “Residents of Chula Vista added the sixth-most credit card debt over the past year, along with the second-highest overall balance. Consequently, many people find it hard to pay their bills.”
Of the top 25 cities in the United States where people are struggling to pay off their credit cards, California’s San Francisco, Irvine, Santa Ana, and Long Beach all cracked the list.
Click here to read more about the credit card crisis haunting borrowers.
In case you missed it
Democratic donors are stepping up the pressure campaign on Biden to withdraw
The conclusion of Trump’s hush money trial could be a long way off
Newspapers aren’t done trying to push Biden out
In the magazine this week
Don’t forget to check out the digital Washington Examiner magazine, available online today.
Restoring America’s Economy: A Washington Examiner symposium
Free speech and Biden’s debacle
For your radar
The president will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, for a campaign event at 1:15 Central time.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will gaggle with reporters on Air Force One en route to Wisconsin
The vice president will travel to New Orleans.
Biden’s full interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos will air at 8 p.m. Eastern time. It will be the first sit-down interview Biden has given since the debate. It was originally set to air in full on Sunday, July 7.
