Biden calls Kamala Harris ‘Vice President Trump’ at press conference hours after calling Zelensky ‘President Putin’: Live updates

Joe Biden referred to his running mate Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” during the first question from reporters at his high-stakes press conference after the Nato Summit in Washington.

The president made it through the first scripted portion of his address on Thursday relatively smoothly, though slipped up after he was asked about Harris’ ability to govern should she take over the top of the ticket in his stead.

“I wouldn’t have picked vice president Trump...” he said, without correcting himself.

The address was seen by some as a make-or-break moment for Biden, and comes as the president attempts to play down concerns about his age and capabilities following his disastrous presidential debate against Donald Trump last month.

So far 14 members of Congress have publicly called for him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate for the 2024 election.

Shortly before the press conference, Biden made another serious gaffe, introducing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky onstage at the Nato Summit as “president Putin”.

Key Points

• Biden confuses Kamala Harris... for Trump

• Trump mocks Biden slip-up on Truth Social

• The 15 House and Senate Democrats who say Biden needs to step aside

• Pelosi evasive on Biden’s future: ‘Whatever he decides, we go with’

• Two-thirds of Americans believe Biden should step aside, new poll finds

• Congressional leaders privately suggest they’re open to new Democratic ticket

Eric Trump blasts Biden’s presser performance

02:15 , Mike Bedigan

Biden press conference whispers return

01:55 , Mike Bedigan

x.com

Biden finds burst of angry energy

01:45 , Mike Bedigan

After fairly steady answers to questions from reporters, Joe Biden displayed a random burst of energy.

“I’m going to be going around and making the case for things that we have to finish. Control guns not girls,” he said, in response to a reporter question.

Then, becoming visibly and audibly angry he added: “More children are killed by a bullet than any other cause of death. In the United States of America. What are we doing?”

In 2020, firearm-related injuries surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death among US children and adolescents, according to previous analysis from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What will people remember from Biden address?

01:35 , Mike Bedigan

Biden hits out at Trump: ‘Where’s he been?'

01:25 , Mike Bedigan

Joe Biden hit out at Donald Trump, after being asked about his “limits” that he reportedly acknowledged – including needing to end his working day by 8pm.

After acknowledging his “stupid mistake” during the debate, he said: :My schedule has been full. Where has Trump been? Riding around in his golf cart, filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball. Look, he’s done virtually nothing.”

Trump mocks Biden slip-up on Truth Social

01:15 , Mike Bedigan

Donald Trump mocked Joe Biden’s slip up at his “Big Boy” press conference on Thursday, in which the president referred to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump”.

“Great job, Joe!” he wrote.

Biden laughs at several questions from reporters

Friday 12 July 2024 00:50 , Mike Bedigan

Joe Biden laughed at several questions from reporters that concerned his mental capacity.

The first question concerned a gaffe made shortly before the high stakes press conference on Thursday evening, where he introduced Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky onstage at the Nato Summit as “president Putin”.

Biden chuckled before responding.

Later, he laughed again in response to a question over reports he wanted to finish his working day earlier and be in bed by 8pm.

“That’s not true,” he said.

Watch the Harris/ Trump mix up

Friday 12 July 2024 00:45 , Mike Bedigan

Biden confuses Kamala Harris... for Trump

Friday 12 July 2024 00:40 , Mike Bedigan

Facing his first question from reporters, Biden appeared to confuse vice president Kamala Harris, with his political rival Donald Trump.

Asked if he had any concerns about Harris’ ability to rule should she take over the race in his stead, he replied: “I wouldn’t have picked vice president Trump...” before quickly correcting himself.

He continued: “The fact it is I think I am the right person to run for president. I beat [Trump] once and I’ll beat him again.”

Biden makes it through scripted remarks with few stumbles

Friday 12 July 2024 00:36 , Mike Bedigan

Joe Biden made it through the first portion of his Nato Summit address relatively smoothly, despite high levels of scrutiny.

The president coughed several times, but was coherent with his words as he spoke of the US committment to Ukraine and its ongoing battle with Russia.

He will now face questions from reporters.

Biden begins high-stakes press conference at Nato summit

Friday 12 July 2024 00:28 , Mike Bedigan

Joe Biden is speaking in his first press conference in eight months, in a high-stakes appearance at the Nato Summit in Washington as he attempts to claw back support from skeptical members of the Democratic party.

The address is being seen by some as make-or-break, and comes as the president continues to attempt to play down concerns about his age and capability, following his disastrous presidential debate against Donald Trump last month.

Biden was scheduled to begin at 6.30pm eastern, but the president did not take to the stage until around an hour later.

Moments before the news conference, Biden made yet another serious gaffe, introducing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky onstage at the Nato Summit as “president Putin”.

World waits for Biden. Trump posts about his shoes.

Friday 12 July 2024 00:21 , Mike Bedigan

How to watch president Biden’s high stakes press conference

Friday 12 July 2024 00:11 , Mike Bedigan

You can watch live coverage of Joe Biden’s high stakes press conference here:

Live: President Biden holds a solo, unscripted news conference at NATO summit

Biden press conference delayed by over 30 minutes

Friday 12 July 2024 00:08 , Mike Bedigan

President Joe Biden’s high stakes press conference has been delayed by over 30 minutes.

The address at the Nato Summit on Thursday evening was originally scheduled to start at 6.30pm eastern.

By 7.07pm the president had still not appeared. The reason for the delay was not immediately clear.

Watch: Biden mistakenly calls Zelensky ‘Putin’ while introducing him at NATO summit

Friday 12 July 2024 00:00 , Mike Bedigan

Biden mistakenly calls Zelensky ‘Putin’ while introducing him at NATO summit

X users react to Biden’s ‘president Putin’ gaffe

Thursday 11 July 2024 23:46 , Mike Bedigan

Obama adviser claims Biden trying to ‘run out the clock’ so it’s too late to change the nominee

Thursday 11 July 2024 23:20 , Oliver O'Connell

A former advisor to Barack Obama has claimed that President Joe Biden is trying to “run out the clock” so it winds up being too late to nominate a new candidate to replace him on the Democratic ticket.

Quite a statement.

James Liddell reports.

Obama adviser claims Biden is trying to ‘run out the clock’ on changing nominee

Full story: Biden introduces Ukrainian leader Zelensky as Putin in latest gaffe

Thursday 11 July 2024 23:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Moments before a high-stakes press conference to allay fears about his capacity as president, Joe Biden made another serious gaffe, introducing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky as “president Putin”.

Mike Bedigan watched.

Biden introduces Ukrainian leader Zelensky as Putin in latest gaffe

Which Senator publicly called for Biden to step aside

Thursday 11 July 2024 23:10 , Mike Bedigan

Vermont’s Peter Welch has become the first Democratic senator to call for Joe Bidento step down as the party’s presidential nominee, saying that the stakes “could not be higher.”

In an op-ed, published on Wednesday in the Washington Post, Welch said that “valid questions” raised following the president’s diastrous debate performance could not be “ignored or dismissed.”

He will doubtless be watching closely tonight.

Peter Welch becomes first Democratic senator to publicly call for Biden to step down

Melania Trump to reportedly attend GOP convention

Thursday 11 July 2024 23:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Former first lady Melania Trump will reportedly attend next week’s Republican National Convention in Wisconsin, according to CNN, citing two sources familiar with her plans.

Josh Marcus reports.

Melania Trump to attend Republican convention in Milwaukee in rare public appearance

Trump files immunity motion to vacate New York hush money conviction

Thursday 11 July 2024 23:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump and his legal team have filed a motion to vacate the conviction in his New York hush money trial following the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity for official acts.

“Because of the implications for the institution of the Presidency, the use of official-acts evidence was a structural error under the federal Constitution that tainted the [Manhattan District Attorney’s] grand jury proceedings as well as the trial.”

Trump argues that his communications with his White House aides violated the SCOTUS ruling.

Democrats go all in against Project 2025 and Trump’s link to plan

Thursday 11 July 2024 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Democrats are pressing ahead in an uncertain political moment and seizing what they see as an opportunity: Donald Trump’s attempt to distance himself from a blueprint for a narrowing of the federal government that would eliminate major agencies like the Department of Education.

With president Joe Biden vowing to stay in the race amid calls from his own party to quit and the Republican nominating convention on the calendar next week, Democrats are sharpening a line of attack against a policy agenda laid out by conservative groups and personalities including many with direct ties to Trump’s first term in the White House.

John Bowden explains.

Democrats launch bid to link Trump to far-right ‘Project 2025’ plan

Watch: Biden accidentally introduces Zelensky as Putin

Thursday 11 July 2024 22:52 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden introduces Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky as President Putin.

Biden quickly caught himself and said they were going to beat Putin.

Why AOC is behind Biden — while Nancy Pelosi is not

Thursday 11 July 2024 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are perhaps the two most well-known Democratic members of Congress. Along with Vice President Kamala Harris, they are arguably the most well-known Democratic women in Washington.

Since Democrats have split on whether President Joe Biden should step aside after his debacle of a debate performance, the two have taken divergent approaches. Ocasio-Cortez has firmly stood behind Biden despite his performance. Pelosi is the one who’s been more equivocal.

Eric Garcia reports.

Why AOC is behind Biden — while Nancy Pelosi is not

Rep Marie Gluesenkamp Perez suggests Biden should resign

Thursday 11 July 2024 22:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Democratic Rep Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington has raised her concerns about President Joe Biden's age and capabilities implying that he should resign from office and drop out of the 2024 presidential race — though she stopped short of directly saying so.

“I’ve spent the past two weeks listening to my constituents express their concerns about the President’s age and health. Like most people I represent in Southwest Washington, I doubt the President’s judgment about his health, his fitness to do the job, and whether he is the one making important decisions about our country, rather than unelected advisors,” she wrote in an email to NBC affiliate KGW.

“Americans deserve to feel their president is fit enough to do the job. The crisis of confidence in the President’s leadership needs to come to an end. The President should do what he knows is right for the country and put the national interest first.”

Top Democrat: ‘This is going to get worse'

Thursday 11 July 2024 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Per CNN:

“There’s this general sense of just, unbelievable holding your breath every time he does an event, every time he’s with people,” one top Democrat in close touch with Biden’s inner circle of advisers told CNN. This person added that some of those advisers have privately acknowledged: “This is going to get worse.”

That Democrat was blunt about how the president’s closest advisers have responded to any criticism or concerns expressed about the president – including his age and fitness: “Everyone who expresses any level of suspicion or contrary views? They call everyone and they beat the s*** out of them and say: ‘Stay on message.’”

Inside the fallout at ABC News over George Stephanopoulos’ comments on Biden

Thursday 11 July 2024 22:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Strolling down a New York City street sporting a T-shirt and shorts, George Stephanopoulos uttered nine words which he appeared to quickly regret.

“Do you think Biden should step down? You’ve talked to him more than anyone else has lately... you can be honest,” a pedestrian asked the off-duty ABC News anchor.

James Liddell has the story of what was said next and the fallout...

Inside the fallout at ABC News over George Stephanopoulos’ comments on Biden

‘Head-to-head matchups’ of Harris against Trump, being tested by Biden campaign

Thursday 11 July 2024 22:05 , Oliver O'Connell

The Biden campaign is reportedly test-polling head-to-head matchups between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump as the president struggles to shore up support for his re-election bid.

The survey comes as President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure to step aside as the party’s nominee following his dismal debate performance on June 27 in Atlanta, where he repeatedly lost his train of thought and stumbled over words. Biden is set to hold a highly anticipated press conference at the end of the NATO summit in Washington on Thursday night, a critical appearance as he hopes to quell concerns about his health and show that the debate was nothing more than one bad night.

The poll is being quietly conducted this week and was commissioned by the campaign’s analytics team, according toThe New York Times. The Independent has contacted the Biden campaign for comment.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Biden campaign tests ‘head-to-head matchups’ of Harris against Trump

Trump campaign debuts how they’ll run against a Biden replacement

Thursday 11 July 2024 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

In today’s Trump campaign Palm Beach Playbook, the Trump campaign offered a glimpse of how they might run against any replacement candidate of President Joe Biden, should he step aside.

Here’s what they wrote:

So the scale of panic on Team Biden has reached the stage where Biden’s own campaign aides say “he needs to drop out.” What’s astonishing is that it took 3 and half years for Democrats and the mainstream media to admit publicly what we’ve all known – Joe Biden is unfit for office.

The ultimate problem for Democrats, though, is that they have no real alternative. President Trump will win in a landslide no matter who they put up. Each of the Democrats being discussed has the same failed Biden-agenda and is complicit in the cover-up of Biden’s decline, which has severely threatened our national security.

For those reasons and more, they should all be considered unfit for office, whether it be Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or someone else.

One of Biden’s earliest 2020 supporters say time for him to step aside

Thursday 11 July 2024 21:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Democrat Congressman Greg Stanton, who represents Arizona’s 4th district and was formerly the mayor of Phoenix, adds his name to the roster of lawmakers calling on Joe Biden to step aside for a younger generation of candidate.

He wrote on X: “I was one of President Biden's earliest supporters in 2020, and I'm proud of the progress we've made for Arizona.

“However the stakes in this election could not be higher. For our country's sake, it is time for the President to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.”

Read his full statement here:

California rep says he’s ‘all-in’ for Kamala ‘if/when’ Biden passes torch

Thursday 11 July 2024 21:25 , Oliver O'Connell

California Rep Jared Huffman tweets: “VP Harris is on fire. She's vetted, tested, and has been Democrats' strongest messenger throughout this campaign. She's next up if we need her, and we might.”

He adds: “Let me be very clear: if/when President Biden passes the torch, I'm all-in for Kamala Harris!”

Another House Democrat joins calls for Biden to drop out

Thursday 11 July 2024 21:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Hawaii Democrat Rep Ed Case of Hawaii is the twelfth House Democrat to call on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race as the party’s candidate, John Parkinson of ABC News reports.

“My guidepost is what is the best way forward for our country. I do not believe President Biden should continue his candidacy for re-election as President,” Case says.

Watch: Harris says Trump makes America weak by bowing to dictators

Thursday 11 July 2024 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

New York Times editorial board declares Donald Trump ‘unfit to lead’

Thursday 11 July 2024 20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is “dangerous” and “unfit to lead” the country, the New York Times editorial board argued in a scathing, multi-part article ahead of next week’s GOP convention.

“He has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people,” the article on Thursday argued. “Instead of a cogent vision for the country’s future, Mr. Trump is animated by a thirst for political power: to use the levers of government to advance his interests, satisfy his impulses and exact retribution against those who he thinks have wronged him.”

Josh Marcus reports as we all await the response from Mar-a-Lago... 🫣

New York Times editorial board declares Donald Trump ‘unfit to lead’

Don Jr to speak before Trump VP pick at RNC, report says

Thursday 11 July 2024 20:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump Jr is set to speak before his father’s choice for vice president as his running mate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday next week, according to reporting by Axios.

The significance of this is that it may indicate that Donald Trump is about to choose Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his choice given that his eldest son has been a booster of Vance over other favorite contenders North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

Here’s Don Jr posting about Vance just yesterday:

Watch: Minority leader Jeffries say Democrats will win back control of House

Thursday 11 July 2024 20:25 , Oliver O'Connell

After saying Clooney has ‘valid point’, Michael Douglas admits it’s ‘hard to imagine’ Biden in a second term

Thursday 11 July 2024 20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Michael Douglas said that it’s “hard” for him to imagine Joe Biden serving another term in office after he praised George Clooney for making a “valid point” in his scathing op-ed in The New York Times, calling for the president to stand down.

The 79-year-old Hollywood actor voiced his concerns over Biden’s re-election bid while on the red carpet at the premiere of his upcoming documentary America’s Burning in New York City. It marks a complete U-turn from his formerly staunch support of the president — including hosting a fundraiser for Biden in April.

James Liddell and Joe Sommerlad report.

Michael Douglas admits it’s ‘hard to imagine’ Biden in a second term

What happened inside the meeting between Senate Democrats and the Biden campaign?

Thursday 11 July 2024 20:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Desiderio of Punchbowl News tweeted out what Senate Democrats told him of their closed-door meeting with Biden campaign officials.

“A significant majority of the Democratic senators feel that the president’s not going to be able to win.”

Watch: As NATO summit draws to an end Biden campaign slams Trump in new ad

Thursday 11 July 2024 20:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Jon Stewart accuses Biden of being ‘Trumpian’

Thursday 11 July 2024 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Daily Show host Jon Stewart has accused President Joe Biden of being “Trumpian” by refusing to even discuss the possibility of giving up the Democratic presidential nomination after his dismal debate performance last month in Atlanta.

On his podcast The Weekly Show, Stewart slammed Biden during a conversation with former Obama aides and Pod Save America hosts Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor as well as CNN commentator and former member of the South Carolina statehouse Bakari Sellers.

While Stewart hasn’t explicitly called for Biden to step aside, he criticized the president for not being open for discussion on the matter.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Jon Stewart accuses Biden of being ‘Trumpian’ by refusing to discuss criticism

Illinois congressman joins calls for Biden to step aside

Thursday 11 July 2024 19:56 , Oliver O'Connell

Representative Brad Schneider of Illinois, a leading New Democrats member, says Joe Biden should “heroically pass the torch to a new generation of leadership”.

In a statement, before listing Biden’s accomplishments, he writes: “If the history books were to be closed today, he would unquestionably be recorded as one of our great presidents.”

“I fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance.”

Who could replace Biden?

Thursday 11 July 2024 19:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Biden’s presidential debate performance has Democrats in crisis talks and some are openly fretting about whether to replace a sitting incumbent president who breezed through the primaries all but unchallenged.

John Bowden reports for The Independent from Washington, DC.

Who could replace Joe Biden? Debate performance has Democrats in crisis talks

New poll: Trump holds leads over Biden as both candidates described as ‘embarrassing’

Thursday 11 July 2024 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The latest poll by Pew Research has Donald Trump holding a four per cent lead over Joe Biden among registered voters 44 per cent to 40 per cent, with Robert F Kennedy Jr taking 15 per cent. Head-to-head, Trump leads Biden 50-47 per cent.

The poll of 9,424 adults – including 7,729 registered voters – was conducted from July 1-7, 2024.

Voters’ doubts about Biden’s mental sharpness, while not new, have become the subject of intense focus following the debate.

Only about a quarter of voters (24 per cent) say the phrase “mentally sharp” describes Biden very or fairly well; more than twice as many (58 per cent) describe Trump as mentally sharp. The share of voters describing Biden as mentally sharp has declined 6 points since January and is considerably lower than it was in 2020.

And nearly seven-in-ten voters (68 per cent) say they are not satisfied with their choices for president.

Other findings:

• Most voters describe Trump as “mean-spirited.” Trump trails Biden on honesty and, by a narrower margin, on empathy. And about twice as many voters describe Trump as mean-spirited (64 per cent) as say that about Biden (31 per cent).

• Majorities of voters describe both Biden and Trump as “embarrassing,” with identical shares (63 per cent each) saying this about each candidate. A third or more of each candidate’s supporters – 37 per cent of Biden supporters and 33 per cent of Trump supporters – say their own candidate is embarrassing.

• Currently, 53 per cent favor replacing Biden and Trump with different candidates, up from 49 per cent in April.

  In April, a smaller majority of Biden supporters (62 per cent) favored replacing both Biden and Trump.

• Currently, 71 per cent of Biden supporters say that if they had the ability to decide the major party candidates for the 2024 election, they would replace both Biden and Trump. Roughly a quarter (23 per cent) say they would keep Biden and replace Trump, while smaller shares would keep Trump and replace Biden (2 per cent) or keep both candidates (3 per cent).

• Among Trump supporters, by contrast, the share who would replace both candidates has declined, from 35 per cent to 26 per cent. The share who want to keep both candidates on the ballot has risen from 27 per cent to 39 per cent.

Congressional leaders privately suggest they’re open to new Democratic ticket

Thursday 11 July 2024 19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are both making moves behind the scenes as President Joe Biden remains in damage control mode following his disastrous debate on June 27.

While Schumer has signaled to donors that he’s open to a ticket not topped by Biden, Pelosi is privately urging swing seat Democrats to do whatever they have to do to save their jobs, even if that means publicly calling for Biden to step aside.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

Congressional leaders privately suggest they’re open to new ticket

VP hopeful Doug Burgum’s near-total abortion ban is ‘an issue’, Trump admits

Thursday 11 July 2024 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump raised concerns about one of his vice presidential contenders’ rigid abortion record – something the Republican Party has softened its stance on as reproductive rights become a concern for voters.

Wednesday evening, Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade asked the presumptive Republican nominee if North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s decision to pass a strict abortion ban in his state posed an issue for him.

Ariana Baio has the story.

Trump admits VP hopeful Doug Burgum’s near-total abortion ban is ‘an issue’

Biden not senile insists Keir Starmer as calls grow for US president to quit race

Thursday 11 July 2024 18:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that Joe Biden is not senile as he jumped to the defense of the beleaguered US president amid growing calls for him to step aside as the Democrats’ candidate in November.

The new British prime minister had his first bilateral with the president in the White House on Wednesday in what proved to be a friendly meeting of political allies which both sides hope will mend the damage done to the special relationship by Brexit.

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports.

Joe Biden not senile insists Keir Starmer as calls grow for US president to quit race

Breaking: Biden aides discussing how to pitch him on standing aside

Thursday 11 July 2024 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC:

A small group of President Joe Biden’s closest aides and confidantes have begun to huddle for closely-held discussions on how best to convince him to be the first American president to stand down from seeking a second term since Lyndon Johnson bowed out of the 1968 presidential race amid the tumult of the Vietnam War.

The select cadre of Biden advisers — some from the president’s campaign and some from within his White House staff — have been brainstorming what the strongest possible arguments and pitches would be for the purpose of selling the famously-stubborn 81-year-old chief executive on passing the torch to another candidate who would take up the Democratic Party’s fight against Donald Trump in the November general election.

Continue reading...

Biden aides discussing how to pitch him on standing aside

Biden and Zelensky meet on sidelines of NATO summit

Thursday 11 July 2024 18:25 , Oliver O'Connell

When was Trump’s hush money sentencing rescheduled to?

Thursday 11 July 2024 18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump was supposed to be sitting in a criminal courtroom in Manhattan on July 11, at the table where he spent more than 20 days hearing evidence and witness testimony against him during his hush money trial.

But instead, the former president is back on the campaign trail, after his attorneys convinced the judge presiding over the case to delay his sentencing...

Alex Woodward explains how that happened and when it will now take place.

When is Donald Trump’s sentencing on criminal charges in his hush money trial?

How to watch Biden’s news conference as he tries to quiet doubts after his poor debate

Thursday 11 July 2024 18:09 , AP

When is the news conference?

Preisdent Joe Biden is scheduled to take questions from the White House press corps at 6.30pm ET. It had initially been slated for 5.30pm, but the White House moved the time to an hour later.

Where is Biden speaking?

Biden will be speaking from the Walter E Washington Convention Center, a short distance from the White House, where many events of the ongoing NATO summit are being held.

What channel is carrying it?

The White House streams much of its live content. Given the attention on this event, television networks could also break away from programming to carry Biden’s remarks live once he starts speaking.

Who will be watching?

Probably a lot of people.

CNN reported that 51 million people watched the Atlanta debate, which was in primetime, while more than 8 million people tuned in to watch Biden’s ABC interview live. If networks break into their daily coverage or cable channels carry it live, that will guarantee a significant number of eyes on Biden.

Will Biden know the questions ahead of time?

Aside from some apparent exceptions — like incidents in which two Black radio hosts said Biden’s campaign sent them planned questions ahead of time — it’s not standard practice for the president to know precisely what will come up during interviews or news conferences.

His aides prepare him for a host of possibilities based off the headlines of the day, so they’re prepping him for the likelihood that journalists will want to ask about his fitness for office, the NATO summit or other topics.

How many questions will he take?

That’s not set in stone, and there’s not a ton of precedent.

Biden hasn’t held very many news conferences that aren’t tied to a foreign leader’s visit or trips abroad. Typically, those are what’s known in the business as a “2+2,” meaning two reporters from the U.S. and two foreign reporters ask questions.

What’s up next?

Biden returns to the campaign trail with a trip to Michigan Friday. He will also do an interview with NBC on Monday.

The Independent will live-stream the press conference this evening on this blog and our YouTube channel.

Stay tuned for the latest updates.

Boebert laughed at on the House floor as she’s fact-checked by EPA head

Thursday 11 July 2024 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Firebrand Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert Lauren Boebert was laughed at by the head of the EPA during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday after seemingly misunderstanding a recent Supreme Court’s decision that aims to limit federal agencies’ authority.

Michael Regan, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, gave Boebert a befuddled look when she asked him if the federal agency would continue enabling “rouge bureaucrats to enact unconstitutional regulations” even after the court’s decision that ended the 40-year run of the so-called Chevron standard.

“Do you understand the ruling?” Regan asked the Colorado rep, calling her question “ill-formed.”

Ariana Baio reports on the embarrassing moment.

Lauren Boebert laughed at during House hearing with EPA head

Clooney gave Obama heads up on damning Biden op-ed

Thursday 11 July 2024 17:40 , Oliver O'Connell

...and he “didn’t object to it”. 😬

In the damning op-ed, Clooney wrote on Wednesday that “the one battle” Biden “cannot win is the fight against time,” as he pushed Democratic leaders to face the music and stop telling the public everything is fine.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.

Clooney gave Obama a heads-up on his damning Biden op-ed — and he ‘didn’t object’

New poll: Most Americans believe both candidates too old for second term

Thursday 11 July 2024 17:25 , Oliver O'Connell

The latest ABC News/ Washington Post/ Ipsos poll shows that the vast majority of Americans believe both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are too old to serve a second term as president.

Back in May, 68 per cent felt that way about Biden, 81, and that has risen steadily since to 85 per cent today.

For Trump, Americans seem to be catching on to the fact that he is only three years younger than the president at 78.

In May, fewer than half (44 per cent) thought Trump was too old, and that has now risen to 60 per cent.

The same poll showed two-thirds of Americans believe Biden should step aside as his party’s presumptive nominee, but in a match-up against Trump the two candidates are still neck-and-neck at 46-47 in favor of Trump but well within the margin of error.