Happy Thursday. The Olympics are 15 days away! 🎵 Dum dum, buh dum dum dum dum. 🎵 Here’s what’s happening today:

• President Biden is holding a live, solo press conference today — and the world will be watching with bated breath.
• Now that the debate dust has settled, The Hill’s Niall Stanage examines the damage for Biden from the post debate polls.
• Former President Obama reportedly knew George Clooney’s op-ed was coming and didn’t try to stop it. 🤔
• Ayyy, consumer prices fell for the first time since the pandemic!

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-stage.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

President Biden is holding a high stakes press conference later today, and the political world is holding. Its. Breath.

Why the presser?: Biden’s conference will conclude the NATO summit in Washington. Though I do expect that most of the questions will *not* be related to the alliance.

Will Biden see the questions ahead of time?: No. The Hill’s Alex Gangitano notes that the president does not receive the questions in advance, but the White House typically preselects which news outlets will ask a question. Read Gangitano’s primer: ‘Biden to face heavy scrutiny at high-stakes press conference’

💻 Here’s the livestream link for 6:30 p.m.

Up until yesterday, Democratic senators had been voicing their serious concerns about the president’s health, but for the most part, it was in private. That was until Vermont Sen. Peter Welch (D) publicly called on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.

From Welch: “I, like folks across the country, am worried about November’s election. The stakes could not be higher. We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night,” Welch wrote.

Read Welch’s Washington Post op-ed: ‘Biden should withdraw for the good of the country’

What’s happening today: Top Biden aides are meeting with Senate Democrats today to reassure them of Biden. It’s worth noting that Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) had tried to convene a meeting on Monday to discuss Biden’s viability, but it was called off.

💡 Why this matters so much: Biden spent most of his career in the Senate — 36 years, to be exact. It’s been a safe place for him and now that cracks are forming in his support, he’s in a world of hurt politically.

^ Well, tonight’s presser is well-timed for Dems: Bloomberg’s Eric Wasson pointed out “the presser is perfectly timed to be when lawmakers are flying away from DC for a recess.”

 ^ You know that George Clooney op-ed? Obama knew it was coming …: Before actor George Clooney published his eye-catching op-ed calling for Biden (whom he has recently fundraised for) to step down, Politico reports that he gave former President Obama a heads-up.

How Obama reportedly reacted: “While Obama did not encourage or advise Clooney to say what he said, he also didn’t object to it, we’re told from people familiar with their exchange.”

💡 Why this matters: “The lack of pushback is an eye-popping revelation given that the former president was one of the first big voices defending Biden following his abysmal debate performance (while many of his former aides have been some of the incumbent’s biggest critics).”

If you haven’t read Clooney’s op-ed yet: ‘George Clooney: I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.’

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said this morning that President Biden’s campaign thinks former President Obama is behind the calls for him to drop out.

Scarborough said on ‘Morning Joe’: “One thing that we do have to underline here — just so viewers can follow what’s going on behind the scenes — is the Biden campaign and many Democratic officials do believe that Barack Obama is quietly working behind the scenes to orchestrate this.” 👀

“So now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “He’s turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are. What does Clooney know about anything?” It’s a long post, but here’s the link if you want to read it.

Now that it’s been two weeks since President Biden’s startling debate performance, recent polling shows what damage has been done to Democrats’ chances of keeping the White House.

The bottom line: Former President Trump’s chances of winning the White House in November have expanded.

The Hill’s Niall Stanage breaks down five things to know about Biden’s post-debate polls:

• “Trump’s small advantage has expanded.”
• “The battleground trend is more mixed — but, again, Trump has advantage.”
• “Doubts about Biden run deep.”
• “Historic parallels give Democrats more pause.”
• “2 big polls may be skewing perception about the scale of Trump’s lead.”

• ‘For Biden allies, the 2028 race begins now’: “Top surrogates swear they’re not interested in replacing Biden. But voters are still listening.” Politico
  
  
• ‘Here is the Democrats’ process for naming a candidate between now and Election Day.’: The New York Times
  
  
• ‘Democrats unsure whether Biden will pass key tests to stay nominee’: The Hill
  
  
• ‘Biden should provide evidence he can beat Trump, Democratic leaders say’: The Washington Post
  
  
• ‘The Night President Biden Lost George Clooney’s Support’: The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• ‘Biden faces calls to take cognitive test: Here’s how that works’: The Hill

“The consumer price index (CPI) dipped to a 3 percent annual increase in June, down from 3.3 in May with the first month of price declines since the pandemic, the Labor Department reported Thursday.”

More good news: “The CPI also dropped 0.1 percent in June, marking the second straight month of plateauing or declining prices. Economists expected an annual inflation rate of 3.1 percent, according to consensus projections.”

And *even more* good news: “The June decline also marks the third month in a row of declining annual increases in the CPI, a trend mirrored in the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, another key measure of inflation.” (The Hill)

🫐 Celebrate: Today is National Mojito Day and National Blueberry Muffin Day!

📦 It’s almost summer Black Friday!: Amazon’s Prime Day is happening next week. Here are some early deals on Apple AirPods, Nespresso coffee makers, iRobot vacuums, etc.

⁉️ Watch out for a fun quiz soon!: Think you read political news closely? Let’s see about that! Tomorrow, we’re launching The Hill’s Politics Quiz to test your knowledge of the news this week. Tune in for the link!

The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Washington, and Vice President Harris is in North Carolina today. (all times Eastern)

• 1:30 p.m.: Biden hosts a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
• 1:45 p.m.: A Senate confirmation vote. 📆 Today’s agenda
• 2 p.m.: Biden participates in a NATO working session.
• 2:30 p.m.: Harris speaks at a campaign event in Greensboro.
• 3:15 p.m.: Governors discuss political polarization and economic growth at the National Governors Association’s summer meeting. 💻 C-SPAN livestream
• 4:15 p.m.: Biden hosts an event on the Ukraine Compact. 💻 Livestream
• 4:45 p.m.: Harris returns to D.C.
• 6:30 p.m.: Biden holds a press conference. 💻 Livestream

Let’s leave this on a happy note. Watch how many people compliment this dog on the stick he’s carrying.

And because it would be rude for me not to chime in, NICE STICK!