Morning Report — No debate: Biden falters, Trump dodges

President Biden’s garbled debate performance Thursday reinforced his frailties at 81 and sent shudders of anxiety through Democrats who believe former President Trump is poised to benefit in November.

“Dump Biden” opinion pieces are everywhere this morning.

“There are no two ways about it. That was not a good debate for Joe Biden,” Kate Bedingfield, who served as Biden’s longtime communications aide, conceded on CNN.

▪ The Hill: Biden debate performance is “nightmare” for his party.

▪ USA Today: A “sense of shock”: Democrats melt down over Biden’s debate.

Democrats fear a Biden loss could take down other candidates. Some chattered online and to reporters behind the scenes Thursday night about possible emergency off-ramps. That’s an idea journalist Ezra Klein explored in February. It would be tough for Democrats to replace Biden on their ticket.

One House Democrat from a swing state told The Hill, “Biden’s team needs to convince him to withdraw and have an open convention.”

“He’s not equipped to be president,” Trump said during the debate.

In a hoarse voice that gained volume as the 90 minutes wore on, Biden attempted to draw substantive contrasts with his challenger, but his meandering points and blank expressions handed Trump ammunition to reprise his campaign theme that Biden is a “disaster” who is “destroying” the country.

The president, in turn, attacked Trump’s policies, morals, veracity and motives. He referred to his predecessor as “this guy,” said “he’s lying,” called Trump “a loser” and “a sucker” and “a convicted felon.” Biden said Trump “slept with a porn star,” referring to Stormy Daniels, the woman at the center of the former president’s New York conviction for falsifying hush money payments as business expenses.

“Number one, I didn’t sleep with a porn star,” Trump replied.

At one point, Trump boasted about his golf prowess as evidence of his fitness and health. Biden had a comeback about his own golf handicap, as if the two were scrapping in a locker room. “Let’s not act like children,” Trump admonished.

▪ The New York Times: The former president’s debate performance: relentless attacks, falsehoods.

▪ The Hill: Debate losers and winners.

▪ The Hill: Five takeaways from a pivotal presidential debate.

The former president, asked at the outset about the economy, blamed Biden for inflation, which is inaccurate but is what some Americans believe. Trump promoted his aims to make Republicans’ 2017 tax cuts permanent and use trade tariffs against China.

Losing his train of thought, Biden wobbled. “We’re going to beat Medicare,” he mistakenly said. Trump pounced: “He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death.”

The two candidates sparred over abortion and Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court overturned during Trump’s time in the White House — a decision for which he takes credit. Trump argued approvingly that abortion is now a state decision. “It’s been a terrible thing, what you’ve done,” Biden said, pinning the blame for post-Roe abortion access on Trump, and vowing to restore Roe if reelected.

Trump used the CNN moderators’ questions about foreign policy to describe a world “blowing up” because of Biden’s leadership. Trump bashed the president for sending U.S. aid and weapons to Ukraine and claimed that he would be able to end Russia’s war as president-elect if he wins.Biden, in turn, accused Trump of encouraging Russian President Vladimir Putin’s violence.

▪ The Associated Press: False claims? There were quite a few.

▪ The Washington Post: CNN’s debate moderators didn’t fact-check. Not everyone is happy about it.

▪ The New York Times: Debate fact check: Biden and Trump on the economy, immigration and foreign policy.

Trump punted when asked whether he would support a Palestinian state, but criticized Biden for trying to hold Israel back from winning the war against Hamas, saying that the president was now “like a Palestinian,” a comment seen by some Arab Americans as a slur. Biden emphasized his administration’s support for Israel and laid out his plan to end the war — which includes an eventual two-state solution.

The Hill: Biden lost his patience with Trump’s falsehoods about immigration.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY 

▪ 🏫 Public schools in Oklahoma must teach the Bible and the Ten Commandments, a top state official directed Thursday a week after Louisiana also tested boundaries between religious instruction and taxpayer-funded education. 

▪ ✈️ Boeing is in trouble again. An unidentified company executive violated rules by disclosing non-public investigative information to the media, triggering National Transportation Safety Board sanctions Thursday.

▪ 🐼 What China taketh away, it giveth back. Panda diplomacy has been revived and  two giant pandas are winging their way to the San Diego Zoo, to live there on loan for 10 years. The National Zoo in Washington had to return its pandas to China last year but will get two more late this year.

Where are the candidates today? The president flew late Thursday from Atlanta to Raleigh, N.C., to kick off an afternoon campaign event. He is expected to head to New York City to visit Stonewall Inn this afternoon, ahead of Sunday’s Pride March. Biden is scheduled to headline a campaign fundraiser in the city tonight. On Saturday, the president and first lady Jill Biden will speak at a fundraiser in East Hampton, N.Y., followed by a separate campaign reception in Red Bank, N.J. The Bidens plan to fly from New Jersey to Camp David to remain there until Tuesday. Meanwhile, Trump will hold a campaign rally this afternoon at Greenbrier Farms in Chesapeake, Va., accompanied by Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

LEADING THE DAY

© The Associated Press / Mark Schiefelbein | The Supreme Court will issue opinions today and Monday as justices work to end the term.

COURTS

THE SUPREME COURT issued a spate of new opinions Thursday, as justices race to complete their docket by the end of the term. Notably absent ahead of the presidential debate? Decisions regarding Trump’s claims of presidential immunity.

Abortion: Idaho hospitals that receive federal funding must allow emergency abortions to take place even though state laws ban the procedure in almost all cases, the court ruled 6-3, at least while the case works its way through lower courts. But justices issued separate concurring and dissenting opinions, suggesting division on the merits of Idaho’s argument. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson objected to the court failing to decide the case and read her dissenting opinion from the bench (The Hill).

“Today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is a delay,” she wrote. “While this court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires. This Court had a chance to bring clarity and certainty to this tragic situation, and we have squandered it.”

Opioids: In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court blocked a bankruptcy deal for Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of oxycontin, which would have contributed billions of dollars to pay victims and combat the opioid epidemic in exchange for immunizing the wealthy Sackler family, who previously controlled the company, from civil lawsuits.

It effectively undoes the years-in-the-making settlement that would have had Purdue Pharma transform into a public-benefit company dedicated to opioid abatement, with the multibillion contribution from the Sacklers funding those efforts and compensating victims. The ruling means states and other parties suing the company will have to restart negotiations. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, whose office first sued in 2019, praised the high court’s decision (The Hill and The Washington Post).

“Billionaire wrongdoers should not be allowed to shield blood money in bankruptcy court,” he said in a statement, adding that in new negotiations, the office will insist settlement funds be used “to save lives through opioid treatment and prevention, including direct relief to victims and their families.”

The New York Times: The Supreme Court temporarily put on hold an Environmental Protection Agency plan to curtail air pollution that drifts across state lines.

The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee break down the cases left to be decided by the court this term.

Meanwhile, in the federal prosecution of Trump for mishandling classified information and allegedly impeding a federal investigation, federal Judge Aileen Cannon said she will hold a hearing to revisit a question reviewed by a lower court — whether prosecutors can use information from one of the former president’s lawyers.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will meet at 9 a.m.

The Senate will convene at noon for a pro forma session. Senators return to Washington on July 8.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. He’s in Raleigh, N.C., to headline a post debate political event at midday. Biden will travel to New York City for an official event at 4:30 p.m. and a campaign event at 8:15 p.m. He will remain in the city overnight.

Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will travel to Las Vegas, Park City, Utah; and Los Angeles for separate political events today. 

ZOOM IN

© The Associated Press / Nam Y. Huh | U.S. hiring has been resilient, as pictured in Illinois early this year.

ECONOMY

Biden and Trump debated the health of the economy Thursday night, but not the future. “I gave you the largest tax cut in history,” the former president boasted as he blamed Biden for inflation. “Things were rocking good.” The president said Trump’s flawed response to the pandemic “decimated” employment. “There were no jobs,” Biden replied with a grimace.

Inflation remains a worry for consumers, the Federal Reserve, investors and for the president, who is blamed by frustrated Americans for everything from hefty eggs prices to retirement plans scrapped because of unforeseen inflation and other pressures. One big headache: the rise in prescription drug prices in the U.S. is well beyond inflation (37 percent since 2014, according to recent data). 

This morning, the Commerce Department will share some good news in a report the Fed follows closely called the personal consumption expenditures price index. The data flat-lined in May, viewed as a relief.

Another bright sign: The U.S. economy is cooling, but unemployment is 4 percent, still considered low. Small companies with 50 or fewer workers had more job openings than larger firms in April. That was a surprise, and it suggests labor demand at America’s smallest employers — restaurants, nail salons, auto-repair shops — remains relatively vibrant, even if it has fallen off somewhat from the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.

ELSEWHERE

© The Associated Press / Leo Correa | Protesters in Jerusalem Thursday rallied protested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and called for the release of hostages held in Gaza.

INTERNATIONAL

THE ISRAELI MILITARY ordered residents to evacuate the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City as Palestinian media reported intensified strikes in the area Thursday. Shejaiya was heavily targeted in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas last year. While Israel has previously claimed to have routed Hamas militants in northern Gaza, it has conducted repeated operations throughout the area pursuing remnants of militant groups (The Washington Post).

▪ NBC News: A senior United Nations official, a senior Israeli official and a U.S. military commander met Wednesday to discuss restarting aid distribution in Gaza, where roughly 12 million pounds of supplies have been sitting for 18 days.

▪ The Hill: Israeli authorities say 68 people — 19 sick and injured children plus their companions — have been allowed out of Gaza and into Egypt in the first medical evacuation since May.

RUSSIA HAS SUFFERED multiple diplomatic and judicial blows during the past week over its war on Ukraine, despite President Vladimir Putin’s high-profile visits to North Korea and Vietnam. The International Criminal Court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Military Staff Valery Gerasimov, saying that they bore responsibility for attacks on Ukrainian electricity infrastructure (Al Jazeera).

▪ CNN: Police in Kenya fired tear gas on protesters as a fresh wave of demonstrations swept the country, despite President William Ruto’s U-turn on controversial tax plans.

▪ ABC News: Bolivia’s government announced that 17 people have been arrested over their alleged involvement in the attempted coup that shook the country on Wednesday.

▪ The New York Times: After a testy campaign that featured strong attacks on the government by virtually all the candidates, Iran is holding elections on Friday to pick a president.

OPINION

■ Biden’s debate failure may mean it’s time to step aside, by Timothy L. O’Brien, executive editor, Bloomberg Opinion.

■ Biden’s truth was overshadowed by his stumbles, by David Firestone, deputy editorial board editor, The New York Times.

■ The five big reasons Trump won the debate and is pulling ahead, by Douglas MacKinnon, opinion contributor, The Hill.

THE CLOSER

© Getty Images / Allison Robbert, The Washington Post | A wax statue of President Lincoln suffered a melty fate this week as Washington D.C., experienced a heat wave.

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congratulations to this week’s Morning Report Quiz winners! Readers didn’t break a sweat when asked about the cause and effects of high temperatures in the U.S. and abroad.

Here’s who went 4/4: Stan Wasser, Richard E. Baznik, Lynn Gardner, Harry Strulovici, Pam Manges, Tom Chabot, Susan Reeves, Wiley Pearson, Joe Atchue, Linda L. Field, Sara Hall Phillips, Matt Barnes, Victoria Mitchell, R. Milton Howell, Frank Hatfield, Sawyer Walters, Rick Schmidtke, Meredith Mayo Arsenio, Carmine Petracca, Robert Bradley, Randall S. Patrick, John Trombetti, Mark R. Williamson, Steve James, Sharon Banitt, Jack Barshay, Lou Tisler, Arturo Jessel, Jane Heaton, John Ciorciari, David Tapley, Mark Roeddiger, Blair Marasco and Chuck Schoenenberger.

The blistering temperatures engulfing much of the Midwest and Northeast are blamed on a heat dome.

Abraham Lincoln, cast in wax and on display, lost his cool — and his head — this week in Washington, D.C., amid high temps.

Athletes’ accommodations at the Paris Olympics will not have air conditioning. In response, Germany, the U.S. and Australia announced they will bring AC for their teams. The answer we looked for was “all of the above.”

More than 1,000 people died in Saudi Arabia of heat-related reasons this month during the hajj, or Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

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