Morning Report — Defiant Biden appeals to congressional loyalists

President Biden is in trouble. In a presidential contest in which he needs a united coalition to defeat former President Trump, his party is splintering, and he’s the cause.

He phoned MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-hosts for a defiant 18-minute interview Monday to insist he won’t cede the nomination because “average Democrats” agree he beat Trump once and “I’ll beat him again.” He said “it drives me nuts” when reporters and others ask if he’ll submit to neurological and cognitive tests. He railed against party “elites” who second-guess his chances of victory now and whom he accuses of being wrong before, and he took a swipe at major Democratic Party donors, adding, “I don’t care what the millionaires think.”

More House Democrats, reacting to a letter they received from the president Monday, urged him to voluntarily make way for another nominee.

But just as firmly, members of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) came to the president’s defense, setting the stage for what could become an ugly intraparty clash on Capitol Hill ahead of the August convention.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) repeated his support for the president as the Democratic nominee.

CBC Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) joined a growing number of Black leaders and influencers who support Biden. The president held a virtual call with caucus members Monday night to repeat his arguments and answer questions. Inside the Biden campaign, the president is believed to have a lock among increasingly outspoken CBC loyalists.

CNN: “Running Kamala Harris for president one way or the other.”

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus followed Monday by backing Biden.

Six House Democrats went public in recent days to urge Biden to step aside, including House Armed Services ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who issued a statement Monday as the most senior Democrat to speak up. Others have broached their misgivings privately about the president’s ability to battle Trump through November.

Senate Democrats, worried that Republicans will capture the majority next year, will meet today in the Capitol to discuss Biden’s stance. No Democratic senator has called on Biden to step aside, and many have offered the president their unequivocal support. But others bluntly say they want to see Biden demonstrate a persuasive rebound from his June 27 debate debacle — and soon.

Democratic lawmakers are unnerved about the 81-year-old president’s performance, the campaign strategy, Biden’s trailing poll numbers against Trump in battleground states and the down-ballot undertow Democrats may experience by November. Biden’s troubles have muted his party’s collective focus on Trump and muddled a coalition of voters Democrats are counting on to win.   

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) said in a statement that Biden should “more aggressively make his case to the American people, and to hear directly from a broader group of voices about how to best prevent Trump’s lawlessness from returning to the White House.”

Montana’s Jon Tester (Mont.), the most vulnerable Democratic senator seeking reelection in a red state this year, said in a statement that the president must “prove to the American people — including me — that he’s up to the job for another four years.” 

Biden has sidestepped questions about whether he has been or is willing to be tested for evidence of diseases or conditions that can cause or contribute to cognitive decline in the elderly. Reporters aggressively urged the White House Monday to disclose additional information about visits to the White House since 2022 by a neurologist who is a Parkinson’s expert from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Eight visits over eight months were recorded on visitors’ logs and reported by The New York Times Monday, the New York Post and The Guardian on Saturday. The president’s doctor released a letter late Monday saying Biden “has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical.”

During interviews with ABC News last week and MSNBC Monday, Biden said the pressures of the presidency are his version of a daily neurological exam.

There have been many questions about Biden’s current health. The Associated Press rounded up some answers provided by the White House and in public records.

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🌀 Beryl slammed into Texas as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 74 to 95 miles per hour early Monday, killing at least four people before weakening to a tropical storm and cutting a path from flooded parts of Houston through east Texas into Arkansas. Biden was briefed about federal and state preparations as the early-season hurricane exited the Gulf of Mexico. About 2.7 million people were left without power Monday amid high winds, storm surge, downed trees and structural damages. Airlines canceled or delayed thousands of flights Monday.

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LEADING THE DAY

MORE IN POLITICS

VEEPSTAKES: Former President Trump’s search for a running mate is entering the homestretch, with an announcement expected in the coming days. The former president is weighing Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) as contenders who could join the GOP ticket, although Rubio and Vance lead current guesses about Trump’s thinking, The Hill’s Julia Manchester and Brett Samuels report.

Trump is expected to make his choice public ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention, with sources telling The Washington Post an announcement could come on July 15, the first day of the convention in Milwaukee — though he’s said he may make the announcement earlier. Others point to campaign stops in the days beforehand, with the former president scheduled to be in Florida and Pennsylvania, near the Ohio border, over the course of the week. However, news of Trump’s running mate announcement could potentially interrupt arguably one of the most negative news cycles of Biden’s administration. 

“Outside of Election Day 2016, this has been the best two-week stretch of Donald Trump’s political career,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist. “He’s leading in national polls, he’s leading in state polls, he’s leading in cash on hand, and Democrats are talking about ejecting his opponent from the ticket. No way is he going to enter the fray.” 

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ZOOM IN

INTERNATIONAL

NATO IN WASHINGTON: NATO leaders meet in D.C. this week for a summit commemorating the 75th anniversary of the alliance, which is facing potentially existential threats from outside and within as it grapples with an ever-changing world. In addition to Russia’s war in Ukraine, challenges posed by an increasingly aggressive China and the Israel-Hamas conflict, NATO is also grappling with some key members’ commitment to defend their allies coming under question. Leaders are expected once again to reaffirm their “open door” membership policy, but Ukraine won’t see its hoped-for invitation this week (ABC News).

“In some ways, this NATO summit is coming as sort of the best of times and the worst of times. The best of times, in the sense that the alliance knows what it’s about,” said Max Bergmann of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But it’s also sort of the worst of times — obviously because of the war in Ukraine, challenges of ramping up European defense spending, concerns about the reliability of the United States.”

CEASE-FIRE TALKS: Hopes of a truce in Gaza ebbed Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said overnight that he could only agree to a temporary cease-fire with Hamas, which opposes any deal unless it is permanent. His statement drew widespread criticism in Israel, where there is growing support for a cease-fire deal to facilitate hostage releases. Critics also say Netanyahu — whose governing coalition depends on support of right-wing leaders — has put his personal interest above the national one (The New York Times).

A Russian missile strike partially destroyed a children’s hospital in Kyiv Monday, causing terrified patients and their families to flee for their lives (CNN).

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ELSEWHERE

COURTS

House Republicans have postponed a planned hearing with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) as Trump’s sentencing in the New York hush money case has been delayed. The hearing was expected to take place Friday, a day after Trump’s originally scheduled July 11 sentencing for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to a 2016 hush money payment (The Hill).

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THE CLOSER

And finally … 🎾 On this day in 1877, the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club held its first lawn tennis tournament at Wimbledon, then a suburb of London. Twenty-two players showed up to compete in the Gentlemen’s Singles tournament, the only event at the first Wimbledon. Seven years later, the competition first admitted women players. 

Since then, the Wimbledon Championships — the only major tennis event still played on grass — have been held annually in late June and early July. This year’s dates are July 1-14. The tournament, part of the Grand Slam and considered the most prestigious, is also notable in requiring a strict all-white dress code for competitors. The food and beverage of choice for spectators? Strawberries with cream — and champagne.

And if you, or a tennis great looking for a Wimbledon title, are in need of inspiration, look no further than the wall of the players’ entrance to the Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where the tournament is held. You’ll be met with lines from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If—” emblazoned on the wall.

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / and treat those two impostors just the same.”

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