Attention to the Unseen

Jonathan Martin writes: When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer telephoned a senior official with President Biden’s campaign on Friday night, she wanted to convey a clear message: She hated the way her name was being floated as a replacement for Biden and she wasn’t behind the chatter. Whitmer’s conversation with the official, campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, was cordial but awkward by its very nature. In the aftermath of the president’s disastrous debate performance last Thursday, no would-be replacement has been…

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Politico reports: “Confused.” “Frail.” “Dementia.” Those were a few of the words used to describe Biden’s lackluster performance and appearance at Thursday’s presidential debate by Democratic-leaning voters, who were less likely to say they’d vote for him after it was over, according to a new survey and virtual focus group. The president’s cognitive and physical fitness left more of an impression on respondents than anything else, according to the survey, which was spearheaded by former Bill Clinton pollster Stan Greenberg…

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USA Today reports: President Joe Biden’s core support has been shaken by his stumbling performance in last week’s debate, an exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds, fueling a furor over whether he should continue his candidacy. More than four in ten Democrats, 41%, said the Democratic Party should replace Biden as its presidential nominee. That included 37% of those who say they plan to vote for him. The survey found broad discontent with both major-party candidates, but Republican Donald Trump’s…

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Angelique Chrisafis writes: When Emmanuel Macron strolled through the seaside resort of Le Touquet on Sunday afternoon, near his holiday home, dressed in a leather jacket with his collar up and aviator shades, smiling and asking passersby how they were doing, he seemed a world away from the fact that his gamble of a snap election was about to dramatically backfire. Macron had said he needed “clarity” three weeks ago, when he shocked even his own government ministers by calling…

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Politico reports: A former Democratic National Committee vice chair wrote Sunday that leading Democrats must be pushed to urge President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race or history will judge them harshly. “Our elected officials,” wrote former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak on Facebook, “are staying shockingly silent in public, especially considering how many of them acknowledge privately that this has to happen.” “They fear political retribution but they should really fear that if we lose this election…

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The New York Times reports: President Biden’s family is urging him to stay in the race and keep fighting despite last week’s disastrous debate performance, even as some members of his clan privately expressed exasperation at how he was prepared for the event by his staff, people close to the situation said on Sunday. Mr. Biden huddled with his wife, children and grandchildren at Camp David while he tried to figure out how to tamp down Democratic anxiety. While his…

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Axios reports: Joe Biden’s close aides have carefully shielded him from people inside and outside the White House since the beginning of his presidency. Why it matters: The intermittent access has resulted in many current and former White House aides being shocked at the 81-year-old president’s limitations at the debate Thursday night. Driving the news: Current and former White House aides are feeling whiplash — and now questioning whether Biden could fulfill a second term. “It’s time for Joe to go.” That’s…

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David Remnick writes: There is an immense bounty of bunk about the wisdom of age available to all of us who require it from time to time, but, as the pitiless Mark Twain put it in his autobiography, “It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it.” On Thursday night, it was Joe Biden’s turn. But, unlike the rest of us, he went to pieces on CNN, in front of tens of millions…

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The New York Times reports from a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Virginia: Never one to miss out on a spidery conspiracy theory, Mr. Trump seemed as freaked out as any of his supporters about what is now possibly, perhaps, underway. “Many people are saying that after last night’s performance, Joe Biden is leaving the race,” he said from the stage, followed by scattered, seemingly confused applause. “The fact is, I don’t really believe that,” he continued, “because he does better…

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Axios reports: The public backing of former presidents and current members of Congress says little about Biden’s future. Most know him too well and for too long to humiliate him in public. Instead, if he decides to go, it’ll follow private conversations with them — then a decision with this oligarchy [Dr. Jill Biden; his younger sister, Valerie Biden; and 85-year-old Ted Kaufman, the president’s longtime friend and constant adviser — plus a small band of White House advisers]. Remember,…

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The New York Times reports: Cash is a sudden priority for the Biden campaign. After opening a $100 million advantage over Mr. Trump a couple of months ago, the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee entered June with $212 million in the bank, compared with $235 million for the Trump operation and the Republican National Committee. The Biden campaign had hoped to close the gap through a major fund-raising push in the 72 hours after the debate. The scramble…

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