The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

Biden looks to end the crisis over his campaign. But was it enough?

McConnell touts progress in battle against far-right on foreign policy

Under-fire House Republicans delight in Biden mess

News: NRCC raises $37M in Q2

Schwarzman gives $2M to CLF to help New York Republicans

THE TOP

Biden looks to end the crisis over his campaign. But was it enough?

Happy Friday morning.

The response to President Joe Biden’s highly anticipated press conference on Thursday night was like a game of “Choose Your Own Adventure.”

If you like Biden and you’re looking to give him another chance, Thursday night was just fine. Aside from calling his vice president Donald Trump (after earlier in the day introducing Volodymyr Zelensky as Vladimir Putin), Biden was fluent in foreign policy, an area he’s focused on for decades. The president said repeatedly he’s not dropping out of the race. Biden looked fine, answered a number of questions and was able to speak with relative fluidity.

During his first real press conference in months, Biden argued that his long service in Washington left him uniquely prepared to handle the complex matrix of domestic and foreign challenges the country faces. The griping from down-ballot Democrats, Biden explained, was typical election-year bellyaching from pols worried about their own races.

If you’re looking for a reason to ding Biden, you saw a president well past his prime. In addition to the Kamala Harris flub, Biden admitted other Democrats could beat Trump. The 81-year-old Biden complained about being overscheduled by his aides, and he repeatedly shifted into the stage whisper voice he uses in campaign events. Biden declared he’d reconsider his candidacy only if his advisers told him “there’s no way you could win.”

Yet the main takeaway from Biden’s nearly hour-long news conference is that it buys him some more time. It came several hours after three of Biden’s top advisers met privately with Senate Democrats in a bid to convince them he’s not leading the party toward a disaster this fall. According to some Democratic senators, that session got “heated” at times, and “a significant majority” of Senate Democrats believe Biden can’t win reelection.

The twin sessions — one public, one private — will prolong the debate raging inside the Democratic Party about Biden’s future. Yes, Biden didn’t repeat the disaster of June 27. But his standing among Democrats is measured on a day-to-day, event-to-event basis. That’s hardly sustainable.

Here’s Biden:

Biden also mocked Trump at one point for failing to do much on the campaign trail: “And where has Trump been? Riding around in his golf cart, filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball?”

The Republican convention kicks off in Milwaukee next week, which should give the president a bit of a reprieve. Biden also will sit down with NBC News’ Lester Holt on Monday, another chance to convince a national audience of his viability.

Within moments of the news conference ending Thursday night, multiple House Democrats released statements calling on Biden to step aside. Biden world expects more Democrats to come out in opposition to the president in the coming days.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Biden isn’t the best candidate that Democrats can put forward against Trump. Himes told MSNBC he purposely waited until the NATO summit was over to make his announcement:

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), a former vice chair of the New Democrat Coalition, followed shortly after with his own exhortation to Biden to step aside. Minutes later, Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), a Frontliner, became the 17th House Democrat to publicly tell Biden to forgo his reelection bid, although there are far more in private who hope that happens.

In the choose-your-own-adventure category, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said on CNN that a lot of minds were changing Thursday night after Biden’s news conference.

Here’s some news: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is expected to talk to Biden before the weekend, according to sources familiar with the plans. Jeffries has been holding meetings with members of the House Democratic Caucus, many of whom believe Biden will cost the party control of Congress and the White House this November.

The Trump camp, for their part, “are thrilled about Biden’s solid enough performance. It was strong enough, they perceive/hope, to keep his candidacy alive,” our friend Jonathan Swan at the New York Times reported.

— Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Melanie Zanona

WASHINGTON X THE WORLD

McConnell touts progress in battle against far-right on foreign policy

To hear Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tell it, this week’s NATO summit was a pivotal moment for his self-described “top priority” as he transitions out as Republican leader – stamping out the Donald Trump-inspired foreign policy ethos from the GOP.

“This is going to be my top priority. No question about it,” McConnell said in an interview this week. McConnell added that he might even start to hold court with reporters in the halls of the Senate. “This is the most important thing going on in the world right now,” the Kentucky Republican said.

The longtime GOP leader sat down with us in his office Wednesday evening to discuss the NATO summit and his key mission as senator. So far, McConnell likes what he’s seeing.

Consider what happened over the last week or so:

– In a relatively short period of time, the number of NATO nations meeting the alliance’s defense spending target nearly quadrupled to a record high. McConnell has been pushing for this for several years, saying some allies were taking a “holiday from history.”

– Speaker Mike Johnson, who held up Ukraine aid for months despite public pressure from McConnell, is now starting to sound a lot like the Kentucky Republican when talking about national security, especially Ukraine.

– In private meetings this week, NATO heads of state expressed to McConnell a desire to move in the United States’ direction when it comes to countering China — a major shift.

– McConnell also had one-on-one time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday night. McConnell has proven to be Zelensky’s most valuable ally in Washington since the opposition to Ukraine aid mainly comes from his party.

– A pro-Ukraine Republican defeated a Trump-backed primary challenger in Utah’s GOP Senate primary. McConnell noted that no Republican who backed Ukraine lost a primary this cycle:

If Trump wins in November, McConnell’s mission could get much tougher, especially since Republicans defer to Trump on nearly everything these days. Passing another Ukraine aid package, for example, could be an even heavier lift.

On top of that, Trump could pick a chief McConnell antagonist on foreign policy — Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) — as his running mate. McConnell declined to comment on that possibility.

Later in our discussion, McConnell offered a pointed critique of the Trumpian foreign policy doctrine.

“The language they used in the ‘20s and ‘30s are similar to what you hear today — ‘America First,’” McConnell said, referring to Trump’s campaign slogan.

McConnell did, however, “ironically” give Trump credit for NATO nations’ defense spending boost because Trump called out those that hadn’t met the threshold.

Trump’s Orbán obsession: It’s clear that McConnell’s bid to stop Trump and his allies from cozying up to Hungarian strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orbán isn’t working yet. Despite McConnell’s warnings as recently as two days ago, Trump will welcome Orbán at his Mar-a-Lago estate today.

McConnell has been pleading with conservatives to stop idolizing Orbán by noting his coziness with Russia, China and Iran. Just days ago, Orbán went to Moscow and parroted Kremlin talking points about the Ukraine war. The Hungarian leader also traveled to Beijing.

Here’s McConnell:

Well, not quite. Not yet, at least.

— Andrew Desiderio

Under-fire House Republicans delight in Biden mess

For almost two years, endangered House Republicans have had to answer non-stop questions over their relationship with former President Donald Trump and the chaos unfolding in their own conference.

Ever since President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate, however, that’s all started to change. As Democrats go on the defensive, GOP lawmakers in tough districts are seizing on the moment.

In Arizona’s toss-up 6th District, Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) has started running ads tying his likely Democratic opponent Kirsten Engel to Biden.

“[Engel] needs to answer the question, is she with Joe Biden or not? Joe or no Joe?” Ciscomani told us.

The dynamic is also playing out in a fascinating manner in New York. In districts Biden won in 2020, Republicans are tying themselves closely to Trump. And Democrats like Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado have called on Biden to withdraw.

“My opponent, who has an opinion on just about anything, has been silent for 10 days,” Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) said about his Democratic challenger Josh Riley. “My opponent, who was with Joe Biden 100% of the time, doesn’t have anything to say.”

We’ll note that Riley said this in a statement following the debate: “Most of the voters I talk to wish they had different options, and they want new leadership. They’re not wrong.”

“There’s absolutely zero enthusiasm in places like the tough districts that the Democrats are trying to flip seats back for President Biden, and there’s even less enthusiasm for our opponents,” Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) said.

The Biden-district Republicans, who for so long have had to parry questions on whether their party is moving too far to the right, can now enjoy turning the heat on Democrats.

It’s a role reversal from the recent pattern of Democrats seeking to tie Republicans to Trump. In a turnaround, the vast majority of Republicans in swing seats are embracing Trump. Exhibit A: Our reporting from southern California swing seats.

All this is despite Trump’s conviction in New York on 34 felony charges, repeated vows to pardon Jan. 6 rioters and a deluge of incendiary comments.

“For the last eight years, Democrats believed that all they have to say is, ‘Trump, Trump, Trump Trump,’ and that absolves them of anything. And now they have to answer for their own nominee,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said.

It’s worth noting that many down-ballot Democrats have consistently outperformed the top of the ticket in recent races. But there’s an increasing fear among Frontliners that this phenomenon won’t last as voters sour on Biden.

— Max Cohen and Mica Soellner

THE CAMPAIGN

News: NRCC raises $37M in Q2

News: The NRCC raised $37 million in the second quarter of 2024, ending the quarter with $70.8 million on hand. Per the NRCC, this is the best election-year Q2 number in the group’s history.

The $37 million haul includes a $14.3 million June tally. That monthly total is the NRCC’s best June of a presidential election year in history. To date, the NRCC has raised $161.7 million this cycle.

The DCCC hasn’t yet released its Q2 numbers.

— Max Cohen

THE MONEY GAME

Schwarzman gives $2M to CLF to help New York Republicans

Stephen Schwarzman, the billionaire CEO of the private equity giant Blackstone, gave the Congressional Leadership Fund $2 million to help New York House Republicans.

CLF is the House Republican leadership-linked super PAC.

Schwarzman is making calls to other major donors to raise money for CLF’s New York efforts.

CLF has reserved $29 million in New York media markets for the competitive races in the state. The Empire State has turned into a major battleground for control of the House.

Competitive races include Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) versus former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.); Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) versus Josh Riley; Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) versus Laura Gillen; Alison Esposito versus Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.); and Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) versus John Avlon.

In other fundraising news: Democrat Kirsten Engel raised $1.7 million in the second quarter. Engel is running against GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) in the competitive 6th District race.

— Jake Sherman

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