WASHINGTON (AP) — Yesterday, President Joe Biden opened his highly anticipated news conference with a forceful defense of his foreign and domestic policies and batted away questions about his ability to serve another four years, even as he flubbed a reference to former President Donald Trump in one of his first answers.

Now Biden and his team are continuing on their relentless sprint to persuade lawmakers, donors and voters that he is still up for the job with a trip to Michigan, part of the trio of “blue wall” states that his campaign now says is the clearest path to victory in November. Over a dozen members of Congress have called for him to bow out of the campaign.

Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum released the following statement:

“This week, I have been back at work in Washington and have spoken with colleagues who share the same concerns I have on whether President Biden is up for the challenge this election presents.  Some of my colleagues who have spoken directly with President Biden shared with me that he knows the stakes are high and he is up for the job of defeating Donald Trump.  The fact is President Biden is the only one who can release his delegates at the Democratic National Convention.  And he has made it clear that he is running for re-election.  So now it is up to President Biden to restore confidence in the voters and demonstrate his ability to lead the country while campaigning.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS asked Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer about the top of the Democratic ticket: “It doesn’t matter who you put over there, it’s the failed policies, America wants to go back to the competence and strength of Donald Trump’s administration”

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The Latest:

Frat bros. War heroes. Trump’s former golf caddy.

The Republican National and Trump’s campaign released a list of “everyday Americans” who will be speaking at next week’s Republican National Convention.

Among the names:

A group of students and fraternity brothers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who were captured on video protecting an American flag during campus protests

Family members of people who were killed by repeat offenders, people living in the country illegally and from fentanyl-laced pills

Men and women who say they are struggling to make ends meet due to high inflation

John Nieporte, the head Golf Pro at Trump International, who worked his way up from being Trump’s former golf caddy, and Carrie Ruiz, the Golf General Manager at Trump National Doral

Rep. Mike Levin told Biden to drop out during Hispanic Caucus call, before releasing public statement

Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif. told President Biden on a virtual call with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Friday that he should step down as the Democratic nominee, according to three sources familiar with the call. It marks the first time that one of Biden’s growing internal detractors confronted the president with their opposition to his reelection campaign.

Biden had joined the call around noon to acknowledge the concerns that many Democrats in Congress had raised about his capabilities to serve a second term and to reaffirm that not only can he finish the campaign, but that he intends to win in November, according to one of the people, who like others, were granted anonymity to discuss a private call.

Another person told AP that the call began on a positive note, with Biden soliciting feedback from members on how to appeal to the Hispanic vote and what campaign events to join. The call allowed for a few questions of the president, which is when Levin raised his hand to launch what was described as a soliloquy on what he’d heard from his Southern California district, with voters telling him that the president should not be on top of the party’s ticket for 2024.

Levin, according to two of the people, then encouraged the president to listen to those constituents and step down.

Biden responded in kind, according to one person, saying that he understands the threat Democrats face against GOP candidate Trump but that he had a plan to win. The president wanted to answer more member questions after that but the call was abruptly ended by the organizers.

California Democrat says Biden should drop out after Hispanic Caucus call

The steady drip of defections from Biden’s camp has continued today as vulnerable Democratic Rep. Mike Levin of California called on him to let someone else take over at the top of the ticket.

Levin put out the statement shortly after Biden joined a call with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

The representative from a competitive district in Southern California said he’s heard from hundreds of constituents and supporters since Biden’s faltering debate performance.

He called the president an “outstanding leader,” but said he’s no longer sure he can prevail against the “incalculable threat” posed by Trump.

“It is time to move forward. With a new leader. Together,” he said in a statement.

Trump calls picking his VP ‘a highly sophisticated version of ‘The Apprentice’’

Trump is comparing his vice presidential search to the reality TV show he helmed years ago.

“It’s like a highly sophisticated version of ‘The Apprentice,’” Trump said on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show amid intense speculation over his pick.

The presumptive GOP nominee once again made clear his preference to unveil his pick at the Republican National Convention, which kicks off Monday in Milwaukee.

Trump said he’d “love to do it during the convention” or “just slightly before the convention, like Monday.”

He also said he’s down to a handful of “really, really good candidates.”

“I may be leaning one way and that changing sometimes — you know all of a sudden you see something that you like or you don’t like and you lean a little bit differently … but we have a very good bench.”

Biden meets with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus

President Biden spoke viritually with with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, according to a Democratic aide, granted anonymity to discuss the private call.

The group’s chair, Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., put out a statement of support for Biden after his debate, but many of her members have yet to do the same and some, including Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., have publicly stated that Biden should step down.

The president has faced criticisms from Hispanic members and outside groups in response to a series of immigration decisions he’s made over the last several years and the group is a crucial voting bloc for the Democratic Party.

Biden in 2020: ‘I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else’

President Joe Biden today will return to the same Detroit high school where as a candidate in 2020, he vowed to be a bridge to the next generation of leaders.

“I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,” Biden said in March 2020 while flanked by Kamala Harris and other party leaders at Renaissance High School. “There’s an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.”

Four years later, many in his party are now pleading for him to fulfill that very promise and step aside.

At his event on Friday, President Biden aims to boost enthusiasm for his campaign and solidify support from Michigan’s prominent Democratic leaders.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries met privately with President Biden

Jeffries of New York said in a letter to colleagues Friday that he met with the president Thursday evening and “directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together.”

This comes as more than a dozen Democrats in the House have called on Biden to step aside, while others want the president to stay in the race. Jeffries said Democrats have had an “extensive discussion” about the country’s future. And the conversations have been, as he said earlier in the week, “candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive.”

Two White House officials confirmed the meeting but declined further comment.

Melania Trump to attend RNC

Former first lady Melania Trump will attend the Republican National Convention. That’s according to two people familiar with her plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity before full details were released.

It will be a rare public appearance in Milwaukee for a woman who has been largely absent from the campaign trail as her husband runs to return to the White House.

It remains unclear whether she will deliver a speech or have any formal role in the proceedings.

The news was first reported by CNN.

GOP group behind Project 2025 floats conspiracy theory that Biden will use ‘force’ to keep power

A conservative think tank that is planning for a complete overhaul of the federal government in the event of a Republican presidential win is suggesting that President Joe Biden might try to hold the White House “by force” if he loses the November election.

The Heritage Foundation’s warning — which goes against Biden’s own public statements — appeared in a report released Thursday that the group said resulted from a role-playing exercise gaming out potential scenarios before and after the 2024 election.

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