Joe Biden being 'propped up' by senior staff giving him the 'Weekend at Bernie's' treatment as Democrats move on to choosing a Kamala running mate

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter

Joe Biden's White House and campaign staff are 'miserable' as senior aides scramble to 'prop up' president in desperate straights as calls for him to prove his acuity grow louder.

'The only thing that can really allay concerns is for the president to demonstrate that he's capable of running this campaign,' a senior Democrat National Committee official told Axios. 'Everything else feels like 'Weekend at Bernie's' by his inner circle to prop him up.'

The sources said Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, Jill Biden's top advisor Anthony Bernal, and longtime aide Ashley Williams have been helping the president in extraordinary ways.

'Annie, Ashley and Anthony create a protective bubble around POTUS. He's staffed so closely that he's lost all independence. POTUS relies on staff to nudge him with reminders of who he's meeting, including former staffers and advisers who Biden should easily remember without a reminder from Annie,' a former aide said.

The protective cocoon of aides was seen as helpful at first, but now the sources said, they are seen as potentially deceptive.

By Emily Goodin, senior U.S. political reporter

Democrats have begun to speculate on who could be Kamala Harris’ running mate if Joe Biden drops out of the presidential race.

Names on the list include many governors: Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Andy Beshear of , Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Tim Walz of Minnesota, CNN reported.

Additionally, party operatives are circulating an anonymously written Google document titled ‘Unburdened by What Has Been: The Case for Kamala,’ which includes a plan for a Harris presidential campaign.

‘There’s one path out of this mess, and it’s Kamala,’ the document reads.

Biden, his campaign and White House officials have said he’s staying in the race. But the clock is ticking for the president to show he is up for the job.

By Emily Goodin, senior U.S. political reporter

President Joe Biden canceled plans to speak to the country's largest teachers' union on Sunday after staff went on strike.

The National Education Association Staff Organizations announced Friday they were striking against parent union the National Education Association, accusing the NEA of wage theft and failing to provide information regarding outsourcing $50 million to contractors.

Biden, who was scheduled to speak at the NEA conference in Philadelphia on Sunday, won't cross the picket line, his campaign announced.

The president, who is spending the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, will still travel to Pennslyvania on Sunday.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter

Former President Donald Trump slammed ABC News host George Stephanopoulos ahead of his highly anticipated interview with President Joe Biden Friday night.

'The meanest and most vicious Interviewer out there is George Slopadopoulos of FAKE NEWS ABC, one of the worst and most vile Broadcasters in the business — In fact, the home of disgraced 'reporter' Brian Ross whose reporting on the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax was so outlandish that ABC, after defending him at levels not seen before, was forced to put him, and their reputation, out to pasture,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social app.

'Now ABC, and Liddle’ George, a tiny, angry man, can make up for their past indiscretions and journalistic failures by doing a real interview with Crooked Joe, not a cut up promotion with only his few coherent answers released to the public.'

As Democrats have asked Biden to do interviews in a media blitz post-debate, his first test to determine whether he can keep hold of the party's confidence will be the ABC interview this evening.

However, the conversation is pretaped, giving the outlet much control over how the president will appear and adding a veil between viewers and Biden's true condition.

Donald Trump sent warm congratulations to his friend Nigel Farage on becoming a member of the British Parliament for the first time.

'Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success. Nigel is a man who truly loves his Country! DJT,' the Republican presidential nominee wrote in a post on TruthSocial.

But in his social media post, Trump made no reference to newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer has previously said that his government will work with whomever is in the White House following November's election.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter

Joe Biden campaign staffers are working to reassure upset donors that their money will be spent and won't go to a defunct candidate.

'We are fully planning for President Biden to be the nominee, but the majority of the money raised through the Biden Victory Fund goes to the D.N.C., which supports all Democrats on the ballot,' a staffer told donors, the New York Times reported.

The campaign's maneuvering comes after heiress and major Democrat donor Abigail Disney announced she will stop donations to Joe Biden and the entire party until the ailing president steps down.

The granddaughter to Roy Disney, the co-founder of the Walt Disney Corporation, has often made noise for her liberal politics despite her wealth, which is believed to be around $120 million.

'I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket. This is realism, not disrespect. Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high,' she said in a statement.

Emily Goodin, senior U.S. political reporter

President Joe Biden heads to Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday for a campaign event but, more importantly, he'll be sitting down for the most important television of his career.

Biden, 81, will be interviewed by ABC's George Stephanopoulos in his first on-camera interview since last week's debate.

The president is trying to hold Democrats together behind his candidacy as concerns among the party grow as to whether he can beat Donald Trump in November.

Biden has reportedly acknowledged he is facing a ticking clock when it comes to convincing people of his competence and the ABC interview will be a huge part of that.

The network will air the interview in its entirety at 8 pm ET.

Donald Trump challenged Joe Biden to another debate, offering a 'no holds barred' discussion on the issues of the day 'anytime, anywhere, anyplace.'

He proposed having just the two of them on stage with no moderator.

Trump issued his challenge as Biden is struggling to maintain support among Democrats to stay their nominee after he bombed in the first president debate last week.

The former president argued another debate would bring in massive ratings and would allow Biden 'to prove his "competence," or lack thereof' and added 'it would be yet another test for me.'

With many wondering if she could replace Biden as Democrats' candidate for president were he to drop out, she was positively giddy while giving the speech.

She said: 'We give thanks to our commander-in-chief, the vice - the president of the United States! The extraordinary President of the United States Joe Biden!'

Biden then took in the applause from the Washington crowd and wished everyone a happy Independence Day amid calls for him to step down by many of his fellow Democrats.

The brief error was similar to one that Biden himself had made in an interview with a black radio station in Philadelphia.

Biden described himself as a black woman during a radio interview flub, as calls mount for the 81 year-old president to drop his re-election bid.

The gaffe-prone president stumbled over his words during Thursday's interview with Philadelphia's WURD, seemingly mixing himself up with his Vice President Kamala Harris.

'By the way, I'm proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first black woman... to serve with a black president. Proud to be involved of the first black woman on the Supreme Court. There's so much that we can do because, look... we're the United States of America.'

Biden appeared to be highlighting his appointment of Kamala Harris as the United States first black female vice president.

Confusingly, he himself was previously vice president, which is likely what he was referring to in 'to serve with a black president.'

President Joe Biden told Democratic governors that he plans to stop holding events past 8 p.m. - so he can get more sleep.

The New York Times reported on the tidbit coming out of the high-stakes meeting with some of the Democratic Party's rising stars at the White House Wednesday night - in which Biden told the group he was staying in the race.

And it comes after Axios cited staffers saying he already clocked a succinct 10 am to 4 pm workday, with an afternoon nap.

Biden told the governors 'that he told his staff he needed to get more sleep,' the Times reported citing multiple sources familiar with the meeting, and 'said he needed to work fewer hours and avoid events after 8 p.m.'

During the same meeting, Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii asked Biden about his health.

The president replied that his health is fine.

'It’s just my brain,' he then said - a comment that some of the governors took as a joke, while at least one found strange.

The governors said they provided 'feedback' and expressed 'concerns,' but the 81-year-old president's heels were dug in.

Biden and his White House team blamed jetlag and a cold for his disastrous performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump one week ago.

Jen O'Malley Dillon, Biden's campaign chair, played clean-up on the comment: 'He was clearly making a joke,' she said.