Top Democrat offers shock excuse for Biden's gaffes as new poll shows where the race stands after Joe's disastrous debate

Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn has blamed Joe Biden's stutter for his excruciating gaffes and insists he has one of the 'best minds I have ever been around'.

The South Carolina lawmaker rushed to the 81-year-old's defense after he introduced Volodymyr Zelenskyy as 'President Putin' and called Kamala Harris 'Vice President Trump'.

He told NBC's Today show

The host then asked if what he has seen from the president in the last three weeks is just a 'function of him stuttering'.

Clyburn then said it was up to Biden to decide on staying in the race and said Democrat critics who are demanding he drop out should focus on his administration's 'record'.

Clyburn then admitted that Biden is not the same person from he was two years ago.

Melania Trump is preparing to make a major appearance on the campaign trail alongside husband Donald Trump after months of staying away from presidential race.

The former first lady will attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week, DailyMail.com has learned, but it remains unclear if she will address the crowd.

Other Trump family members will be in appearance next week. Don Jr. is speaking on Wednesday night. Eric Trump is expected to attend as his wife Lara works for the party.

Ivanka Trump will be there on Thursday when Donald Trump formally accepts the presidential nomination. But she will be there in a personal capacity and will not speak to the delegates.

It is unclear if Barron Trump will attend.

By Emily Goodin, senior U.S. political reporter

Jill Biden wil lead the U.S. delegation to the Olympic Games in Paris, the White House announced.

She will travel to Paris for the Opening Ceremony on July 26, 2024.

And second gentleman Doug Emhoff will lead the delegation to the closing ceremony on August 11, 2024.

The White House corrected President Joe Biden’s gaffe where he called Kamala Harris ‘Vice President Trump’ in its official transcript of the press conference on Tuesday night.

West Wing aides crossed out Trump and put Harris to fix the blunder made by the 81-year-old while he was taking questions from the press.

The botched response was a disastrous start for Biden who is fighting for his political future. He took the stage at the NATO summit on Wednesday to try and quash calls for him to drop out of the race.

Just hours before he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky as ‘President Putin’.

A fourth House Democrat - Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., has called on President Biden to 'pass the torch' since his NATO news conference Thursday evening.

She said she 'loves' Joe Biden but 'my son and my constituents can't suffer the consequences of inaction at this moment.'

'Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders,' she added, suggesting the new Democratic nominee did not need to be Vice President Kamala Harris.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries met with President Biden last night following his press conference.

He confirmed the meeting in a letter to his House colleagues Friday morning, saying he expressed to Biden the 'full breadth' of views on his reelection campaign.

That is a major development as now 16 House Democrats - and one senator - have urged Biden to step aside publicly due to concerns about his mental and physical fitness.

Details of their meeting could shed light on what is happening behind the scenes.

One of Jeffries' top leaders - Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who serves as the top Democrat on the Intel Committee - came out last night saying Biden should pass the torch.

He did not disclose whether he discussed the decision to come out against Biden with Jeffries ahead of time.

President Joe Biden admitted on Thursday night he was open to stepping aside on the Democratic ticket if the new pick could beat Donald Trump and said delegates could do 'whatever they want' at the party's convention next month.

The 81-year-old opened the door to being replaced, but insisted he had 'overwhelming support' from his party and the polls show he is winning.

Thousands of delegates from across the country are gearing up to head to Chicago next month for the Democratic National Convention.

And despite the Biden campaign being roiled by fallout over President Joe Biden's stumbling debate performance and growing concerns over his fitness, delegates are hunkering down and preparing to vote for Biden as their nominee as planned.

'Gold Bar' Bob Mendendez's bribery trial is set to come to a close soon, with the jury beginning deliberations.

Menendez has been accused of participating in a years-long foreign corruption scheme that earned him gold bars, cash and a new car.

The long-time lawmaker sat for over eight weeks in a New York federal courtroom as witnesses and prosecutors revealed the scintillating details of his alleged plan to reward multiple New Jersey businessmen with favors in exchange for payment, prosecutors alleged.

Menendez allegedly used his high-profile position as the former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman to help one man negotiate a contract with Egyptian officials.

And he used his influence as the New Jersey's senior senator to quash a state investigation into another accomplice's state insurance fraud case, prosecutors said.

Joe Biden's senior officials struggled to keep their composure when the president mistook Donald Trump for Kamala Harris last night - as dozens of Democratic lawmakers prepared to turn against him.

The major blunder came near the top of Biden's 'make-or-break' press conference and shortly after the commander-in-chief introduced Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the end of the NATO summit as 'President Putin.'

Indeed, Biden's cabinet may have hoped that after the epic gaffe in front of a worldwide audience the worst was over.

But about two hours later, the cameras were trained on Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as the president made arguably his worst flub of the night.

A sitting House Democrat became the first to suggest President Joe Biden should resign from office in a stunning statement.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., said ahead of Biden's highly-anticipated press conference Thursday that she has 'doubt' about his 'health and fitness to do the job' following his disastrous debate two weeks ago.

Perez also said she has concerns about whether he is actually the 'one making important decisions about our country, rather than unelected advisors.

'Americans deserve to feel their president is fit enough to do the job,' she continued in a statement to local channel KGW8.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama held emergency talks on what to do about Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket - and did not come to a consensus.

Neither is sure what to do - but they agree it has become much harder for Democrats to win in November since Biden's disastrous debate performance, according to CNN.

Democrats are 'begging' either Obama or Pelosi to help quell the infighting. The pair of political powerhouses have Biden's ear, moreso than Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer or House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

This is what a 'big boy' press conference looks like: Two teleprompt screens, a list of vetted journalists and press aides with microphones, ready to silence tricky questions.

The White House had leaned into the term, first used by a reporter, to signify that President Joe Biden would offer a no-holds-barred demonstration of his ability to parry tough questions.

Yet even with the guard rails of screens, fussing aides and an opening statement, Biden struggled at times with a raspy throat, botched lines and meandering answers.

He was asked whether Kamala Harris could beat Donald Trump if she was top of the ticket, and answered in excruciating fashion.

'Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn't think she was not qualified to be vice president,' he said, triggering a Republican meme avalanche, with mashups of Harris and Trump appearing rapidly online.

President Joe Biden's disastrous debate has done little to impact where he stands in the race with Donald Trump despite a mountain of calls for him to drop out, a new poll suggests.

The PBS News/NPR/Marist poll released Friday shows 50 percent of Americans would vote for Biden if the election was held today, while 48 percent would back Trump.

However, a majority believe Trump will win the election in November, and more than half of registered voters don't want either candidate on their party's ticket.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say Biden does not have the mental fitness to serve as president, while about half question Trump’s acuity.