CHRIS CRUCIAL: The vultures are circling

PLUS: A(nother) Trump sentencing delay

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1. On Vultures

President Joe Biden and his team have been working non-stop over the last 5 days to prevent Democratic lawmakers — and other party officials — from going public with their doubts about whether he can (or should) remain as the presidential nominee this fall.

Up until today, it had worked. (They even kept Joe Manchin off TV!) But, no longer.

Consider:

• Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first sitting Democratic Member of Congress to call for Biden to step aside. “Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw,” said Doggett. “I respectfully call on him to do so.”

• Illinois Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley said the decision whether or not to stay in the remains with Biden but “I just want him to appreciate at this time just how much it impacts not just his race, but all of the other races coming in November ... it wasn't just a horrible night.”

• Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear told CNN’s Pam Brown that “we've all got to be upfront and honest about what we saw in the debate, it was rough. And regardless of polls that you see, it's going to hurt the campaign.”

• Former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan wrote in Newsweek that “witnessing Joe Biden struggle was heartbreaking. And we must forge a new path forward.” Ryan, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2022, called on the party to unite behind VP Kamala Harris.

• Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that “I think it’s a legitimate question to say is this an episode or is this a condition,” regarding Biden’s debate performance.

• Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said that “I believe that another Democrat would have a better shot at beating Trump,” adding: “I think that Democrats would do well to find a different candidate.”

If past is prologue, these first cracks in the Biden base will only grow in the coming days — particularly if polling suggests that the president might not only lose the White House but could cost his party majorities in the Senate and the House as well.

And the polling on that front does not look good.

Here’s the lede from the latest CNN post-debate poll:

Three-quarters of US voters say the Democratic Party would have a better shot at holding the presidency in 2024 with someone other than President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. His approval rating also has hit a new low following a shaky performance in the first debate of this year’s presidential campaign.

And this from Puck News’ Peter Hamby: “Leaked polling from Democratic data firm OpenLabs shows Biden sinking in battleground states + putting states like Virginia, NH, New Mexico in play for Trump.”

And this from New Hampshire:

(Biden led by 10 points in the state the last time St. Anselm polled in December.)

Now, just because some — or even lots — of Democratic elected officials and party leaders call on Biden to drop out of the race doesn’t mean he has to — or will.

The primary is over. Biden won. The delegates at the Democratic National Convention in August are pledged — ostensibly — to support him in the roll call, a process that should make him, officially, the nominee.

And yet, and yet, and yet.

The story is simply NOT going away. Just Monday afternoon we learned that:

1. Biden’s mental lapses are growing more frequent, according to the New York Times. Here’s the key bit:

   In the weeks and months before President Biden’s politically devastating performance on the debate stage in Atlanta, several current and former officials and others who encountered him behind closed doors noticed that he increasingly appeared confused or listless, or would lose the thread of conversations.

   Like many people his age, Mr. Biden, 81, has long experienced instances in which he mangled a sentence, forgot a name or mixed up a few facts, even though he could be sharp and engaged most of the time. But in interviews, people in the room with him more recently said that the lapses seemed to be growing more frequent, more pronounced and more worrisome.

2. Hunter Biden, President Biden’s troubled son, is getting more and more involved in meetings regarding his dad’s political future. This is from NBC:

   While he is regularly at the White House residence and events, it is unusual for Hunter Biden to be in and around meetings that his father is having with his team, these people said. They said the president’s aides were struck by his presence during their discussions. 

   Hunter Biden was found guilty last month by a jury in a federal court in Delaware on gun-related charges. He remains under indictment for tax-related felonies, which he has pleaded not guilty. Shortly after the jury found him guilty, Hunter Biden returned to his home in California.

   One of the people familiar with the matter said Hunter Biden has been closely advising his father since the family gathered this past weekend at Camp David after Thursday’s debate. This person said Hunter Biden has “popped into” a couple of meetings and phone calls the president has had with some of his advisers.

   Another person familiar with the matter said the reaction from some senior White House staff has been, “What the hell is happening?”

3. White House staffers are panicking and angry. Here’s Axios:

   Officials on President Biden's White House and campaign staffs say they're feeling rage, sadness, frustration and resolve over his debate performance and his team's response to it, more than a dozen White House and campaign aides told Axios.

   Biden's performance at the debate has left many of his own aides worried about his mental fitness, and angry about what they see as a lack of candor from Biden's senior aides.

   “It's the first topic of every conversation,” one White House official said. “Senior leadership has given us nothing. To act like it's business as usual is delusional.”

   Another official put it more bluntly: “Everyone is freaking the f*** out.”

It’s getting worse, not better. Biden has agreed to a sit-down interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Friday. That may buy the president some time. But the sky is getting darker not lighter for Biden. And that darkness is the (Democratic) vultures circling.

2. Trump sentencing delayed

Donald Trump’s scheduled sentencing for his 34 felony convictions on falsifying business records tied to his alleged affair with a porn star has been delayed several months.

The request was granted by Judge Juan Merchan after Trump’s lawyers asked for more time to call for the vacating of his conviction following the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling earlier this week.

“The verdicts in this case violate the presidential immunity doctrine and create grave risks of 'an Executive Branch that cannibalizes itself,” wrote Trump’s lawyers in a letter to Merchan on Monday.

It’s not entirely clear how they will make that argument. At issue were payments to porn star Stormy Daniels — and channeled through one-time Trump fixer Michael Cohen — made during the course of the 2016 campaign. Trump was, obviously, not president during that time — making it hard to argue that these were “official acts,” which, according to the Supreme Court, are immune from prosecution.

Trump was originally set to be sentenced on July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention is scheduled to open in Milwaukee. Sentencing is now Sept. 18, less than two months before Trump faces voters in a bid for a 2nd term.

3. Democratic Rep. Says Trump Will Win

In an op-ed published Tuesday afternoon in the Bangor Daily News, Democratic Rep. Jared Golden writes that he now expects Donald Trump to win the White House in the fall.

“After the first presidential debate, lots of Democrats are panicking about whether President Joe Biden should step down as the party’s nominee,” writes Golden. “Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise. It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”

Which, wow.

Now, Golden is doing this for obvious political reasons. He represents a district where Trump beat Biden 52%-45% in 2020. And where Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 10 points in 2016.

Golden won reelection in 2022 with 53%. His race is rated a “toss up” by The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

Nonetheless, the willingness of a Democratic Member of Congress to come out and declare that Biden is going to lose is the last thing that the president needs right now. That Golden added that fears of Trump ending democracy are overblown and that the election will hinge on the economy are also problematic for Biden, who has premised his entire campaign on the idea that democracy is badly endangered.

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

“This is not good enough from Gregg Berhalter... We can't afford to be embarrassed, and we can't afford to arrive in the summer of 2026 with a team that has not progressed, that has not evolved, and has not improved.” — Alexi Lalas on U.S. Mens National Team Coach Gregg Berhalter. I TOTALLY agree.

ONE GOOD CHART

Donald Trump is fond of saying that the American dream is dead. A majority of Americans disagree, according to Pew.

SONG OF THE DAY

Ryan Adams covering Whitney Houston might seem weird. But Adams’ cover of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is just beautiful.

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