Biden makes campaign stop; RNC prep for next week

President Joe Biden makes another move to stay in office, and former President Donald Trump prepares for the RNC.

Biden pushes on ‘blue wall’ sprint with Michigan trip as he continues to make the case for candidacy

Four years ago, candidate Joe Biden stood before supporters at a Detroit high school, flanked by Kamala Harris and other rising Democratic stars, and called himself a bridge to the next generation of leaders.

Biden, now a president seeking reelection, returned to the city Friday with many in his party now pleading for him to fulfill that very promise and step aside. But Biden remains defiant and says he’ll remain in the race despite a disastrous debate performance that triggered a wave of calls for him to end his candidacy.

During a news conference on Thursday, when asked why he no longer considered himself a “bridge” to the next generation of leaders, Biden responded that “what changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited in terms of the economy, foreign policy, and domestic division.”

“We’ve never been here before,” Biden continued. “And that’s the other reason why I didn’t, you say, hand off to another generation. I gotta finish the job.”

In the two weeks since his debate debacle, Biden and his team have been on a relentless sprint to persuade fretting lawmakers, nervous donors and a skeptical electorate that at the age of 81, he is still capable of being president. But a spate of travel to battleground states, interviews with journalists and a rare solo news conference have done little to tamp down the angst within the party about Biden’s candidacy and his prospects against Donald Trump in November.

So far, one Democratic senator and 16 House Democrats have publicly called on Biden to step aside, with the latest statements — from Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, California Rep. Scott Peters and Illinois Rep. Eric Sorensen — coming as the president’s highly anticipated news conference ended Thursday night. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has indicated Biden still has a decision to make on whether to run, even though the president has made it clear he plans to remain in the race.

Meanwhile, his reelection campaign has indirectly acknowledged that Biden’s route to the White House is narrowing, saying the so-called “blue wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania is now the “clearest pathway” to victory, even as other battleground states like Arizona and Nevada are not out of reach.

That strategy is reflected in how Biden is redoubling his efforts in the Midwestern states, hitting Detroit nearly one week after he campaigned in Madison, Wis.; Philadelphia; and Harrisburg, Penn. Rallying enthusiasm in Detroit and among its sizable Black population could prove decisive for Biden’s chances of winning Michigan, which Biden reclaimed in 2020 after Donald Trump won it in four years prior by just over 10,000 votes.

Melania Trump to make rare political appearance at the RNC, sources say

Former first lady Melania Trump will attend the Republican National Convention next week in Milwaukee, according to two people familiar with her plans.

Melania Trump has largely refrained from public appearances, noticeably missing key moments such as former President Donald Trump’s Super Tuesday victory party and his 78th birthday party last month. She also did not accompany the presumptive Republican presidential nominee on any of the days of his hush money trial in New York.

Her presence at the convention, where her husband will be officially nominated as the Republican candidate, will be a boost for the party as it tries to present a united front compared to the crisis the Democratic party faces as some are calling for President Joe Biden to withdraw his reelection bid following his debate performance.

Melania Trump’s plans have not been formally announced, and it is not yet clear whether she will deliver a speech or have any role in the proceedings.

The news was first reported by CNN.

Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After she had been largely absent from the campaign trail earlier this year, reporters asked the former first lady about her plans. Her response: “Stay tuned.”

The few times she has been seen have been when she and Trump voted in Florida’s primary, at a couple of fundraisers and at their son’s high school graduation.

After the Republican Party of Florida announced earlier this year that the son, Barron Trump, was selected to serve as one of 41 at-large delegates from Florida to the national gathering, Melania Trump’s office responded two days later by saying he would decline to participate “due to prior commitments.”

Barron Trump was seen for the first time since he turned 18 at a campaign rally at his father’s golf resort in Doral, a Miami suburb.