Can Biden last?

He digs in, but Democrats have doubts

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  On the Campaign Trail On the Campaign Trail U.S. Elections 2024   By Jeff Mason, White House correspondent After nearly two weeks of Democratic fretting over Joe Biden's chances of beating Donald Trump in November, a sense of grudging acceptance appeared to settle over the party. Then Nancy Pelosi spoke. Read on for my analysis of this week, where Biden digs in, despite Democrats' doubts. Latest election headlines Every day is a test for Joe Biden with his presidential campaign in question Biden aims to head off growing Democratic opposition to re-election bid Pelosi, Clooney, Democratic senators raise new doubts about Biden Trump seeks to disavow 'Project 2025' despite ties to conservative group What to expect at the Republican National Convention Can Biden's pushback last? It seemed as if the drumbeat for President Biden to step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate was slowing as the days passed after his halting debate with Donald Trump. Biden vowed to stay; Senator Mark Warner canceled plans to corral senators to discuss Biden's future; lawmakers who had discussed ways to replace Biden and touted Vice President Kamala Harris offered up support for "Joe" instead.  But former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's interview on MSNBC on Wednesday changed all that. The Democratic heavyweight said Biden needed to make up his mind soon about whether to drop out, suggesting that was still an open question, and she declined to say definitively that she wanted him to run.   Then came Democratic fundraiser George Clooney's New York Times opinion piece saying Biden wasn't the same man as in 2020, and risked losing Democrats the White House, the Senate, and their chances of reclaiming the House. The issue did overshadow the NATO summit, despite Biden's forceful speech. Once NATO leaders leave Washington, expect Biden to face a tough stretch of future defections.  Meanwhile Trump came out of political hiding, after days of quietly letting Biden's problems with his party fester in the public sphere, to hold a rally where he attacked Harris and disparaged Biden. His Republican Party rolled out a new platform that tempers language on abortion, upsetting some evangelicals, and the former president was expected to name his running mate by Monday. The Republican National Convention next week may turn the spotlight away from Biden and Democrats' turmoil. But it is unlikely to be gone for long. Come August, the Democratic National Convention will gather in Chicago to officially nominate their candidate. At least right now, it's Joe Biden.  Poll of the week Fact check of the week President Biden's new immigration policy announced last month was misinterpreted on social media, with online chatter that Democrats were trying to "cheat" or give citizenship to undocumented immigrants by November's election. Other posts falsely said the policy granted citizenship to a million undocumented migrants.  In reality, the policy eases the process for lawful permanent residence, also known as a Green Card, for an estimated 500,000 eligible noncitizen spouses of citizens and about 50,000 children with a citizen parent. Only U.S. citizens can vote in presidential elections, and it would take years for anybody benefiting from this policy to be naturalized. Read more.  In this section, the Reuters fact-checking team addresses misinformation connected to the U.S. elections. Find more fact-checks from around the world here.  The view from the NATO summit The United States will start deploying longer range missiles in Germany in 2026, the two countries announced in Washington. The decision will send Germany the most potent US weapons to be based on the European continent since the Cold War.  NATO leaders will end their summit with a clear focus on backing Ukraine and countering what the allies say is the growing threat Russia poses to Europe. China criticized a draft communique that described it as decisive enabler of Russia's war effort. And Trump was set to meet Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday, sources say. Photo from the trail   Under stormy skies, U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden stand with NATO allies and partners during a welcome ceremony before a dinner at the White House during NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington, U.S., July 10, 2024. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno What to watch for July 11: Biden to hold solo press conference at NATO summit at 6:30 p.m. ET. July 13: Trump holds rally in Butler, Pennsylvania  July 15: Biden speaks on Civil Rights Act at LBJ Library   July 15-18: Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin  July 16: Biden speaks at NAACP Convention, Las Vegas  The who, what and when Who will Trump pick for VP?  Biden is now deporting more people than Trump  How this year of elections is set to reshape global politics  Find up-to-date elections coverage, interactive data and more on Reuters.com.  Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com On the Campaign Trail is sent once a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. 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