Mickey Sherrill urges Biden to step down as Republicans await Trump's VP pick

Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado said in an interview with CNN that he did not believe Biden could win a second term and warned that it could be a “landslide victory” for Trump.

“I think Donald Trump is going to win this election, and probably win by a landslide,” said Bennet, who ran against Biden in 2020 and lost.

Show more

In his speech today, Biden sought to counter President Trump's criticism of the NATO military alliance, arguing that the US should abandon its obligations to NATO member states.

In his opening remarks at the NATO summit in Washington, Biden highlighted how, during his term, the number of NATO member states spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense has jumped from nine to 23. Trump has frequently argued that by pressuring allies to increase their defense spending, he was protecting American taxpayers from shouldering an undue burden.

Biden didn't mention Trump by name, but the message was clear: Trump had been making a big fuss about NATO countries not meeting their financial obligations, but since he left, more have met their budget targets.

Read the full story here.

A Biden campaign spokesman tonight rejected calls from President Trump to face Biden on the golf course, saying: “Mr. Biden has no time for Donald Trump's bizarre behavior.”

“After 12 days of not being seen in public, Donald Trump has now invited a fictional serial killer to dinner, mocked Marco Rubio, praised Project 2025 architect Tom Homan and challenged the president of the United States to a game of golf,” James Singer said in a statement.

“Joe Biden doesn't have time for Donald Trump's bizarre behavior. He's busy leading America and defending the free world. Donald Trump is a liar, convicted fraudster and self-serving con man. No surprise there,” Singer added.

The campaign declined to respond to Trump's request to debate Biden again this weekend. The next presidential debate is scheduled for September.

President Trump introduced his youngest son, 18-year-old Barron Trump, at a rally tonight, drawing thunderous applause from the crowd in Doral, Florida.

“Stand up and look at him,” Trump said, suggesting he “might be more popular” than the former president's two older children, Don and Eric.

“Welcome to the site, Baron,” he added.

Barron Trump was expected to be a delegate to the Republican National Convention after the Florida Republican Party selected him as one of the state's statewide delegates in May, but former first lady Melania Trump later said in a statement that her son would decline the invitation to attend due to prior commitments.

Trump also hinted that he will eventually announce his running mate, addressing speculation that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) may be the choice at a rally tonight in Doral, Florida.

“They probably think I announced that Marco was going to be vice president, but I don't know,” Trump said. “That's a lot of coverage.”

Later, speaking about a possible bill to ban tip taxes, Trump asked Rubio, who was in attendance, if he would vote for it, before adding, “You may or may not be there to vote for it,” suggesting he might become vice president rather than a senator.

President Trump stepped up his attacks on Harris at a rally tonight, repeatedly mispronouncing her name, criticizing her record on immigration and suggesting she has failed to secure the US-Mexico border.

Trump also said Biden's selection of Harris as his running mate is “the best insurance I've ever seen,” implying that no one wants Harris to run in his place. Biden's comments came after some Democrats (and social media users) suggested that Harris would run instead.

He also suggested without evidence that Ms Harris “has cognitive impairment” and said “her condition is not very good.”

At a campaign rally tonight, Trump challenged Biden to another debate and an 18-hole golf match.

“We're going to have another debate this week so that sleepy Joe Biden can prove to the whole world that he's got what it takes to be president,” Trump said in Doral, Fla. “But this time it's not moderated, it's just guys on guys.”

He also challenged Biden to a golfing challenge, a topic that also came up during the June 27 debate in Atlanta.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team today during a break in practice in Las Vegas.

Harris took to the court at 4:23 p.m. ET and was escorted by head coach Steve Kerr to a group of stars. Harris shook hands with Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry before speaking to the team at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Mendenhall Arena.

“Our country is rooting for you. We are so proud of you,” she said. “Go to Paris and bring home the gold medal.”

Read the full story here.

“Russia's attempts to influence this year's U.S. election through information warfare have the same goal as in past elections: to undermine the Biden campaign and the Democratic Party and undermine public confidence in the electoral process,” intelligence officials said today.

Officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) told reporters that Russian election influence operations, including covert social media accounts and encrypted direct messaging channels, were aimed at exploiting political divisions in the United States after the Russian incursion and targeting key groups of voters in battleground states to undermine support for Ukraine.

Asked whether Russian intelligence activities were attempting to boost or undermine one of the presidential candidates, the ODNI official said: “Given the U.S. role in Ukraine and broader policy toward Russia, we have not observed any change in Russia's preferences for the presidential candidate compared to past elections.”

Read the full story here.