In call with donors, Harris expresses confidence Democrats will win
Harris joined a call this afternoon with major Democratic donors to discuss the campaign. The call began with presentations from field organizers who expressed anger at the ongoing debate within the Democratic Party about backing Biden, given what they’ve seen and heard from voters on the ground, according to one source with direct knowledge of the discussion.
Then, Harris joined and delivered remarks expressing confidence that Democrats would win the election in November.
"We are going to win this election,” Harris said, according to a second source who was on the call. “We are going to win.”
The vice president denounced Trump and Republicans, saying, "You cannot claim you stand for unity if you are pushing an agenda that deprives whole groups of Americans of basic freedoms, opportunity and dignity."
More than four dozen former foreign and national security officials call on Biden to drop out of race
More than four dozen former foreign and U.S. national security officials called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race today.
"We write as former U.S. officials who have strongly supported your presidency and your initiatives to strengthen U.S. foreign and national security policy," they wrote in a letter. "We have welcomed the measures you have taken to promote U.S. alliances in Europe, Asia, and the Americas; to manage relations with great powers; and to address global issues such as climate change. These initiatives have been built on your decades-long record of support for responsible U.S. international engagement."
"We strongly believe that now is the time to pass the mantle of leadership, and we respectfully urge you to do so," they wrote to Biden.
Among the signatories are Richard Clarke, former national coordinator for security and counterterrorism, and Anthony Lake, who served as national security adviser to President Bill Clinton.
Kentucky congressman calls on Biden to drop out
Freshman Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., just called on Biden to exit the presidential race.
In a statement shared on X, McGarvey called Biden an "incredibly effective and empathetic leader," listing some of the president's achievements.
"That's why there is no joy in the recognition he should not be our nominee in November," he said.
"This November, we have to defeat Donald Trump, flip the House, and protect the Senate. The future of the Supreme Court, protecting access to healthcare, a woman's right to choose, and combating climate change are among the critical issues at stake," he said.
"President Biden is a good man who cares deeply about the American people. I trust that he will do what's best for the nation, and we will come together as Democrats to move the country forward," he added.
McGarvey has served in the House since 2023.
Rep. Seth Moulton: Biden 'didn't seem to recognize me' at D-Day event
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said today in an op-ed that Biden didn't appear to recognize him when he saw him in Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
"For the first time, he didn’t seem to recognize me," Moulton wrote in the opinion piece in The Boston Globe. "Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem."
"It was a crushing realization, and not because a person I care about had a rough night but because everything is riding on Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November," he said, adding that he is "no longer confident that he can."
Moulton, who competed against Biden in the 2020 primaries, became one of the first Democrats to call on him to drop out of the race in July — a week after the president's poor debate performance.
Ignoring controversy, Democrats move forward with nominating Biden with a virtual roll call
Democrats are in an unprecedented crisis over who should be their presidential candidate.
But the party committee that governs the nominating process met Friday and proceeded as if everything was normal and its entire plan was not at risk of being upended at any minute.
As calls mount for President Joe Biden to step aside and let another Democrat lead the party into the November election against former President Donald Trump, the Democratic National Convention’s Rules Committee held a virtual meeting where the message to delegates was, essentially: Everything is proceeding as planned.
The meeting was convened to discuss plans for a virtual roll call vote to formally nominate Biden weeks before the convention, but no votes were taken or decisions made. Instead, party leaders used the meeting to inform the nearly 200 members of the committee about the process that is currently planned, which they had already laid out in a letter earlier this week.
Harris to hold call with major donors at 3 p.m. ET
Vice President Harris is scheduled to hold a call with major Democratic donors at 3 p.m. ET today, four sources familiar with the plans tell NBC News.
A Biden campaign official says the president’s advisers asked her to do the call.
According to an email invitation obtained by NBC News, Harris will huddle with donors — among them Reid Hoffman— at 3 p.m. today to discuss “urgent, emerging” needs.
“We continue to find ourselves in a rapidly evolving environment,” the invitation reads. “With the stakes as high as they are this cycle, we have to remain focused on the critical work that needs to be done to protect our democracy. To that end, we are hosting a 30-minute briefing TODAY at 3:00 PM to discuss urgent, emerging needs."
"We will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris. You will also hear from leaders working on the frontlines with voters," the invite said.
Moments ago, Harris declined to answer reporters’ questions at an ice cream stop in Washington, D.C., with former supermodel Tyra Banks.
Biden’s family starts discussing his possible exit plan from the 2024 race
Members of President Joe Biden’s family have discussed what an exit from his campaign might look like, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The overall tone of the conversations has been that any exit plan — should Biden decide to take that step, as some of his closest allies increasingly believe he will — should put the party in the best position to beat former President Donald Trump while also being worthy of the more than five decades he has served the country in elected office, these people said.
Biden’s family members have specifically discussed how he would want to end his re-election bid on his own timing and with a carefully calculated plan in place. Considerations about the impact of the campaign on his health, his family and the stability of the country are among those at the forefront of the discussions, the people familiar with the discussions said.
The prospect of Biden’s considering stepping aside, much less that his family is gaming out a possible exit plan, is an extraordinary development that comes after he has repeatedly said he would not relinquish his position as the presumptive nominee of the party.
Biden's Covid symptoms have 'improved meaningfully' since yesterday, his doctor says
Biden's Covid symptoms have "improved meaningfully" since yesterday, White House physician Kevin O'Connor said in an update released by the White House.
O'Connor said that the president completed his fourth dose of Paxlovid this morning and is tolerating the treatment well.
"His loose, nonproductive cough and hoarseness continue to be his primary symptoms, but they have improved meaningfully from yesterday," he wrote. "His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear."
O'Connor said that Biden still tested positive for Covid yesterday, but all of his bloodwork was "normal."
"Complete Blood Count (CBC) was normal, demonstrating no anemia or evidence of bacterial infection," he said. "Similarly, his Comprehensive Metabolic Panel demonstrated normal electrolytes as well as good kidney and liver function."
Kamala Harris allies weighing how they could build a campaign if Biden exits
A group of Democrats who believe Vice President Kamala Harris should be the party’s nominee if President Joe Biden steps aside have begun quietly mapping out what her presidential campaign apparatus would look like and what her path to victory could be in November, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the planning.
The effort, which Harris has not sanctioned as she continues to publicly and privately support Biden remaining in the race, comes as many are concerned that the vice president does not currently have the personnel or organization needed to quickly make the pivot to being the top ticket, the source said. If Biden were to step aside, it’s unclear how much of his campaign apparatus would remain intact and whether it would make sense to continue some of the same strategic efforts.
Trump and Zelenskyy expected to speak by phone today
A day after officially accepting the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump is expected to speak by phone Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a source familiar with the plan told NBC News.
The call comes almost five years to the day after another call between the two led to Trump’s first impeachment, and while questions swirl about whether Trump would continue to support military aid for Ukraine in its battle against Russian invaders.
Trump has vowed that if he wins the election, he’d have the war “settled” while he’s still president-elect. He has not said how he’d do so. At his debate against President Joe Biden in June, Trump criticized the large amount of military aid going to Ukraine, but also said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s terms to end the war are “not acceptable.”
As for Ukraine’s president, Trump said, “Every time Zelenskyy comes to this country, he walks away with $60 billion. The greatest salesman ever.”