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Soon, Biden Holds News Conference Amid Pressure To Exit Race; 14 Hill Democrats Now Publicly Urging Biden To Exit Race As Many More Openly Vent Concerns He Can't Defeat Trump; New York Times Reports, Some Advisers Discussing How To Persuade Biden To Step Aside; Any Moment: Biden Holds News Conference Amid Pressure To Exit Race. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 11, 2024 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, we're awaiting a high stakes news conference by President Biden this hour as he's facing intensifying pressure right now to exit the race for the White House. Anxious Democrats and the world watching very closely to see how the President does tonight. More and more members of his own party now going public with their fears that President Biden no longer has what it takes to defeat Donald Trump.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

And let's get right to the breaking news this hour, a pivotal moment in President Biden's fight for political survival. We're standing by for the president's first extended solo news conference since his poor debate performance two weeks ago thrust his re-election campaign into crisis. You're going to see it live, of course, right here on CNN.

Our Senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche is attending the news conference over at the NATO Summit site right here in Washington, D.C. Kayla, just ahead of this news conference, President Biden only moments ago spoke at a NATO event on Ukraine.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He did, Wolf. And in a moment on the world stage where the president is trying to project strength and lucidity, he was participating in an event for the Ukraine compact to celebrate the alliance's defense of Ukraine. And in Introducing Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Biden had a gaffe that he'd been trying to avoid. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin. President Putin, you can beat President Putin, President Zelenskyy. I'm so focused on beating Putin, we got to worry about it. Anyway, Mr. President.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I'm better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAUSCHE: As supporters of the president might say, that's just classic Biden, but Democrats, who are in the middle of a crisis of confidence in the president's candidacy for re-election, do not want to see that. Although, I'm told that the president has been holding calls, his top advisers have been holding calls at least twice a day, 9:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M., with the purpose of figuring out whether there is a path forward.

And a senior administration official tells me that as of that call 9:00 A.M. this morning, there had been no change of heart and no change of decision for the president's inner circle and, by extension, for the president on whether to continue seeking re-election. That is a critical backdrop for what we are expected to hear from the president in just about an hour with that press conference running slightly behind with the rest of the NATO summit schedule here.

The president's goal with this news conference is to go out on stage and to prove that he is up to the task of not only winning the election, but securing another four years. But it comes at a time as Democrats are incredibly frustrated, angry, sad, that they feel that the president's inner circle have betrayed him with bad judgment and bad strategy, and in particular, shielding them from what they say is an advanced age of President Biden and what they see as a steep decline in his faculties over the last year-plus.

That is the vibe that we've gotten from Democrats. That's the consistent theme that we've heard from a dozens of people that my colleagues and I have spoken with, that there's a careful choreography around the president at all times to try to keep him from having moments like the ones that we just saw. But that's why today's press conference is so critical because it will be him in a freewheeling on relatively unscripted type of format. And so that's what we're going to be seeing later on this hour. Wolf?

BLITZER: Kayla, I want you to stand by as we wait to hear directly from the president of the United States.

Right now, though, I want to go to Capitol Hill where Democrats have a huge stake in President Biden's performance tonight. Let's go to our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju.

Manu, as usual, you've been talking to lawmakers. More Hill Democrats, I understand, sharing their concerns about the president and his re- election bid today. Update our viewers.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Now a total of 14 Democrats, 13 from the House, are now calling on Joe Biden to end his bid for the Presidency.

[18:05:02]

And in addition to that, one member just moments ago, Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a vulnerable Democrat from Washington State, even suggested that Joe Biden should resign. This all comes as that is the public calls, but privately, the concerns are much more rampant, fears that he could actually lose this election and many wanting him to make the decision that he will actually step aside, even as the president has said time and time again that he plans to run.

This all comes as top Biden officials behind closed doors try to assuage concerns among Senate Democrats today, trying to talk to them about the campaign. However, that session, I'm told, turned into more of a listening session, as senators spoke most of the time, some of them raising concerns about the campaign.

But in talking to senators today about all of this, it is very clear that many of them believe there needs to be major changes in the campaign. If not, they suggest It's time for Biden to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): This is about the future, not about the past. And we need to be prepared to make hard, cold decisions about that future.

I'm very concerned that Biden could lose to Trump.

RAJU: Do they suggest at all that he may drop out? Was there any suggestion?

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (I-WV): Not at all.

RAJU: Not at all? They're saying he's 100 percent running.

MANCHIN: Everything that I heard in there.

SEN. PETER WELCH (D-VT): I have not changed my mind, but I really appreciate the White House folks coming over.

RAJU: Do you think that Biden is going to lose effort today?

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): We had a good discussion in there. I've got to get into there as well.

REPORTER: Was it enough to change any minds?

RAJU: Do you stand by on that comment?

BENNET: I stand by my comments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And those last two senators, Senators Michael Bennet and Senators Peter Welch, both were leaving that closed door meeting with the Biden campaign officials. Welch became the first Senate Democrat to call for Biden to step aside. He made clear there he has not changed his mind about that position. And also you heard Michael Bennet. He has not gone as far as calling on Biden to step aside, but he has privately said he believes Biden will lose. And he said, as he left the meeting there, Wolf, he stands by his comments.

BLITZER: Manu Raju up on Capitol Hill, thank you very much.

I want to bring in our team of political experts who will be watching the president's news conference very, very closely. And, David Axelrod, let me start with you. What, if anything, can President Biden do tonight to slow the growing calls from Democrats for him to step aside?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm not sure he can slow it, Wolf, but he can accelerate it if he stumbles or if he says some of the things he said in his interview with George Stephanopoulos that enraged some Democrats. But I really think this debate is in a kind of advanced stage now and a lot of people have made up their minds, including voters. And now it's really a question of how the president internalizes all of that and what decision he wants to make, because at the end of the day, it is his decision.

But, obviously, there's going to be a lot of eyes on this press conference. The stumble with the introduction of President Zelenskyy was unfortunate and an unfortunate prelude to this, but I'm not sure this press conference is determinative. I think that a lot of minds have been made up, and I think these next 48 hours are going to be very important.

BLITZER: David, The New York Times, as you know, is reporting that some longtime Biden aides and advisors are trying to come up with ways to persuade the president to potentially drop out. What's your reaction to that report?

AXELROD: Listen, I think that the people around him care deeply about him. Make no mistake, they have hundreds of years of political experience around them. I think they understand the situation that they're in, but they also have great affection for him. Many of them, have been with him for a long time. And they want him to make this decision on his terms.

And my sense is that they are working it and hoping that it lands in the right place, but they're not going to take that decision or try and take that decision away from him, and he won't be pushed. I know him. Most of us know him. Most of us have watched him. He's going to make this decision in his own time.

But as Speaker Pelosi said yesterday, once the NATO conference is done these discussions are going to accelerate and the time for a decision is at hand.

BLITZER: Stand by. I want to bring in Bakari Sellers for more on this. Bakari, in a new poll, 67 percent of Americans say that President Biden should withdraw from the 2024 race. In addition, 85 percent say he is simply too old for a second term. These are massive majorities. So, what is the path for President Biden now to overcome all of this?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's very difficult for him to overcome all of this because he's not only having to take on Donald Trump and the Republican Party, which has been preparing for this moment for a very long period of time, but he's also having to fend off what he thought were his colleagues in the House and the Senate and others who are throughout the beltway who are creating this circular firing squad.

[18:10:10]

My entire message this whole time was, as David said so accurately, this is one man's decision. This decision belongs to the president of the United States. And for many of us, our goal is focused on November, because we understand what type of danger this country will be in if Donald Trump is reelected. And so I also concur with David that the next 48 hours are probably the most important 48 hours of this presidency and of his future actually in the White House. And so we shall see.

But let me also say one caution. Well, if I know this wasn't the question asked, but I must say this. If those same people who are calling for Joe Biden to quit the campaign believe that they're going to have an opportunity to skip over Kamala Harris or have an open convention, then I believe that would be more dangerous than anything Joe Biden can do between now and Election Day.

And I just want to caution Democrats, particularly those who are watching this show right now that there are going to be many angry voters, which are the backbone of this party, which you need to come out in those blue wall states to have an opportunity to keep the Senate House and win the presidency. But if you have the audacity to believe that Kamala Harris won't be the nominee, if Joe Biden decides that, then this party will self-implode.

BLITZER: I want to bring in David Chalian right now, our political director. David, this is the president's first major news conference of the year, very significant moment indeed. But this gaffe confusing President Zelenskyy and President Putin that we just heard at this event just moments ago, how big of a problem potentially could that be?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. I think that if that if Biden did that prior to the debate, I don't know if we would be scrutinizing it just quite as much. He made the mistake, caught himself quickly and adjusted to it. Zelenskyy got in on the joke there. But this is the point. That level of scrutiny is going to be applied to every public utterance that Joe Biden has from now through November if he remains the candidate on the ballot. That is the world of a changed campaign and context for Joe Biden's candidacy. And that's just the reality.

So, he and his team are never going to be able to do that. It is going to remain the central question voters have, observers have fellow elected officials have around every one of his public outings.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And that is -- a lot of this speaks to how much they know that they need to fix and what they need to do here is the fact that they're even doing this press conference. I mean, you mentioned there, Wolf, that they have not done a solo news conference with President Biden since last November. I looked at the numbers yesterday. When you compare him not just to Donald Trump, but to Barack Obama and George Bush to date, at this point in their presidencies, they had done many more news conferences and availabilities. So, that speaks to the fact that they know that they have a lot of ground to make up with voters and that people are going to be watching this closely, not just the president's critics or Republicans, but also his allies and those Democrats who have not yet gotten up there to where they are calling on him to step aside.

You just saw Colorado Senator Michael Bennet. He was telling me the other night that he doesn't believe that Biden can defeat Donald Trump, but he didn't yet call on him to drop out of the race. So, they're obviously watching that closely.

The White House is not really sharing a lot about how they've been preparing for this press conference. Obviously, they know they're going to get questions on his acuity, his ability to not just serve right now, but also until he is age 86, which is what he would be at the end of a second term.

So, there's a real question of how he handles this, how he deals with the concerns. Is he dismissive of them, which has really wrinkled some Democrats, or does he confront them head on?

BLITZER: I want to bring in Shermichael Singleton into this conversation. Shermichael, as you probably have heard, CNN has learned that some Democrats are actually blaming Biden's inner circle for shielding him and preventing the public from getting the full extent of what's going on. What's your reaction?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, sure. Some blame, I suppose, you can put on advisers, because principals typically they depend on them and rely on them in terms of making the right decisions. Should I do this press conference? Is this the right strategic message?

But at the end of the day, the buck ultimately stops with the candidate, Wolf. In terms of electoral politics, if you're constantly having to defend your candidate against an issue, you are losing the race. To David's point, this issue is not going away anytime soon. And they have to deal with this between now and November, you're talking about four months technically versus being able to make the case against your opponent, that's not a good thing. You think about the coalition in 2020 that led President Biden to winning the election. If you look at those groups, young voters, suburban voters, African- American voters, you're seeing some real cracks in that foundation.

So, mathematically, there's already questions among Democrats, can you win in November? Also, what will the implications be on our Senate candidates? What will the implications be on our House candidates? And so those are very serious questions that I think a lot of Democratic members are now facing the reality of, which is why many are starting to slowly come out and say, maybe it is time for this sea to change.

[18:15:06] BLITZER: We'll go back to David Axelrod. David, Politico is reporting that former President Obama was given an actual heads up but didn't dissuade George Clooney from releasing his bombshell op-ed in The New York Times calling for President Biden to step down. You know him very, very well. What's your reaction to that report?

AXELROD: Well, I'll tell you, Wolf, I haven't wanted to contaminate the president with my own comments. So, I've sort of kept a little bit of a distance from him, and so I don't know whether there's any truth to that or not. But, you know, I will say this. The people who are most vulnerable weary about Biden stepping off this ticket, if he does, are the Republicans because they built a message for two years that essentially was the world's out of control, Biden's not in command, he's weak, Trump is strong, elect Trump. That's the whole Republican message. That's what you're going to hear at the convention next week. And that's why there's some level of panic in the Republican Party that there might be a change here.

As for the president, you know, Kaitlan said that Michael Bennet didn't call for him to step down. There is a lot of affection for the president. There's a lot of respect for the president. And I think people want to give him space to essentially contemplate everything that's going on and come to his own decision. But I wouldn't confuse that with a lack of concern among Democrats. I think that is widespread, and many people have held their tongues for most of this week and much of last. I'm not sure that's going to hold.

BLITZER: I want everyone to stand by. We have a lot more to assess.

Also coming up, President Biden is set to take reporters' questions in what could be a pivotal news conference. Could he say or do anything to convince Democrats up on Capitol Hill? We're talking to the first congressional Democrat who publicly said President Biden should step aside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:06]

BLITZER: We're standing by for what could be the most important news conference of President Biden's political career. He's set to face reporters just minutes from now amid growing calls for him to stand down from seeking re-election. You'll, of course, see the news conference live right here on CNN.

Joining us now, Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas, the first House Democrat to publicly call for the president to step aside. Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

Just moments ago, you heard President Biden's gaffe that he quickly corrected calling President Zelenskyy President Putin. How much does that feed into Democrats concerns right now? And what do you want to hear from President Biden at his news conference just a short while from now?

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX): Well, I think it's the type of slight that would never have been noticed in earlier times. But if the focus from now until November is on these stumbles and fumbles, minor though they may be, rather than on Donald Trump's lies, then we will lose. And my concern, I hope tonight to see him strong in an international forum, I believe he will be because he was with the Ukraine event other than that one mishap, but however that event goes, I don't think it will change my view that's a strong one that he needs to step aside in favor of a stronger candidate.

I felt that the moment that I heard that debate, that debate cannot be unseen. It's out there. And I believe that President Biden has a unique opportunity this Monday night in my hometown of Austin, Texas, when he will be presented an award quite justifiably which is held in the state library at the LBJ library. That would be a great time for him to follow the example of President Lyndon Johnson putting country ahead of self and make the difficult and painful decision after so many years of valued service to say that he will step aside, continue to do the duties of president, but let someone else take on Donald Trump and devote their full energy to protecting our democracy and saving our country from a takeover by a criminal and his gang who may never give it back.

BLITZER: Do you think he'll do that?

DOGGETT: I don't know. I think there is growing concern as you can see from my colleagues who've joined me and joined in the cry from across the country that we must have a new person. It's not impossible for President Biden to win, but at the moment it's improbable and it's more improbable every time there's some minor slip up like this because they get expanded far beyond former President Trump confusing Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi a few months back.

BLITZER: Several more, Congressman, of your colleagues are calling on President Biden to step aside. Indeed, only in just in the past few hours, more of them did so. How many more Democratic lawmakers are you expecting to come out against the president from what you're hearing?

DOGGETT: Well, I believe there are dozens who feel that deep in their spirit that we have a need for a new candidate, whether or not they will make that view public, many of them in different situations in mind, is far from certain. I do think that we will begin to hear more, as we have this afternoon.

With the kind of legacy that President Biden has of accomplishing so much, not only as a senator, but now with major legislative accomplishment during his presidency. I just don't believe he wants to leave as his legacy transferring our country into the hands of a potential tyrant. And that's what I think hopefully as he sees the numbers come in from the polls, as he hears from more of our colleagues and people across the country that he will make that hard decision.

And so we're not trying to force him out of office.

[18:25:00]

We're trying to encourage him to look at the facts, consider the threat so significant from Donald Trump and his gang and make the right decision.

BLITZER: It's interesting, and I'm anxious to get your thoughts, Congressman. CNN is learning that President Biden's cabinet meetings are typically pre-scripted, with cabinet officials submitting questions and key talking points to the White House staff ahead of those cabinet meetings. What's your reaction to that?

DOGGETT: Well, I'm sure some of that, to some degree, has happened in the past, but it's the kind of report, like those that have come out this week from The Wall Street Journal and other news media, that caused concern, that suggests that perhaps something has been hidden. And we can be sure that you and your colleagues will be exploring every hidden possibility. And, again, as I said earlier, to the extent that the focus is all on what we don't know about Joe Biden, we will not be focused on what we do know about Donald Trump, and that is his desire to move us from a democracy that has served our country so well into an autocracy, where it is all about him and his power under this Project 2025.

BLITZER: Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas, thanks very much for joining us.

And, once again, we're only moments away from President Biden's crucial news conference as pressure is growing for him to exit the race. We're going to bring it to you live as soon as it starts.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:38]

BLITZER: Once again, we're waiting for President Biden to walk out very, very soon and begin a news conference that could potentially play a major role in determining whether he stays in the 2024 race or steps aside. The president will face reporters at the close of the NATO summit here in Washington as the number of congressional Democrats urging him to quit the race is growing by the day.

Our political experts are back with us along with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner of George Washington University. Dr. Reiner, thanks very much for joining us.

As a doctor, you were concerned by the president's debate performance some two weeks ago. What will you be looking for from the president as he takes the stage just moments from now?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, to start, Wolf, I'll be looking at his sort of subjective overall appearance. The first thing that was evident two weeks ago was that the president looked -- he looked ill. He looked pale and frail. His voice was low and, and halting. He had difficulty finishing his thoughts and his sentences, so that overall sort of gestalt of how he looks. And when we see patients in the clinic setting, when we watch them walk into the room, when we watch them walk out of the room, we often get a pretty good sense for how they're feeling. And that's the first thing that I'll be looking for as the as the press conference begins.

BLITZER: How do you distinguish Dr. Reiner between what might be normal signs of aging in the president versus something more serious?

REINER: Yes. Well, that's where formal testing comes in. And I think in an asymptomatic 81-year-old, it's controversial. People have mixed feelings about whether or not to do formal, you know, neurocognitive testing. But the president has now shown some symptoms, concerning symptoms, as manifest or as what was evident in the debate two weeks ago. And I think that should have prompted formal testing.

And that's how you sort of tease out whether these are just sort of normal kind of changes. A lot of people mistake names, or you're thinking about someone else, and maybe you say that name, as opposed to the person's true name, ike perhaps we saw a little while ago with the president and President Zelenskyy, but that's where formal testing comes into play.

And when people start to develop these symptoms, which become concerning either to them or to their family or other people that they're with, this typically would trigger a series of formal objective look at their cognition.

BLITZER: Interesting point. And it's very strongly important point as well. David Chalian, whatever happens and going forward, I think it's fair to say the Democratic Party right now finds itself very divided only weeks before the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August.

CHALIAN: Yes, this is obviously a hugely important moment for the president to try and assuage concerns among voters. But I think it's going to be very, very difficult for him to assuage concerns among Democratic-elected officials, the donor class Democratic Party activists who believe he is not in a position to actually win this race, who believe he doesn't have a viable path to 270 electoral votes. And even a flawless press conference at the end of NATO here, Wolf, is not going to calm those jitters.

And it is Biden himself who talks about the stakes of this election and how he sees Donald Trump as an existential threat to the way our country exists. And it is that argument that Democrats are using against the guy making it at the top of the ticket to say it is for that reason, and since they don't think he has a path to 270, that many of them are coming out and asking him to step down.

COLLINS: And there are two prevailing points of view on this. One, this is coming two weeks after the debate. I talked to a lot of people this morning who said, I can't believe he waited two weeks to halt an unscripted press conference with reporters and to take these questions and these moments that all of these elected officials were searching for in the days after the debate, saying that he just needed to get his bearings underneath him again, to have this moment and to be back out there.

[18:35:00]

And so I think part of that is that they've waited too long to do this, as some of them would say.

The White House, though, on the other hand, and what the Biden campaign is looking at is that Washington Post/ABC poll today. That is one of the things they touted to Democratic senators today. It still said that Joe Biden and Donald Trump were 46 percent and 46 percent, essentially that this race is within the margin of error, that it is a dead heat, and they were saying it's unchanged. The problem with that is, though, they did that debate and the Biden team wanted to do that debate because they wanted to shake up the race. They wanted to be able to get ahead of Donald Trump, and, obviously, that is not what the result of that campaign was.

CHALIAN: And we should just note, in that same poll, a majority of Biden voters, people who tell the pollster, I'm voting for Joe Biden, a majority of Biden voters want him to step down as the nominee in that same poll that shows a tight race with the --

BLITZER: Let me get David Axelrod to weigh in on it, specifically on that point. Among people, David, as you know, and we just heard from our other David, that they'll vote for Biden in November. 54 percent of them, these are 54 percent, that's a majority, say he should step aside. These are his own supporters. Can he just ignore that?

AXELROD: Well, I don't think he can, Wolf. But you know, you asked a question earlier about whether Democrats were divided. I think that there's one thing on which they're not divided, and that is the fervent desire to defeat President Trump, because everybody, as David suggests, shares the concerns that President Biden has expressed about Trump's illiberal, anti-Democratic tendencies, and they're worried about it. And they think this is an existential election.

So, I think with all the affection and all the respect for the president, I think the number one priority of most Democrats is to win in November and defeat Donald Trump. The second is to try and elect a Democratic House and maintain a Democratic Senate, that will be hard, which is affected by what happens on the top of the ticket. So, you know, I don't think the party is divided in its ultimate goal, but this is a very -- it's an unprecedented and awkward situation that the Democratic Party finds itself in. I think at the end of the day, there'll likely be unity around the goal that has motivated people from the beginning.

BLITZER: Bakari Sellers, I'm anxious to get your thoughts.

SELLERS: Yes. I don't think I've ever been more kind of disappointed at our inability to circle the wagons that are inability to have these conversations that are not aired publicly on CNN or in Politico or New York Times or Wall Street Journal. I think that we are highlighting one of our greatest faults as Democrats in this country, which is when you have an op-ed piece by George Clooney, for example. But George Clooney has never talked to LaTosha Brown or Cliff Albright. He probably doesn't even know who they are from Black Voters Matter, who are actually doing the real work, the people who are knocking on doors, who are registering voters.

And what we're doing is we're highlighting that disconnect within our party. Something, and some -- that was -- it took someone like Barack Obama to bring those factions together and whomever, if President Biden is someone who steps aside when Kamala Harris assumes that role, if that's the case, then she may be somebody who can unify that.

But my disappointment lies in the inability for us to lead this country at a time where we need to, to be able to keep our business outside of the tabloids, to want to run to Morning Joe in the morning and sit down across from him and continue to bastardize the president of the United States, to have these disconnects, like we saw yesterday from our former leader. I mean, I'm just disappointed from top down and what we're going to have to have between now and then is someone who comes in and is able to unify this party along that line, because all of us are working towards beating Donald Trump in November, whether or not it's Kamala Harris or Joe Biden.

BLITZER: David, do you want to make a point?

AXELROD: I just want to respond to what -- yes, I do. I want to respond to what Bakari said. I mean, the reason that these conversations are in public was because there was no way to have them in private, because the president was cloistered and did not want to hear it and his aides did not want to hear it. That's why these conversations have tumbled out into public. And they tumbled out into public because it became a kind of break glass situation after the after the debate. So, yes, it would be nice if everything were neat and orderly, but that's not the circumstances that presented themselves.

So, you can be disappointed, Bakari, I'm disappointed too. This is a terribly hard situation. But I don't think you can blame the Democratic Party for this situation. I think this situation has also resulted from this sort of denial from folks in the White House.

[18:40:06]

SELLERS: I'm not blaming the Democratic Party, and I'm sorry, Wolf, for jumping in. I'm not blaming the Democratic Party. But what I am saying is that there are a lot of people who are articulating their views on whether or not Joe Biden should run or not run, who are underestimating and not valuing the fierce urgency that I've talked to voters about.

When you go out in the streets and you're talking particularly to black voters, to brown voters, to gay voters, to people who are afraid of the persecution they may face under Donald Trump, the gamesmanship that we're displaying within the beltway, it doesn't resonate with them because most of them are saying, whether or not it's Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, this is too important. Get your act together. I do not want the chaos. And what we're about to bring on our own party, I'm afraid, it's chaos. And, hopefully, Kamala Harris can soothe that.

BLITZER: I want to bring Shermichael Singleton into this once again and get your thoughts. Shermichael?

SINGLETON: I mean, look, Wolf, I think Bakari made a salient point in terms of black voters, Latino voters, members of the LGBTQ community who are probably concerned for a lot of different reasons about where the election could go, and I certainly understand that. But that's not enough for Joe Biden to win the election if he loses a substantial percent of white voters, a substantial percent of suburban voters, those folks in the middle, if they decide to stay home, because they have very serious questions about the president's cognitive abilities and overall health. I think the campaign had a matter of days to respond to this.

The fact that they waited more than a week raises the question in the minds of people who are skeptical about the president's health. Why did they wait so long? Are they actually worried about the president's ability to stand before a pool of journalists? Are they hiding something from us? That's the worst thing you want for voters to formulate in their minds.

And, again, if, if those are the questions that a campaign is wrestling with, as a strategist, I'm a Republican, I'm sort of stepping out of this, watching my Democratic friends try to figure this out, at some point, you have to make the decision, we need to change the captain of this ship because we're not headed in the right direction. And that probably is going to be Vice President Harris.

BLITZER: Shermichael and everyone else, everybody stand by.

Just ahead right here in The Situation Room, we're only moments away from President Biden's first news conference since that debate and the growing calls from members of his own party calling for him to step aside. We're going to bring it to you live. Stand by.

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[18:46:19]

BLITZER: We're waiting for President Biden's high-stakes news conference to begin to as his reelection bid is in crisis right now. We're going to carry his remarks live. Standby for that.

But right now, I want to check in on what's going on with the Vice President Kamala Harris, who's out on the campaign trail. CNN's Eva McKend is joining us live from the battleground state of North Carolina. Eva, what's the vice president's message at this delicate moment of deep uncertainty for the Democrats?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the vice president is spending her time crisscrossing the country, making the case to key parts of the democratic coalition. She was in Nevada speaking to Asian American voters this week. Today here in Greensboro at historic Black High school, really defending President Biden and trying to steer the conversation back to the threat of former President Donald Trump. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy, nor should it be. But one thing we know about our President Joe Biden is that he is a fighter. He is a fighter and he is the first to say when you get knocked down, you get back up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And Wolf, our colleagues over at the New York Times reporting tonight that President Biden's team is polling to see how Harris would fare up against Trump. Not clear why they're doing that. If they're doing that to convince others that Biden is in fact the best person to go up against Trump in the fall, or if they are trying to convince Biden to step aside. Wolf.

BLITZER: Eva, I know you've been speaking to voters out there on the campaign trail. How are they responding to Vice President Harris?

MCKEND: You know, Wolf, Harris has had many black voter focused events. She was at the Essence Festival. She gave the keynote address for her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. She also held that black voter focused event today and time again, especially from older black voters, I'm hearing them say that they want to stick to the ticket as it is.

Younger voters show more of an appetite for Harris to ascend to the top of the ticket, but they're not ready to do so in a fashion that would push President Biden out. They say that he has to arrive at that decision for himself. Wolf.

BLITZER: Eva McKend out there on the campaign trail. Eva, thank you very much. Standby. Also coming up, we're waiting for President Biden to take reporters' questions at a news conference.

We'll be right back.

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[18:52:49]

BLITZER: We're standing by for President Biden's news conference that will be closely watched within his own party, as well as among Republicans. They'll certainly be watching very closely as well, all of this taking place, a amid calls for the president to step aside from the 2024 campaign.

I want to bring in CNN's Alayna Treene who's watching all of this for us.

Alayna, what are you hearing, first of all, from the Trump campaign?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, as you said, Wolf, they're, of course, going to be honoring this press conference very closely, I'm told. That, as of now, they actually don't have any formal response in place, but you can definitely expect some of Donald Trump's top advisors to reply and respond on social media in real time as they're watching Joe Biden.

One person who will not be watching is the former president himself. Just moments from now, at 7:00 p.m., he's set to meet with the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban. And I find that meeting to be very notable comes right off the heels of Orban being in D.C. for this NATO summit, but also of Orban meeting with a series of foreign leaders in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, he went -- he met with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, and then earlier this month as well, he met with Putin, Russia President Vladimir Putin in Russia. And just Monday, he met with Xi Jinping in China.

So all of this coming out a very interesting time, I think it's worth noting one that Orban has said that he believes Donald Trump will win, but also, we know that Donald Trump has consistently touted his relationship with Orban on the trail. He's praised him, called him a boss at times, at a meeting when he met with him in March, praising his ties to him.

And so, I think it's very notable that this is coming particularly on the sidelines of this NATO summit -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Very interesting indeed.

Alayna Treene for us, thank you very much.

Coming up, once again, we're only moments away from President Biden's news conference. Standby. We're going to bring it to you live when we come back.

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[18:58:41]

BLITZER: The anticipation is building for President Biden's news conference tonight in the midst of the crisis embroiling his campaign.

As we stand by to hear from the president, I want to bring in CNN's Brian Todd.

Brian, a solo news conference like this one that's about to take place is relatively, relatively rare for this president.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.

President Biden has held far, far fewer of these news conferences than his immediate predecessors. Tonight will be the president's 37th news conference over all, his 15th solo news conference. That's one with no one else standing beside him.

Now, compare that to Donald Trump, who by the same point in his presidency, held, held almost twice as many news its conferences. According to data from the University of California at Santa Barbara's American presidency project, Trump at this point in his presidency, had held 64 news conferences, 16 of them were solo.

Now with Trump's events though, there is a bit of a caveat. He held many news conferences in the context of a unique situation. Many of Donald Trump's news conferences like this one were called to update the public on efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. But President Biden's numbers are still stark compared to his other

predecessors. Now, by this time, in his presidency, Barack Obama had held 72 news conferences, 32 of those were solo news conferences. George W. Bush at this time in his presidency, we're talking three- and-a-half years in, well, he had held 82 news conferences, 15 of those were solo.

The recent presidents who held fewer news conferences than Joe Biden at this point in their terms, while those were two of them, Ronald Reagan with 25, Richard Nixon with 24 -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, thank you very, very much.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Our special coverage of President Biden's news conference continues with "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" right now.