Person, Biden, Camera, TV, Stephanopoulos!

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Facing rising calls from across the Democratic Party to abandon his reelection campaign after last week’s debate debacle, President JOE BIDEN and his top advisers are following the advice of allies who suggested he sit for a major TV interview.

A more cogent, crisp performance, aides hope, will go a long way to show that he’s still capable of doing the world’s toughest job — and that his 90 minutes of unfocused, incoherent responses during his first tête á téte with former President DONALD TRUMP are not the norm or indicative of declining health or cognitive skills.

But what Biden says in the interview is one thing. There’s also the extraordinary amount of control his team is relinquishing as soon as the cameras turn off.

In deciding where to go for this potentially make-or-break moment, Biden’s communications team went back to ABC News for the second time in a month and to anchor GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, an interviewer who won’t be easily dismissed as a pushover but whose pedigree gives him a deep understanding of Biden’s predicament.

As a 30-something wunderkind, he helped guide BILL CLINTON’s unlikely and at-times-wobbly campaign all the way to the White House, where he spent four years as communications director and senior adviser. Now, some three decades later as a network anchor, Stephanopoulos and his team of producers could play a consequential role in affecting the fate of Biden’s campaign.

Of course, there are the questions they’ll ask: first and foremost, offering Biden the opportunity to directly address the rising chorus of Democratic doubters, jarred by the debate and his outwardly low-key damage-control effort in the days since.

To be clear, Biden’s responses, vocal strength and demeanor will determine whether the high-stakes interview restores the party’s broader faith in his campaign or leads to more Democrats demanding he step aside before the convention.

But how those influential individuals and the country writ large receive and process the interview will largely be up to Stephanopoulos and his team. In the initial announcement, the network said it will begin parceling out clips of the interview shortly after taping it Friday in Wisconsin, with more clips to follow, leading up to a fuller cut of the conversation Sunday morning.

Any messy or garbled response by Biden, especially if it’s clipped and distributed first, could trigger an avalanche of additional calls for him to step aside before the full interview has even aired.

“That’s the risk you take,” said one former Biden administration official granted anonymity to discuss the internal thinking around big interviews. “You never get to decide when and how they drop the clips. Once the interview is in the can, you have no say over any of it.”

That the president, who has done so few interviews with traditional television and print outlets since taking office, saw the need to blow up his holiday weekend schedule — adding the interview and travel to two swing states — speaks volumes about the desperation of the moment. On Capitol Hill, our colleagues report that many Democratic lawmakers are far more frustrated than they’ve admitted publicly, with several draft letters circulating among members including one urging the president to drop out.

Given the heightened interest in and importance of this particular interview, the network may be inclined to publish a full transcript and possibly also the full unedited video of the discussion online.

The White House declined to comment. But privately, people close to Biden say he is preparing for tough questions from Stephanopoulos, who will be the second ABC anchor to sit down with Biden in the last month. “World News Tonight” anchor DAVID MUIR interviewed Biden in Normandy during commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day last month.

As for why the White House has twice gone to ABC and not another network, people close to the White House communications shop say the network’s reach is profound, especially online. Muir’s program remains the top rated evening newscast; and ABC drew 9.21 million viewers for its simulcast of last week’s CNN-produced debate, the most of the three main broadcast networks and just slightly behind CNN’s and Fox News Channel’s audiences.

Beyond that, aides have come to view the network’s White House and campaign coverage as the fairest and most consistent in offering context and fact-checks in its reports.

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POTUS PUZZLER

Which president was the first to have mass-produced campaign buttons?

(Answer at bottom.)

The Oval

‘NO ONE’S PUSHING ME OUT’: President Biden unexpectedly joined a Zoom call with campaign and Democratic National Committee staff on Wednesday, where he stated that he’s in the race for the long haul, Lauren, Eli, ELENA SCHNEIDER and JONATHAN LEMIRE report. “Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can — as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running … no one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win,” Biden said on the call.

His forcefulness and resolve was reassuring to several attendees. But privately, the president has acknowledged to some allies that he knows his campaign is facing a critical moment. Vice President KAMALA HARRIS was seated beside Biden during the video call. “We will not back down,” Harris said. “We will follow our president’s lead. We will fight, and we will win.”

Chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS also held a call with White House staffers and urged them to tune out the “chatter” and “noise.” Zients, in addressing the staff, said he’s eager to hear from anyone in the building when they have concerns or feedback.

REMAIN CALM. ALL IS WELL! President Biden spoke with an array of congressional Democratic leaders on Wednesday, including Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.), former House Speaker NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.), Rep. JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.) and Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.).

And in another effort to shore up support, the president is scheduled to meet with a group of Democratic governors at 6:30 p.m. tonight. Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER, California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM, Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ and Illinois Gov. JB PRITZKER are among the in-person attendees.

Many others, including Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO, North Carolina Gov. ROY COOPER and Colorado Gov. JARED POLIS, will attend virtually.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO WATCH: This interview with KEVIN ROBERTS, the president of the Heritage Foundation, the organization behind Project 2025. He praised the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, adding that “we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless, if the left allows it to be.” On STEVE BANNON’s “War Room” podcast (which Bannon was unable to join due to a schedule conflict), Roberts said the Court’s decision should encourage conservatives.

“248 years ago tomorrow America declared independence from a tyrannical king, and now Donald Trump and his allies want to make him one at our expense,” campaign spokesperson JAMES SINGER said in a statement. “They are dreaming of a violent revolution to destroy the very idea of America.”

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: The polls.

First, there was the much-anticipated New York Times/Siena College survey that shows Trump now leads Biden 49 percent to 43 percent among likely voters nationally — a 3-point shift toward Trump from before the debate. Then the Wall Street Journal dropped its post-debate poll that also has Trump up six points among voters nationally, with a resounding 80 percent saying that the president is too old to run for a second term.

CAMPAIGN HQ

CARDS ON THE TABLE: Rep. Clyburn on Wednesday said if the president were, in fact, to end his campaign, he would support holding a “mini-primary” among several candidates ahead of August’s Democratic National Convention, our IRIE SENTNER reports. It’s a notable walk-back from the congressman, who on Tuesday said that Democrats “should not in any way do anything to work around Ms. Harris” and “should do everything we can to bolster her.”

Today, he took a less emphatic tone, saying Harris would do “very well” but that he would be “interested” in hearing from Democratic governors, too.

REUPPING FOR NO REASON AT ALL: In 2020, KARINE JEAN-PIERRE published an essay in Salon (adapted from her book “Moving Forward”) about what it’s like “working for a doomed presidential candidate.”

She was, of course, speaking of her experience on JOHN EDWARDS’ failed 2008 campaign. Referring to the extramarital affair to which Edwards would admit months after he dropped out of the race, Jean-Pierre said she “didn’t know any of this stuff” about her candidate at the time, but she knew that “Edwards and his message were not connecting with voters.”

“The polls showed it, the commentators were noting it, and my gut told me. In no uncertain terms,” she wrote.

“There’s nothing more dispiriting than working on a dying campaign. The atmosphere resembles one of those sad birthday balloons with the air slowly seeping out as it deflates. You show up at the office. You’re pumped. You attack the phones. You deliberately put pep in your voice. ‘Everything is going great!’ we would blatantly lie to the movers and shakers we were calling. But the more we tried, the less it helped.”

Huh. Interesting.

THE BUREAUCRATS

MAYBE BRING IN BAGELS NEXT TIME: Shortly after Zients’ all-staff meeting wrapped, a White House staffer wrote to us that his positive words did little to change what the person described as “dismal” morale — especially among younger staffers who are now stressing out about the very real possibility of being out of a job in November.

“Staff are obsessing over polling numbers and the downward trends that are being seen since the debate. Staff are planning for where they will go next and discussing how much longer they can wait before seeking other jobs,” the person wrote. “Senior level staff who have safety nets for worst-case scenario situations seem to have no compassion for junior staff, the workhorses of the administration, who are beginning their careers and are concerned about their employment prospects if the President were to lose.”

PERSONNEL MOVES: ANTHONY RENZULLI is now an associate partner on Albright Stonebridge Group’s South Asia practice, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. He previously was director for India at the National Security Council.

Agenda Setting

BEEN A WHILE, BARAK: A senior Israeli official told Axios’ BARAK RAVID that Hamas’ updated response was “constructive” and makes it possible to move toward more detailed negotiations on the remaining gaps for a ceasefire deal. But the official noted that, even if the two parties were to begin those negotiations, they would be “tough and not short” and it will take several weeks to reach an agreement.

In the coming days, the Israeli negotiations team is expected to huddle with Israel Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU and Defense Minister YOAV GALLANT to formulate a policy toward Hamas’ response.

THE MOST RANDOM COLLAB POSSIBLE: Although this is not remotely White House related (at least, not for now!), we’d be remiss not to share that California Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched a podcast with former NFL running back MARSHAWN LYNCH, called “Politickin.” It will also feature NFL agent DOUG HENDRICKSON, Newsom’s longtime friend and Lynch’s agent since 2007.

The weekly podcast will debut July 15.

What We're Reading

Why Biden should step aside (The Boston Globe Editorial Board)

The ‘Philly Girl’ Shielding Biden From the Bad News (NYT’s Michelle Cottle)

DNC delegates sink into ‘stage of grief’ over Biden. Some say he should step aside. (POLITICO’s Adam Wren, Brakkton Booker, Nick Reisman, Jared Mitovich, Irie Sentner, Isabella Ramírez and Melanie Mason)

Big Donors Turn on Biden. Quietly. (NYT’s Theodore Schleifer, Kenneth Vogel, Shane Goldmacher and Kate Kelly)

What Biden’s Stutter Doesn’t Explain (The Atlantic’s John Hendrickson)

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

In 1896, WILLIAM McKINLEY became the first candidate to utilize campaign buttons, as TIME reported in 2016. And he took inspiration from the lunar eclipse that year: McKinley’s campaign pins depicted his photo crossing over and “eclipsing” a photo of his Democrat rival. WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN, his opponent, did the same, and slogans included: “Total eclipse Nov. 6” and “Partial eclipse will be total in November.”

A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!

Edited by Steve Shepard and Rishika Dugyala.