Not long after famed actor and liberal George Clooney penned an op-ed in the New York Times stating that Biden should step aside from the 2024 presidential race, the Biden campaign reportedly snapped back.

“Biden is fighting back on Clooney,” New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni tweeted on Wednesday.

The back-and-forth comes after Biden says Clooney didn’t stay very long at a fundraiser he held for Biden last month.

“From a source familiar with event planning: ‘The President stayed for over 3 hours, while Clooney took a photo quickly and left,’” Karni continued.

Clooney wrote in the op-ed that, “I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced. 

“But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe “big F-ing deal” Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.

“Our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign. 

“We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate.”

Democratic Party leaders are calling on President Biden’s campaign to provide convincing proof of a path to beating former President Trump in the November election, as concerns continue to grow about the president’s mental stability, according to reports.

The Washington Post reported that the call came as union leaders who backed Biden expressed serious concerns about his run for president in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, and as more lawmakers and Democrats called for the president to exit the race.

The Post also revealed some of Biden’s senior campaign staff have expressed concerns he could beat Trump.

During a closed door meeting on Wednesday, union leaders spoke about the country’s doubt about Biden’s ability to serve as president and how the doubt was damaging his candidacy. The union leaders also reportedly asked campaign officials about their plan to beat Trump, two people familiar with the conversations who spoke to the Post said.

The publication also learned senior members of Biden’s campaign staff are beginning to take a pessimistic view of their boss’s chances of winning in November.

“Overwhelmingly a majority of senior campaign staff are despondent and don’t see a path,” a Democratic strategist familiar with the conversations told the publication. Another person familiar with the conversations did not deny the matter when asked.

“We can either worry or we can work, and this team is doing the work that wins elections,” Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesman, told the Post.

Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume weighed in on growing calls for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race amid questions about his mental acuity, saying Democrats are in a “state of total agony.”

“He’s now thought of in the eyes of people as being a man who is really not in any position to serve a second term, if he’s even in a position to serve out this one,” Hume told guest anchor Gillian Turner Wednesday on “Special Report.” “The question is what the Democrats, who are in a state of total agony, are going to be able to do about it, if anything.”

Nine House Democrats have called on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race since his disastrous debate performance late last month, according to a tally from The Associated Press. 

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., became the first Democratic senator Wednesday to publicly call on Biden to withdraw “for the good of the country.”

Biden is set to hold a press conference Thursday at the 75th Anniversary NATO summit in Washington, D.C., that could help assuage the concerns of world leaders and members of his own party about his mental acuity.

This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan. Click here to read the full report.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., told Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Wednesday that he plans to remain loyal to President Biden.

Despite not being as sharp or young as he once was, Fetterman told Watters during the interview, Fetterman said he believes Biden has been “a great president.”

Fetterman also wanted to be clear with the American people watching the interview, “I don’t need a job. I don’t need anything out of this.” Instead, the Pennsylvania senator wanted to make the point that he believes Biden can prevail against former President Trump.

Fetterman admitted to not watching the entire debate between Biden and Trump last month, and he acknowledged that Biden had a bad night.

But that was not enough to push his loyalty toward a different candidate.

“I really want to remind everybody that Joe Biden has done a really good job as president, and I fundamentally am going to remain loyal to that,” Fetterman said.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday was caught on hot mic during a crime fighting event in Chicago saying: “I don’t like where we are” with the presidential race.

“We’re just going to keep fighting, I don’t know what to say,” Pritzker, a Democratic, can be heard in the clip telling an attendee. “We got to do what we have to do. I don’t like where we are.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office told CBS News Chicago: “It sounds like he was talking about the state of the presidential race.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called the cover up of President Biden’s health possibly the biggest cover up in U.S. history.

Johnson was a guest on “The Ingraham Angle” on Wednesday evening, and the host, Laura Ingraham, asked the House speaker about how Democratic leaders are dealing with the decline of Biden.

“It’s been an incredible thing to watch on Capitol Hill,” Johnson said. “The Democrats are in total disarray. They don’t know what to do. They don’t have a plan B, but they know they’ve got a serious problem.

“It’s the biggest political cover up that we’ve ever seen, maybe in U.S. history, and it’s the most consequential as well,” he added.

Johnson then turned to the world stage, as NATO leaders are in Washington, D.C., and getting a first-hand look at the president’s condition.

“All those NATO leaders are here on the Hill, as you know,” Johnson said. “These foreign leaders are coming in – prime ministers, heads of state – and they are telling us privately that they’re deeply concerned. A weak America is bad for the whole world.”

President Biden is being urged to drop out of the presidential race by yet another Democratic lawmaker.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., on Wednesday became the ninth House Democrat to publicly call for President Biden to withdraw from the race.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, Blumenauer praised Biden as “the most successful president in the last 50 years.”

Blumenauer said any decision for Biden to drop out was ultimately up to the president and first lady. Still, he said, “I hope they will come to the conclusion that I and others have: President Biden should not be the Democratic presidential nominee.

“It is a painful and difficult conclusion but there is no question in my mind that we will all be better served if the president steps aside as the Democratic nominee and manages a transition under his terms. He has earned that right,” Blumenauer said.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., became the first senator to call on President Biden
to withdraw from the presidential race on Wednesday in a Washington Post op-ed.

Welch opened his opinion piece by saying he has “great respect” for Biden, as he “saved our country from a tyrant,” referring to former President Trump.

The Vermont senator also called Biden “one of the best presidents of our time,” but then said he, like many folks across the U.S., is worried about the November election.

“The stakes could not be higher,” Welch wrote. “We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night.”

Welch sympathized with Biden, saying he understands why the president wants to run.

The senator said Biden saved the U.S. from Trump once and wants to do it again.

But, Welch added, Biden needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate.

“In my view, he is not,” Welch wrote. “For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race.”

Click here to read more.

Campaign advisers for President Biden will join Senate Democrats for a meeting on Thursday at the Democratic Senatorial campaign Committee (DSCC).

Fox News is told that the meeting will not be so much about Biden’s team making a pitch to lawmakers, but instead a meeting for Senate Democrats to express their reservations about the president.

A source familiar previously confirmed to Fox News Digital that senior Biden advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, and Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon are attending the special meeting off the Capitol campus. 

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer
, D-N.Y., says he still supports President Biden and remains committed to beating Trump in November, despite reports he could be open to different Democratic presidential ticket.

“As I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November,” Schumer told Fox News.

The comment comes after Axios reported that Schumer could be wavering off of the President Biden-led ticket in November, having listened to ideas and suggestions from donors over the past 12 days, on the best way for the party to move forward, three individuals familiar with the matter told the media company.

With Schumer’s influence as a leader, he is one of several Democratic Party members who could convince Biden to bow out of the race. Some of the others who may have the same influence include former President Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Still, no matter what the three Democratic powers say, the president can still push forward and hold on to the delegates who pledged to support him.

Schumer’s reported stance would have been a complete change of tune from what he has repeated before after the Axios report broke: “I’m with Joe.”

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy on Wednesday, slammed George Clooney for calling on President Biden to leave the 2024 race just weeks after raising millions for the Democratic candidate before his disastrous debate performance.

“What a f—ing hero this guy is,” Portnoy said in an expletive-laden video, hours after the publication of an op-ed by Clooney in the New York Times.

In the op-ed, Clooney said the Biden he was with at the fundraiser on June 15, “was not the Joe ‘big F-in deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”

“So what, George? If [Biden] didn’t do the debate … and wasn’t a vegetable, you were just going to keep your mouth shut?” Portnoy said. “And by the way, if you just found out Biden was a vegetable, where have you been for two years? Everyone knows he’s a vegetable.”

Portnoy slammed Democrats for allowing Biden to go through with the debate, despite everyone — including his dog, Peaches — knowing that “he’s a vegetable.” He speculated it was part of some ploy to “whack” Biden.

“You have the good looking guy from California, Gavin Newsom, waiting. It’s all dirty politics,” Portnoy said.

“The Democrats were fine for the last year and a half – two years – f—ing putting a vegetable in our face. They’re fine doing a fundraiser three weeks ago for a vegetable,” Portnoy said. “So, f— it. Let’s just have Trump … versus a head of lettuce.”

Click here
to watch the full video. **WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE**

A former adviser to President Obama broke his silence concerning President Biden’s mental fitness on Wednesday, just hours after a damaging op-ed by actor George Clooney was published in The New York Times calling on the president to quit the 2024 race.

“It was not surprising to any of us who were at the fundraiser. I was there. Clooney was exactly right, and every single person I talked to at the fundraiser thought the same thing, except for the people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn’t say that,” Jon Favreau, a member of the group often referred to as the “Obama bros” during his tenure in the White House, said during an appearance on CNN.

Favreau was citing the same fundraiser as Clooney in his guest essay where the actor claimed the Biden that showed up there was “not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”

This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie. Click here to read the full report.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sticking by President Biden, as calls for the president to drop out of the race intensify.

Speaking during a press conference Wednesday, the Democratic governor said that even if Biden were to step down, he would not seek to challenge Vice President Kamala Harris is she were to seek the nomination.

Newsom has been a fierce supporter of President Biden, having recently embarked on a multi-state tour to rally support for the president.

Speaking to reporters at a highway rest stop in New Hampshire earlier this week, Newsom said, “I decided instead of just rolling over and giving up, that I would step up and pick up the fight.”

On Wednesday, Newsom said he had had “100 media outlets asking the same question.”

“I think that I’ve amply answered my support for the president and the support I saw on the ground was demonstrable,” Newsom said.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Wednesday said President Biden “has a lot to do to assure Arizonans and Americans” that he can adequately perform his duties as commander-in-chief after his disastrous debate performance against former President Trump.

“I know that Arizonans have been concerned about the president’s age and since the debate I think those concerns are even more top of mind,” Hobbs said.

The Democratic governor stopped short of calling for the president to drop out of the race. Asked if she shared the concerns about his age she said, “Joe Biden can do the job. And that’s all I’m going to say about the situation.”

Hobbs said any decision to drop out of the race was ultimately Biden’s to make. 

“It’s up to the president. There’s no indication that that’s going to change,” Hobbs said, framing the decision as one between the “guy who’s going to uphold democracy and the one’s who going to tear it down.”  

Top Democrats are casting doubt on President Biden’s statements that he intends to seek re-election in November and defy calls to drop out of the presidential race.

Biden has stated several times since his damaging debate performance last month that he will not drop out of the race. However, prominent House and Senate Democrats have since made comments that suggest his candidacy may still be up in the air.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., insinuated that there is still a decision to be made on whether Biden will seek re-election, despite the president already stating on several occasions that he is staying in the race.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We are all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday. “He’s beloved, he’s respected, and people want him to make that decision.”

This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady. Click here to read the full report.

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed three senior White House aides, demanding that they sit for depositions concerning President Biden’s mental acuity, Fox News has confirmed.

The subpoena, first reported by Axios
, includes first lady Jill Biden’s top aide Anthony Bernal, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and senior adviser Ashley Williams.

“The White House has shielded three key aides from testifying about President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and now we’ve learned through reporting these same aides are also seeking to cover up President Biden’s declining cognitive state inside the White House,” House Oversight Committee chair James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement.

“President Biden is clearly unfit for office, yet his staff are trying to hide the truth from the American people. Key White House staff must come before our committee so we can provide the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve.”

New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado on Wednesday called on President Biden to graciously bow out of the race, putting him at odds with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul who is sticking by the president.

In a statement, Delgado praised Biden for his accomplishments as president including “defeating Donald Trump in 2020.”

It was because of – what he regards as – the “threat” of Trump, that he decided to “join with millions of Americans – including everyday New Yorkers from all walks of life – who are expressing legitimate concerns about President Biden’s ability to wage a successful campaign against Trump.”

Delgado said it was “misguided and dangerous” to dismiss concerns about elected officials not being honest with the American people.

“I believe we should move forward with a nominee capable of re-invigorating and re-energizing Americans who are determined to protect our democracy, and who want to do so with a candidate they believe can win,” Delgado said.

Gov. Hochul, meanwhile, continues to back Biden. The Democrat was among at least 20 governors who met with the president last week amid concerns over his mental acuity, following his disastrous debate performance.

Joe Biden, the governor tweeted last week, “is in it to win it. The stakes this November could not be higher.”

Open to Debate will host a livestream event “Should Biden Step Aside?” on Thursday.

The event will feature New York Times opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg and Dmitri Hehlhorn, co-founder of Investing in US.

On whether or not the president should drop out of the presidential race, Goldberg will be arguing in the affirmative, and Hehlhorn will be arguing in the negative.

The event will be moderated by Open to Debate host John Donvan. 

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who is running for an open senate seat in Michigan, reportedly told donors that President Biden is trailing former President Trump in the key battleground state.

“President Biden is behind Trump in all of our polling and this Senate race is in a dead heat,” Slotkin told donors, according to a clip obtained by The New York Times.

She also reportedly took a jab and Biden, noting that the seat she was running for was open, only because Senator Debbie Stabenow, 74, was “doing a radical thing and passing the torch.” 

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday told CBS News that her comments on MSNBC about President Biden staying in the race were mispresented.

In the MSNBC interview, Pelosi had suggested that Biden hadn’t already made up his mind.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”

“I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with,” Pelosi added later.

Arriving at her office Wednesday, the former House Speaker told CBS News’ Jaala Brown that “there are some misrepresentations of what I have said.” 

“I never said he should reconsider his decision,” Pelosi added. 

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, grew testy with a reporter on Wednesday after being asked about whether she supports President Biden’s candidacy as he faces mounting pressure to drop out of the race.

ABC News reporter Rachel Scott caught up with Pelosi as she was walking in the halls of Congress and asked her if she had talked with Biden about her comments that morning on MSNBC calling on Biden “to decide” if he was going to stay in the race.

“I’m not having any discussions with you, or anyone else, about what I talk to the president about, with all due respect,” Pelosi told Scott in a video of the exchange Scott shared on X. “I’m not going to be making any comments today, in the hallway, about the fate of our nation, okay?”

After the reporter kept pressing, Pelosi grew more frustrated, snapping back: “Am I speaking English to you?”

This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks. Click here to read the full report. 

Vice President Kamala Harris
spoke to a crowd of thousands in Dallas Wednesday to stump for President Biden but tiptoed around the crisis facing the administration.

Harris delivered a speech to around 20,000 members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black sorority, at the Kay Baily Hutchinson Convention Center, per reporting from the Texas Tribune.

The vice president did not address Biden’s disastrous debate performance which fueled calls from within his own party to drop out of the presidential race. Nor did Harris answer questions on this subject from the press after the event, according to the Tribune.

The White House is over talking about President Biden’s poor debate performance last month and are moving to focus on the race against former President Trump.

Biden aides and administration officials told CNN this week that they’ve had enough with talk about the debate and the media scrutiny of the president’s performance for nearly two weeks now. 

“We’re done talking about the debate and focused on a singular mission: Defeating Donald Trump in November,” one Biden aide told the outlet.

Biden’s poor debate performance continues to be the dominating narrative surrounding his re-election campaign, with pundits and even some Democratic Party officials calling for him to suspend his re-election campaign. Many worry that he is headed for a loss in November. 

This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News Digital’s Gabriel Hays. Click here to read the full report.

Senate Democrats will hold a special caucus lunch on Thursday at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they will likely discuss President Biden’s electoral viability amid mounting calls for Biden to step aside from the 2024 campaign. 

Senior advisers to President Biden including Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, as well as Biden Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon will attend the meeting, Fox News has confirmed. 

Democratic senators met for a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to discuss how the party should move forward after Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27. The conference is reportedly divided, with some longtime Biden supporters advocating for the president while others are skeptical he can carry the party on to victory in November. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., presided over the discussions but has not yet made a public statement on Biden’s poor debate performance against former President Trump. 

“I would describe it as a constructive conversation, and we’re focused on defeating Trump,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., said, according to Axios. 

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

The White House is playing cleanup
after press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday that a meeting between White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor and Dr. Kevin Cannard, a renowned neurological and Parkinson’s disease expert, was not related to care for President Biden. 

The White House now says the Jan. 17 meeting between O’Connor and Cannard at the White House was for a neurological exam of Biden, the results of which were later reported as part of his annual physical more than a month later. O’Connor reported the results on Feb. 28, stating that an “extremely detailed neurological exam” did not show Biden had signs of Parkinson’s or any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder.

At Tuesday’s White House press briefing, a reporter for The Associated Press asked for clarification on a letter sent Monday night by O’Connor. 

“It didn’t seem to explicitly describe the nature of Dr. Cannard’s meeting with Dr. O’Connor. So can you say whether that one meeting was related to care for the president himself?” the reporter asked. 

“I can say that it was not,” Jean-Pierre said. 

Jean-Pierre insisted she had already confirmed from “behind this lectern” that three meetings occurred and that the doctor was a “neurologist,” though not Cannard’s name until O’Connor released it Monday. 

She said she needed permission from Cannard and also from the president before putting that information out. 

“And the reason why is because we do not share private information. That is something that we respect. And we wanted to make sure that we protected our consultants here that work with the White House medical unit, their security as well,” she told reporters from the podium Tuesday. 

In a later statement, Jean-Pierre said the question did not mention the date, which apparently caused her confusion. However, the question was about the meeting between O’Connor and Cannard, and according to the visitor logs, it was the only meeting between the two between July 2023 and this past March – a period that has come under scrutiny because Cannard had visited the White House eight times in that time frame.

The other seven visits by Cannard have Megan Nasworthy listed as the visitee.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this update.

Actor George Clooney called on President Biden to leave the 2024 race Wednesday in a New York Times guest essay, just weeks after raising millions for the Democratic candidate.

“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” Clooney wrote. 

“Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign,” he continued.

The actor joined a growing list of Hollywood elites and megadonors who’ve turned on Biden following the debate, where his halting, frail and at-times confused performance alarmed supporters. Members of Biden’s party, political allies, and liberal media figures have also pressured the president to drop out of the race, warning he cannot beat former President Trump.

“This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. We are not going to win in November with this president,” Clooney wrote. 

Democrats have more to lose than the White House; they are at risk of losing down-ballot races with Biden as the nominee, he argued. “This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”

Clooney warned that it was past time to put forward a new candidate and chided Democrats for putting their “heads in the sand” on the party’s dilemma.

“[T]he dam has broken. We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth,” he wrote.

Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks contributed to this update.

An eighth Democratic lawmaker in the House of Representatives has come forward to call on President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election.

Rep. Pat Ryan, a vulnerable Democrat from New York, said Wednesday that “for the good of the country,” Biden should step aside and allow another candidate to be the Democratic nominee for president. 

“I’d be doing a grave disservice if I said he was the best candidate to serve this fall,” Ryan told the New York Times in an interview. “For the good of our country, for my two young kids, I’m asking Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming election and deliver on the promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders.”

“I really hope, with all my heart, that he will listen,” he added. 

In response, the National Republican Congressional Committee accused Ryan of pulling an “election year stunt” by backing away from Biden. 

“Everyone can see Ryan’s statement for what it truly is, a transparent election-year ploy to try to cling to his seat. President Biden is sitting in the Oval Office because Pat Ryan and Democrats hid the truth from voters and lied about the president’s condition. Pat Ryan must answer the question: Is Joe Biden fit to serve as President?” NRCC Spokeswoman Savannah Viar said in a statement. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Wednesday he is “deeply concerned” about President Biden’s ability to win re-election in November.

Confronted with questions about Biden’s electoral viability by reporters at the Capitol Building, Blumenthal said it is the president’s decision on whether he will continue to run for re-election.

“I think he will continue to make his case the American people, and he is the one who will decide. There are advisors and supporters who may give him the kind of guidance that he is looking for. But I think ultimately, it’s his decision to make. I think that this kind of internal debate will end at some point. The question is when,” Blumenthal said. 

“I am deeply concerned about Joe Biden winning this November, because it is an existential threat to the country if Donald Trump wins. So I think that we have to reach a conclusion as soon as possible. And I think Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee has my support. He has a lot of broad support throughout the country. He’s working vigorously to try to quell the concerns that have been raised. And I think that’s his task right now. He can do it. But there will be a question mark for some time.” 

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell had harsh words for what he considered “grotesque behavioral overreaction” by the White House press corps during Monday’s briefing.

The “Last Word” host discussed the contentious press conference where White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly did not confirm Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist from Walter Reed Military Medical Center who specializes in Parkinson’s disease, had been among the doctors making visits over the past year. 

Reporters pointed out Cannard’s name was listed in public visitor logs, but Jean-Pierre continued to avoid referencing Cannard, citing security and privacy concerns. This led to a fiery back-and-forth between Jean-Pierre and the press, particularly with CBS’ Ed O’Keefe.

“Well, we are miffed around here about what has been shared with the press corps about him,” an exasperated O’Keefe said.

Although other reporters criticized Jean-Pierre following the briefing, O’Donnell attacked the press, suggesting they were unfair.

“If you saw any of the White House press briefing today, it was the White House press corps, many of them, at their absolute worst in the way they approached press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who was trying to be responsive to medical questions where there were limitations on what she could say,” O’Donnell said. “The New York Times’ reporting of the way the press secretary handled that was to say that she ‘dodged’ the questions. That is not true!”

O’Donnell claimed that the contention came because Jean-Pierre “didn’t give the answer The New York Times wanted or other reporters wanted” and so “kept banging on” with “out of control behavior” that “was as bad a circus as it looked like.”

After White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor released a letter regarding the neurologist’s visits, O’Donnell declared the issue closed.

“The grotesque behavioral overreaction by the White House press corps today, most, not all, of the White House press corps, was on display on video. It has now been answered in full and completely by Dr. O’Connor, President Biden’s physician in the White House. So that controversy is done,” O’Donnell said.

Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick contributed to this update.

Former White House communications director and CNN political contributor Kate Bedingfield suggested that that Biden campaign release internal poll data or other metrics that can reinforce the argument for President Biden to stay in the race.

“I know firsthand better than almost anyone how smart the Biden team is about data and about ignoring the noise. They are right that the game here is to convince voters, not pundits,” Bedingfield posted Wednesday morning on X. “But when the battle over the public data is so overwhelmingly negative, it’s a good moment to put forward your theory of the case. If they have data that supports the path to victory that they see, they should put it out there now and help people who badly want to beat Trump rally around it. People want to see the path.” 

Biden has cast doubt on polling showing him narrowly trailing former President Trump in recent media interviews. Trump currently holds a 3.3 percentage point lead in the RCP Average of polls. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., released a statement Wednesday that called on Democrats to consider what losses the party might incur should President Biden remain at the top of the ticket in November.

“In determining how to proceed as a party, there must be a serious reckoning with the down-ballot effect of whomever we nominate. What matters is not how we feel but what the numbers tell us,” Torres said. 

“An unsentimental analysis of the cold hard numbers—which have no personal feelings or political loyalties—should inform what we decide and whom we nominate. If we’re going to choose a particular path, we should be clear-eyed about its consequences. Blindness is not bliss amid the terrifying threat of a Trump presidency.” 

Those comments come after several polls have shown former President Trump surging against Biden after the CNN Presidential Debate on June 27. Biden’s performance during the debate was widely panned, with critics questioning his mental acuity and ability to lead the nation at 81-years-old. 

Tensions between reporters and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre have only grown following President Biden’s weak debate performance, according to a recent report. 

“We were spoiled with Jen,” a White House reporter told Axios, referencing Biden’s former press secretary Jen Psaki. “She made that first year and a half a joy.”

The briefing room erupted Monday after Jean-Pierre repeatedly would not confirm the name of Dr. Kevin Cannard — a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson’s disease. Cannard met several times with Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, in the White House over the past year.

The White House revealed that the meeting between Cannard and O’Connor was for a neurological exam as part of Biden’s annual physical.

Multiple reporters, particularly CBS’ Ed O’Keefe, called Jean-Pierre out for avoiding naming the doctor in one of the most confrontational moments of her tenure. 

The two got into a lengthy back and forth, with O’Keefe getting an assist from NBC correspondent Kelly O’Donnell, the current president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, who also stressed that Cannard’s visitor logs are public.

“There’s no reason to go back and forth with me in this aggressive way,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. 

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital that Jean-Pierre “takes hard questions day in and day out, giving thorough answers and representing President Biden and his agenda for the American people with grace and integrity.”

“President Biden has done over 47 interviews this year alone and more gaggles with the White House press corps than almost any modern president – over 580,” Bates said in a statement. “He has also proudly fought for the rights of journalists in the world and spoken forcefully about the ‘critical’ role of the press in American democracy – rather than slander them as ‘enemies of the people.'” 

Fox News Digital’s Jeffrey Clark contributed to this update.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, President Biden’s physician, has been mostly out of the public’s view despite first overseeing Biden’s health care in 2009 and building what has been described as a cozy relationship with the Biden family over the last 15 years. 

“I have never had a better commander than Joe Biden,” O’Connor said in a rare profile interview with his alma mater, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, when Biden served as vice president. “All politics aside, he approaches his craft with such honor. He’s 100 percent ‘family first.’ He’s ‘genuinely genuine.’”

O’Connor’s name, however, has recently become common in news reports, as speculation mounts that Biden’s mental acuity has slipped and concerns grow that the White House’s credibility regarding information on the president’s health is dwindling amid repeated gaffes, miscues and disjointed remarks Biden has made during public events. 

The White House physician is affectionately known to Biden and his family simply as “Doc,” and was specifically requested by Biden in 2009 to stay on as his physician after serving on the White House Medical Unit under the George W. Bush administration. 

O’Connor was first appointed to the White House Medical Unit in 2006 for what was intended to be a three-year military assignment, according to his profile published by the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, from which he graduated in 1992. Instead, “Vice President Biden asked O’Connor to stay on,” the profile continues. O’Connor complied, marking the beginning of their doctor-patient relationship that has reportedly evolved into a cozy relationship with the president’s large family. 

Biden’s 2017 memoir “Promise Me, Dad,” which was re-examined recently by Fox News Digital, features the president reflecting on his close relationship with “Doc,” including O’Connor joining the family on their annual vacation to Nantucket, balking at the family’s “browsing extravaganza” on the tony island. 

The physician’s relationship with the family seemingly grew closer, according to the memoir, when the president’s son, Beau Biden, was diagnosed with brain cancer—which ultimately claimed his life in 2015. 

O’Connor, who retired as an Army colonel in 2017, also had a business relationship with the Biden family, Politico reported. He introduced Jim Biden, the president’s younger brother, to military health officials and met with another hospital president as the younger Biden pursued healthcare ventures through the hospital chain Americore in 2017, according to the outlet. 

“I truly enjoyed our time together the other day,” O’Connor wrote to a Pennsylvania hospital president after a meeting he shared with Jim Biden, according to Politico. “You and your team clearly share our vision, and I look forward to seeing you again in coming months.” 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this update.

A Texas House Democrat and member of the Congressional Black Caucus says vulnerable Democrats should break from Biden if they need to do so to win re-election.

Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, in an interview on CNN, said incumbents should “do whatever it is they need to do” to win in November, even if that means throwing the president under the bus.

“My concerns are the concerns that everybody has,” Veasey said. “What I said this morning and expressed to my colleagues, particularly from members on the front line, is that I think they need to do whatever it is they need to do in order to come back and be reelected and so if they need to, you know, distance themselves, then that’s what they need to do.”

Seven House Democrats have so far called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election after his widely-panned debate performance versus former President Trump. 

First lady Jill Biden’s former press secretary, Michael LaRosa, said Tuesday that President Biden will likely remain adamant about staying in the race despite increasing pressure on him to step down.

“This is his decision,” LaRosa said on “Jesse Watters Primetime” when asked about speculation that the president’s wife was the motivating force behind him refusing to withdraw. 

Despite rising pressure on Joe and Jill Biden to convince them to leave the race after the president’s rocky debate performance, the first family has repeatedly stated that it will continue to fight. 

“Jill alone won’t make this decision,” LaRosa said. “I don’t know if Democrats really want her to be making the decision for the party.” 

“I don’t think she would want that decision,” he said. “I don’t think she’s comfortable with it.” 

LaRosa said that the president was unlikely to leave the race willingly, explaining that it would “have to be a pretty compelling case” to convince Joe to suspend his campaign. 

“She hates politics but she loves him,” LaRosa said of Joe and Jill’s relationship. 

Fox News Digital’s Jeffrey Clark contributed to this update.

Democrats in Congress mostly resisted calling for President Biden to drop out of the race despite raising private concerns during an all-caucus, closed-door meeting Tuesday, according to reports. 

Lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C., this week after the Fourth of July recess, offering Democrats the first time to get together in person and discuss Biden’s disastrous debate performance two weeks ago. 

However, in a sharply worded letter sent Monday, Biden insisted that he would stay in the race and urged party leaders to refocus their criticisms on former President Trump. The letter seemed to at least temporarily slow the momentum of Democrats who are publicly calling for the president to step aside. Most members instead are towing the party line on Biden publicly, at least for now. 

At least 20 Democratic lawmakers stood up to speak during the nearly two-hour all-caucus meeting Tuesday, in what for many is an existential moment for their country considering a second Trump presidency, The Associated Press reported. Most of those who spoke wanted Biden to end his candidacy, a person granted anonymity to discuss the meeting told the outlet.

However, speaking publicly afterward, most Democrats who had urged against Biden continuing his re-election campaign have recanted, according to Axios. They acknowledged it would be too difficult to replace him as their nominee at this stage, just weeks before Democrats will convene at their convention in Chicago. Conversations between House and Senate Democrats were “dour” and “sad,” lawmakers in the meeting told the AP. 

“He said he’s going to remain in, he’s our candidate, and we’re going to support him,” Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said on CNN. 

Over the weekend, Nadler was among those privately saying Biden should not run, explicitly telling colleagues on a call Sunday that the president needed to drop out of the race, the New York Times reported. Nadler backtracked after Tuesday’s meeting, instead stating that his reservations were “beside the point” and that Biden was “going to be our nominee.” 

“He has the delegates. I keep telling them that,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., told Politico of Biden. “He got 14 million votes. Nobody else has any.”

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this update.

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., a doctor who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, discussed questions he would ask President Biden’s physician were he brought in to testify before Congress on the president’s fitness to serve. 

“What sort of cognitive tests have you done on this president? Have you done any imaging? Has he been looking into the things other than Parkinson’s, which, you know, we investigated? I’m very seriously concerned for Lewy body dementia,” said McCormick, who has not examined Biden himself.

“You don’t have to be a doctor to watch him deteriorate rapidly,” McCormick said of Biden, who faces calls to step aside from his re-election effort from some congressional Democrats concerned about his ability to win.

The Republican lawmaker said he thinks Biden can survive calls for his withdrawal, “if he wants to stay in.” 

“The problem is he actually polls better than [Vice President] Kamala Harris. They have a massive problem, their party is split. He can’t sell himself, he can’t put two intelligible sentences together. He can’t sell his product.” 

West Virginia Senate candidate Glenn Elliott joined “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday to discuss Democrats who have called on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential election.

Elliott acknowledged that Biden “had a really bad debate” on June 27, which spurred calls to exit the race from fearful members of his party who believe Biden will lose to former President Trump in November. 

“To come back from that, you know, I think the president has to show the American people that he has the vitality, the ability to do this job. And I think he needs to put himself in situations where he can be tested. And if he can’t do that, I do think, you know, he has to consider what’s best for the country at this point,” Elliott said, adding that “a lot of down ballot races can be impacted by this.” 

Biden faces a test this week as he participates in the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine at top of mind for members of the alliance. 

Radio host “Charlamagne tha God” urged Democrats on Tuesday to answer President Biden’s challenge to run against him at the Democratic National Convention. 

Amid calls for him to step aside and allow another Democrat to run at the top of the ticket, Biden called in to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday and declared, “I am not going anywhere.” During the interview, Biden slammed the “elites” that he claimed run the Democratic Party. 

“Any of these guys that don’t think I should run, run against me. Announce for president, challenge me at the convention,” Biden said. 

Charlamagne played audio from this interview on his “Breakfast Club” show and responded, “All I hear is ego, and I hope they take him up on his offer. Every single Democrat who feels like the Democrats can’t win if Biden is the nominee needs to challenge him at the convention. Take him up on his offer.”

He added that he has been asking for months whether Biden-Harris is a “’winnable ticket,’ and if the answer is ‘no,’ Biden should step aside; and people shouldn’t be upset when folks say that — especially if y’all wanna win.”

Charlamagne also rejected Biden’s rhetoric juxtaposing the Democratic Party “elite” who he says want him replaced versus the average Americans he says still support him.

“What makes an average Democrat versus an elite Democrat? Because he’s been an elected official for 80+ years! So how is he not elite? What makes you an elite and what makes you average?” Charlamagne asked.

The show played audio of Trump talking about how Biden “may very well stay in” because of his “ego,” but that Vice President Kamala Harris will be the one to replace him if he drops out.

“I do believe he will stay in the race, too,” Charlamagne said. “I didn’t think, you know, Democrats could win before, but I really don’t think they can win now because the party is in such disarray.”

Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this update.

President Biden has a busy schedule Wednesday amid questions about his stamina as the 81-year-old president seeks re-election to another four-year term. 

Biden’s official schedule begins with a 10:00 a.m. Presidential Daily Briefing. Forty-five minutes later, Biden will depart the White House to address national labor union leaders at the AFL-CIO. At 11:45 a.m., the president will head over to the Washington Convention Center for the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C.

A series of high-profile meetings will follow for the remainder of the day until Biden departs back to the White House at 4:30 p.m. 

At 5:30 p.m., the president is scheduled to host a meeting with newly-elected UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 

Later this evening, the White House will host a dinner with NATO Allies and partners in the East Room.

The busy day comes after Biden delivered a strong opening address to welcome foreign leaders to NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington D.C. Tuesday evening—a highly anticipated speech in which he sought to allay concerns over his ability to serve as the nation’s oldest sitting president ever. 

The president’s speech was noteworthy for no major stumbles or setbacks. 

“Today, NATO is more powerful than ever,” Biden said Tuesday evening. “It’s good that we’re stronger than ever because this moment in history calls for our collective strength. Autocrats want to overturn global order, which is by and large, kept for nearly 80 years and counting. Terrorist groups continue to plot evil schemes, cause mayhem and chaos and suffering in Europe. Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues and Putin wants nothing less than Ukraine’s total subjugation to end Ukraine.” 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this update.

Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi
, D-Calif., said Wednesday that it’s up to President Biden to determine whether he will step aside from the 2024 presidential election and Democrats will support his choice.

“As long as the president is the president, it’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“We’re all encouraging him to make that decision, because time is running short. The, I think, overwhelming support of the caucus—it’s not for me to say, I’m not the head of the caucus anymore—but he’s beloved, he is respected and people want him to make that decision he has made.” 

Asked if she wants Biden, 81, to run again, the 84-year-old Pelosi said, “I want him to do whatever he decides to do, and that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with.” 

In an interview earlier this month after the president’s widely-panned debate performance on June 27, Pelosi admitted that discussions about Biden’s health are “legitimate.” 

ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos revealed he doesn’t think President Biden can serve four more years in office just days after their high-stakes interview. 

TMZ obtained video of Stephanopoulos on the streets of New York City on Tuesday where he was asked whether he thought Biden should step down. 

“I don’t think he can serve four more years,” Stephanopoulos responded. 

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates pointed Fox News Digital to comments made at Tuesday’s press briefing by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who told Fox News’ Peter Doocy that the president is committing to serve a full second term in office. The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

A spokesperson for ABC News told Fox News Digital “George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News.” 

“Earlier today I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn’t have,” Stephanopoulous said through a spokesperson.

Stephanopoulos sat down with Biden for the president’s first national interview since his disastrous debate performance last month, which has sparked unprecedented calls from members of the media and even a growing number of Democrats for him to withdraw from the 2024 race.

The ABC interview was widely seen as a test for Biden to show he has the mental capacity to continue his reelection bid. However, the 22-minute sit-down has not eased tensions within his party.

Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this update.

A second interviewer, who has similarly crossed paths with President Biden in the past, noticed in their exchange last year that the president “walked a little stiffly across the room” but was “engaged, responsive and able to address my questions.”

“I will say he was careful not to go on at length with answers,” the second interviewer told Fox News Digital. “It was clear he was trying to edit himself, possibly because he’d been coached to keep answers short.”

Both interviewers expressed frustration about their years-long efforts to get their sit-downs with Biden on the books and pointed out how his team was “upset” that their conversations went longer than the allotted time they were granted.

“They were clearly guarding him carefully,” the second interviewer told Fox News Digital. 

Biden’s inner circle appear to be especially on guard in his post-debate interviews. Two local radio hosts admitted in the past week that they were given questions to ask by the president’s team. One of them has already been ousted from her radio station. 

Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this update.

The legacy media has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks over its past coverage of President Biden, with critics accusing journalists of covering up his mental decline, which was on full display at last month’s presidential debate. 

Perhaps the only members of the media, besides the White House press corps, who have had exposure to the generally media-reclusive president are those who have been able to interview him. Biden has shattered norms by granting fewer interviews than any other American president in modern history. Those reporters able to sit down with him were given a rare window to observe whether Biden’s mental health is as bad as his conservative critics say it is or as good as his liberal defenders claim. 

Fox News Digital reached out to 20 Biden interviewers during his presidency. Only two were willing to speak, on the condition of anonymity. 

The first interviewer, who has had several interactions with Biden over the years, saw that he was “stiffer physically” when interviewing him this year.  

“I noticed this especially in the context of his age and the reports of his being frail. He was,” the interviewer told Fox News Digital. “His eyes were watery, once seemed maybe irritated, a bit glassy.”

“I was left with the impression that he is old, and it’s impossible not to notice this and be focused on it. His voice is so soft,” the interviewer added. 

The interviewer did acknowledge that Biden was “fine with small talk” and that “nothing stood out as unusual” as far as witnessing any mental lapses. 

“I don’t know if it’s what people want as president,” the interviewer said. “But what I’ve seen isn’t as good as his defenders say and not as bad as his haters say.”

Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this update.

Liberal media figures and celebrities have boasted extreme loyalty to President Biden, no matter his physical or mental state, as the Democratic candidate faces growing calls to drop out of the 2024 election.

Biden’s halting debate performance on June 27 reinforced concerns about his mental acuity and fitness for office, setting off a firestorm of calls from Democratic figures and editorial boards for him to step aside. However, liberal figures from “The View,” MSNBC and Hollywood have doubled down in their support for Biden amid these concerns, with candid remarks about the extremely low standards they have for Biden to ensure their vote.

MSNBC host Joy Reid is one such figure who lashed out at the Democratic Party over the talk of replacing Biden in the debate fallout. On her TikTok account last week, she said she would vote for Biden even if he was “in a coma.”

“Tell me who the nominee is going to be. Let me know when you guys are finished fighting amongst yourseves who I got to vote for in November to keep Hitler out of the White House,” she said. “Just let me know when you guys are finished figuring it out, Democrats.”

“Oh and by the way, if it’s Biden in a coma? I’m going to vote for Biden in a coma. I don’t even really particularly like the guy. A lot of his policies? Don’t like them, [but] he’s not Donald Trump, right? Yeah, Hitler, White House. We keepin’ him out.”

Whoopi Goldberg, another fierce critic of former President Trump, has also been blunt about Biden getting her vote despite growing concerns over his age.

“The View” co-host went viral on Monday for graphic remarks she made on the political talk show suggesting she would support Biden’s campaign, regardless of his physical and mental capability.

“I don’t care if he’s pooped his pants. I don’t care if he can’t put a sentence together. Show me he can’t do the job, and then I’ll say, ‘OK. Maybe it’s time to go,'” Goldberg said.

Goldberg did admit her loyalty could be shifted depending on how Biden performed in the second debate, but defended his poor performance in the June debate.

“I have poopy days all the time, all the time. I step in so much poo you can’t even imagine,” Goldberg said as the crowd chuckled. 

Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks contributed to this update.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom
of California, a top surrogate for the Biden re-election campaign, on Tuesday took aim at the small but growing number of Democratic lawmakers urging the president to end his re-election bid. 

“It doesn’t help. Let’s be candid here,” Newsom said as he spoke with reporters in New Hampshire, the third swing state that the governor has campaigned in on behalf of Biden since Thursday.

Asked by Fox News about the political damage from such calls from within the party, Newsom said, “Obviously, it’s not helpful, but it’s a handful of people.”

And the governor emphasized that the “overwhelming majority of the caucus” is still supporting Biden. “Every single stop that we’ve had in the six days that I’ve been out, we’ve had to change venues because there were so many people showing up. They’re not giving in to the cynicism, fear, they’re showing up.”

Newsom spoke with reporters soon after White House officials defended Biden’s health and denied he was ever treated for Parkinson’s disease. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded a barrage of questions on Monday afternoon over recent reports that a top neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center met with Biden’s physician at the White House in January.

“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No,” she told reporters after being pressed further on the matter. “Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, he’s not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No. So, those are the things that I can give you full-blown answers on.”

Asked if he had any concerns about Biden’s cognitive abilities, Newsom responded, “I don’t.”

“I have spent as much or more time than probably any other governor in the country with him,” Newsom emphasized. “I’ve spent a lot of time with him privately, been with him in many public settings. I was with him just a few days ago with other governors. Been on the phone late at night and early morning, in many, many stressful situations and very casual conversations. And no, I don’t have any doubt about that.”

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said critics of President Biden appear to be rooted in “ageism” and “ableism” rather than his policies.

The Nevada congressman appeared on “CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip” Monday night as some of his fellow Democratic colleagues have called for Biden to step aside following his disastrous debate performance.

Phillip reported a majority of voters, including Democrats, are having doubts about Biden’s ability to serve, to which Horsford responded that the conversation had been bogged down by “ageism,” which he found “interesting.”

“What I find interesting is the issue is more around ageism, ableism, and not what this president, President Biden, has done,” Horsford said. “His age didn‘t keep him from lifting 50% of children out of poverty. His age did not prevent him from passing a bipartisan infrastructure law. His age didn‘t prevent him from passing the bipartisan Safer Communities Act in order to keep our community safe from gun violence. It is his experience and his civility, because he actually cares about the American people.”

Horsford is chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) which met with Biden on a virtual call on Monday as the president attempted to assure members of his party that he is up to the job. He reportedly thanked them for their reliable support and promised a mutual sense of loyalty. 

“You’ve had my back, and I’ll continue to have yours,” Biden told the CBC members on the call. 

Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick contributed to this update.

Voters in New Hampshire
, a key northeastern swing state, say President Biden’s extremely rough performance two weeks ago in his debate with former President Trump will weigh heavily on their decision of whom to support in the 2024 election rematch.

“I’m leaning toward Donald Trump a little bit. Just because, I mean, the debate performance is really, really, really impactful for me, I was really thrown off by Joe Biden’s performance,” a New Hampshire voter named Mario, told Fox News.

Mario and nearly a dozen other voters shared their views as they stopped Monday at a highway rest area about half between the state capital of Concord and Manchester, which is New Hampshire’s largest city.

Mario shared, “I’m not really a Donald Trump person,” adding, “I think Donald Trump is too old, too.”

William Yacopucci, another New Hampshire voter, said Biden has “been an awesome president. I really like him. I think he can still do a good job for the remainder of this term.”

But, he added, “Three or four years from now, he’s going to be that much older. So, though I really, really like him, I think they should give someone else another shot at it.”

New Hampshire voter Al Byrnes told Fox News he “was very sad that President Biden performed like he did, but in the concept of everything, I would still totally back him tomorrow at this point.”

“I do wish that he would drop out of the race, but, I would support him or whoever replaces him. Anything but Donald Trump,” Byrnes emphasized.

Rose, another New Hampshire voter who said she was leaning toward Trump, offered, “Biden doesn’t seem like he knows what he’s talking about.”

But taking aim at the debate performances of both Biden and Trump, she added, “I felt like they were both just talking circles around each other.”

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.

President Biden must use the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., this week to make his case that he is fit to serve as his party’s nominee, while the Democrats remain skeptical following his debate performance, according to experts.

“This week is pivotal for President Biden, not only because of the intense interest in what he will be saying at his press events but also because this summit provides a clear example of restored American global leadership in support of our nation’s defense,” Joel Rubin, a former State Department official during the Obama administration, told Fox News Digital.

“The long-term bipartisan investment in NATO is paying off, and the president will have a chance, at this summit, to remind the American people about why his approach of building security coalitions with global partners advances both America’s security abroad and our economy right here at home.”

Biden has faced growing resistance to his campaign for re-election ever since his debate against the presumptive GOP nominee, former President Trump, which many deemed a disaster for showcasing the president in a worse light than many anticipated. Trump at one point said, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence” as Biden appeared to trail off during one of his answers. 

The response to the seeming shortcoming proved resounding. Biden-friendly media outlets, including major newspaper editorial boards, started publishing op-eds to urge the president to hand off his campaign to another candidate. And rumors abound that Democrats in the House and Senate will present letters to the president urging him to reconsider his insistence on running for a second term.

All of that scrutiny will continue in greater magnitude during this week’s NATO summit, which Biden leads in the nation’s capital and must use to show the American public that he can still get the job done, according to a number of members of Congress.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital that Biden “must show the American public that he has the ability to serve out the remainder of this term, let alone a future one” as the “eyes of the world” watch the NATO summit. 

“It is on President Biden to show he’s capable and up to the task,” Lawler said. “What we’ve seen in recent weeks doesn’t cut it.”

A spokesperson for Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., referred to recent statements the senator made about Biden and his fitness to serve in which Fetterman called out party members for allegedly looking to abandon Biden after his poor debate showing. During an appearance on Fox News this month, he called the reaction “the dumbest s— I’ve ever heard.” 

“I mean, if you are more inclined to vote for a Democrat or be a Democrat, if you’re willing to walk away from Joe Biden, you’re, by defecting, helping Trump,” Fetterman told Fox News Sunday anchor Shannon Bream, pointing to his own difficult debate that preceded a historic win as proof that it’s possible to recover. 

Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken contributed to this update.