Former President Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about President Joe Biden’s candidacy, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned Biden that Democrats could lose the ability to seize control in the House if he didn’t step away from the race.
The Republican National Convention culminates Thursday with former President Donald Trump expected to accept the party’s presidential nomination, achieving a comeback four years in the making and anticipated even more in the past week in light of Saturday’s assassination attempt.
He is expected to accept his third consecutive party nod in prime time before thousands of supporters at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Trump’s running mate JD Vance addressed the same crowd on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign insists it’s “not working through any scenarios” where he “is not the top of the ticket,” despite intensifying calls from congressional Democrats for him to abandon the race ahead of November’s election.
Here’s the Latest:
The final night of the RNC is going to be ‘Rock-in’
Musician Kid Rock posted Thursday on the social platform X that he had just arrived in Milwaukee “to support our tried and true, red white and blue, 100% American bad_- president.”
Journalists inside the Fiserv Forum where the convention has been taking place posted video of the rocker practicing from the stage where house band Sixwire has been playing between speeches all week.
The Detroit musician has become an ally for Trump over the years. He’s been at the White House to support the Republican several times, including a 2017 visit with musician Ted Nugent and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Arizona congressman: Biden ‘needs to prove’ he’s up for the presidential campaign
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for Senate in the swing state of Arizona, stopped short Thursday of calling on Biden to step aside but did not defend him either.
“I’ve been very clear with him and with Arizonans that he needs to prove to me and to Arizonans that he is up for the campaign,” Gallego told reporters at a campaign stop in Phoenix. “We deserve to see that and we’ll have to go from there.”
Gallego declined to say whether he would support Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee, saying he’s not going to “deal in hypotheticals.”
U.S. Rep. Adam Smith reiterates his belief that Biden should step down
U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., on Thursday reiterated that President Joe Biden should step down.
Appearing virtually at a press event during the RNC, Smith said that he has had frequent conversations with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi about Biden stepping aside, but wouldn’t disclose what she had said in response.
Asked about reports that Pelosi is working behind the scenes to convince Biden to step down, Smith said that no other Democrat has their thumb on the pulse of the party than her.
“We respect Nancy right up to the fact that she stepped aside,” he said. “She still was very capable but she passed the torch to the next generation.”Smith added, “So I think she’s a good person to listen to about where we’re at right now as a party.”
House Speaker repeats call for Biden to fire Secret Service director
House Speaker Mike Johnson reiterated his criticism Thursday of the U.S. Secret Service following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend.
Johnson and many Republicans have called for the Secret Service director to resign and the Republican lawmaker took it further Thursday by calling the White House to demand that President Joe Biden fire her himself. He made similar remarks in an interview with Fox Business earlier in the day.
“We have a lot more questions than answers,” Johnson said at a Politico event at the RNC. He added that he received an “alarming” classified briefing about what went wrong Saturday and is scheduling a similar briefing for the full House next week.
VP says Republicans’ attempts to portray themselves as the party of ‘unity’ ring hollow
Vice President Kamala Harris says Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance told a “compelling” but incomplete story Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
The vice president said Vance skipped over what’s known as Project 2025, a sweeping road map for a new Republican administration that was drafted by the conservative Heritage Foundation. It includes plans for dismantling aspects of the federal government and ousting thousands of civil servants. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has sought to distance himself from the plan.
But Harris, campaigning Thursday in Fayetteville, North Carolina, said, “You cannot claim you stand for unity if you are pushing an agenda that deprives whole groups of Americans of basic freedoms, opportunity and dignity.”
Trump campaign adviser: Heritage Foundation staff ‘do not speak for him’
Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita is calling the Heritage Foundation, the creator of Project 2025, “a pain in the a_.”
“The president’s made it clear these people do not speak for him,” he said at an event hosted by Politico and CNN on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention. “They do not speak for the campaign.”
Trump’s campaign has repeatedly tried to distance itself from the group’s controversial proposals, which have been the subject of numerous news stories and a top focus of the Biden campaign.
While the policy plan was written by many former Trump administration officials who are widely expected to return if he wins a second term, LaCivita said just because people used to work for Trump, doesn’t mean they will again.
“That’s pure speculation on your part,” he told the moderator. “That’s what the left wants but I’m not going to give into it.”
Former Trump official says Democrats already made Biden their choice for 2024
Former Trump administration official Ric Grenell says that Biden is Democrats’ choice for 2024 and that talk of dumping him is nothing new.
Grenell said during a briefing put on by CPAC on Thursday in Milwaukee that Democrats “went through a process of anointing” Biden and shouldn’t be supplanted because party elites might want to oust him.
Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence, said that such political volatility “is what happens in other countries, not in America.”
CPAC chair slams Dems for insider conversations about possibly ousting Biden as nominee
The head of the Conservative Political Action Conference says that Democrats are being disingenuous when they critique Trump for being an alleged threat to democracy while engaging in insider conversations about possibly ousting their own nominee.
CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp said during a media briefing Thursday on the sidelines of the RNC, “You can’t both uphold democracy and then decide who the next nominee is in some smoke-filled room,” referencing a roiling conversation among Democrats about possibly replacing Biden at the top of their ticket.
Biden’s doctor: President is still experiencing mild symptoms from COVID-19 but vitals are normal
Biden still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms from COVID-19, the president’s doctor says.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a statement Thursday that Biden does not have a fever and his vital signs remain normal. He’s being treated with the drug Paxlovid.
The White House announced Wednesday that Biden had tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas. The president canceled an appearance in Nevada and kept prearranged plans to travel to his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He’s isolating there.
Ambassadors try to ease concerns over possible second Trump presidency
The British, German, Canadian and Swedish ambassadors to the U.S. sought to ease global concern Thursday about a second potential Trump presidency and what that would mean for the ongoing flow of American aid to Ukraine and the country’s standing in NATO.
The ambassadors spoke on a panel near the RNC in Milwaukee where they laid out the destructive consequences of any future American president turning their back on their European allies while avoiding any direct criticism of Trump and his new VP nominee U.S. Sen. JD Vance, who has been vocal about limiting foreign aid.
“I mean people say things when they’re in opposition, but when they’re actually in power, they have to weigh the responsibility of that,” British ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce said at a Politico event.
Delegate: ‘I hope he’s able to convince people that he’s got our best interests at heart’
Robert Millican said he had been an unaffiliated voter until the fall of 2023 and Donald Trump was not his first choice as a presidential candidate. That’s all changed for Millican, an alternate delegate from North Carolina, who believes Trump has more of his interests at heart than President Joe Biden.
He also thinks Trump wants to unify the country with his speech Thursday night at the Republican National Convention.
“Will he be able to? Will people be willing to listen? That’s the biggest question,” Millican said Thursday at the convention. “Everyone here, myself included now, believes in him. You don’t need to tell us. But is someone who hasn’t been behind him willing to listen?”
“We all know he can be abrasive at times,” Millican added. “Will he be able to convey it? I know that’s where his heart is, but what comes out of his mouth sometimes doesn’t sound okay with some people. We’re so divided. We need to come together and be able to listen — both sides. I hope he’s able to convince people that he’s got our best interests at heart.”
Retired pro wrestler Hulk Hogan to speak at RNC, AP source says
Retired wrestling star Hulk Hogan is slated to speak Thursday night at the Republican National Convention ahead of President Donald Trump’s historic remarks accepting his party’s nomination for president after facing an assassination attempt.
He is just one of several members of the wrestling world expected to speak on the convention’s final day, including Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, according to a person familiar with the schedule who spoke on the condition of anonymity before the schedule’s official release.
Earlier this week, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds compared Trump’s return to the RNC stage after the assassination attempt to “Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania.”
Hogan, whose legal name is Terry Gene Bollea, and Trump are both members of the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame with the former president being inducted in 2013.
The 1980s wrestling icon has occasionally tossed around political aspirations after he retired from wrestling in 2012, including telling Fox News last month that he’d consider entering politics.
“So, if you need a president or vice president, I’ll volunteer and take this country over, and I’ll rule with an iron fist, a flat tax — nothing but common sense,” he said.
Hogan has won six WWE championships and starred in movies and TV shows including “No Holds Barred,” “Suburban Commando” and “Hogan Knows Best” after amassing a fan base dubbed the “Hulkamaniacs.”
Trump campaign official: Secret Service director should resign
One of Trump’s top campaign officials says the Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle should resign.
Chris LaCivita, one of two officials serving effectively as Trump’s campaign manager, was asked in an interview hosted by Politico and CNN on Thursday whether Cheatle should resign, and he said, “Yeah.”
He added: “100%.”
LaCivita wouldn’t answer questions about Trump’s injury or his conversation with the former president after the shooting.
Obama, Pelosi and others push for Biden to reconsider 2024 race
Former president Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about Biden’s candidacy.
And Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has privately warned Biden that Democrats could lose the ability to seize control in the House if he didn’t step away from the race.
This is according to several people familiar with the private conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive internal matters.
Biden has insisted he is not backing down. Pressed about reports that Biden might be softening to the idea of leaving the race, Biden’s deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Thursday: “He is not wavering on anything.”
— Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Lisa Mascaro, Mike Balsamo and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
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