Trump-Backed MAGA Candidate Caught in Humiliating Trap

Trump-backed MAGA candidate Bernie Moreno, who is campaigning to oust longtime Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, walked himself into a faceplant on Thursday while attempting to tout his accessibility in contrast to his opponent.

“I can tell you this, if I’m here, I will talk to you at any point in time, even take tough questions. Sherrod Brown won’t do that,” Moreno declared before claiming Democrats shielded Biden from visibility to hide his physical decline. “If you can’t come out here and address the media and talk to reporters and give your position and be unequivocal and clear, you have no business being in elected office.”

Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio took Moreno up on this offer, asking if his position on abortion conflicts with the Republican Party’s new platform. Moreno responded, “Look, we’re not here to talk about abortion.”

The Republican Party recently approved a policy platform crafted by Trump’s campaign that softens the party’s stance on abortion, supporting access to IVF and contraceptives while opposing abortion in the second trimester. Moreno previously has expressed support for a 15-week abortion ban, while the new GOP platform has removed references to a 20-week national abortion ban. Moreno has since tried to backtrack to say he supports the new platform.

Brown is facing headwinds heading into reelection in November, with Ohio shaping up to vote for Trump but polling appearing to favor Brown. According to The New York Times, Moreno is the Democratic Party’s preferred contender against Brown due to his extreme positions and bizarre moments in the spotlight. Moreno has previously called for reparations for white people and argued that women don’t need abortions, they need help carrying strollers.

Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a fierce warning to his fellow lawmakers late Thursday: that President Joe Biden must drop out of the race or risk losing the election for the party.

Just minutes after Joe Biden’s chaotic press conference concluded Thursday, Himes was one of four Democrats who released a statement urging Biden to drop out of the presidential race.

“The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed. I no longer believe that is Joe Biden,” Himes wrote.

During an interview on CNN later that night, Himes explained his “painful” decision to ask Biden to withdraw. The Connecticut Democrat said he couldn’t see the president’s “trajectory” to pull himself, and his fellow Democrats, to victory. Himes suggested that Biden no longer appeared to be the best person to sell all of the party’s accomplishments over the last four years.

“If you believe that our problem is that we haven’t gotten that message across well, and if you also believe that the president has the biggest megaphone, you have to drop the emotion, and the loyalty and love and say, ‘In the next four or five months, is that story going to be told with such precision and poetry and beauty that you will turn around all the numbers that say we are going to lose?’” Himes said.

“I did this painful thing tonight because for me, the answer to that is, I just don’t see that trajectory, I don’t see the numbers,” he said.

Himes explained that when picturing the incumbent’s path over the next few months, he was concerned that another disaster like Biden’s performance at the presidential debate could have catastrophic effects.

“Imagine that three months from now, we get another performance like there was in the debate, right before the election. Do you want to take that risk? I don’t.”

Himes spoke emphatically as he warned that the issue of Biden’s candidacy needs to be resolved within the coming days, or it will risk further damage to Democrats’ chances.

“We just went 10 days where the story was not Donald Trump promising totalitarianism, it was, ‘How is Joe Biden gonna do in the Big Boy press conference?’” Himes said. “Wherever you are on this stuff, this needs to stop soon.”

Himes spoke strongly as he shifted his address, which seemed to be directed at his fellow politicians, urging them to ask themselves the hard question, “Are you sure he’s going to win?”

“You’re not just gambling your own political reputation, you are gambling the future of the United States of America,” Himes said.

Panic over Joe Biden’s age and mental fitness has consumed the Democratic Party since the president’s abysmal debate performance in late June, during which he appeared dumbfounded and frail through the majority of his first 2024 matchup against Donald Trump. Since the face-off, droves of private-sector leaders, donors, and consultants have urged Biden to call it quits, looking for alternatives to a candidate that they openly describe as “comatose” and “dead.”

So far, 34 Democratic lawmakers have formally called on the president to exit the race, and more may soon join them. Some high-profile Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former President Barack Obama have signaled behind closed doors that the president’s time leading the party is over. Still, others are reportedly “not budging” until Biden makes another egregious mistake—though the level of mistake required is aboundingly unclear.

Here’s the list of liberal politicians who have called on Biden to throw in the towel.

House of Representatives:

• Rep. Morgan McGarvey (July 19)
• Rep. Greg Landsman (July 19)
• Rep. Betty McCollum (July 19)
• Rep. Zoe Lofgren (July 19)
• Rep. Jared Huffman (July 19)
• Rep. Marc Veasey (July 19)
• Rep. Chuy Garcia (July 19)
• Rep. Marc Pocan (July 19)
• Rep. Adam Schiff (July 17)
• Rep. Mike Levin (July 12)
• Rep. Brittany Pettersen (July 12)
• Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (July 11)
• Rep. Eric Sorensen (July 11)
• Rep. Scott Peters (July 11)
• Rep. Jim Himes (July 11)
• Rep. Ed Case (July 11)
• Rep. Greg Stanton (July 11)
• Rep. Bradley Schneider (July 11)
• Rep. Hillary J. Scholten (July 11)
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer (July 10)
• Rep. Pat Ryan (July 10)
• Rep. Mikie Sherrill (July 9)
• Rep. Joseph Morelle (July 7)
• Rep. Adam Smith (July 7)
• Rep. Mark Takano (July 7)
• Rep. Angie Craig (July 6)
• Rep. Jamie Raskin (July 6)
• Rep. Mike Quigley (July 5)
• Rep. Seth Moulton (July 4)
• Rep. Raúl Grijalva (July 3)
• Rep. Lloyd Doggett (July 2)

Senate:

• Sen. Martin Heinrich (July 19)
• Sen. Jon Tester (July 18)
• Sen. Peter Welch (July 10)

This story has been updated.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met with President Biden Thursday evening when, according to a letter issued by Jeffries on Friday, they talked about a lot and decided on nothing.

“In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives, and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together,” Jeffries wrote to his Democratic colleagues, describing conversations in the Democratic House Caucus as “candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive.”

“As House Democrats have done throughout this Congress, we will continue to work in the best interests of everyday Americans. Thank you for your continued leadership in service of the communities we are privileged to represent.”

The letter avoids direct mentions of what Biden and Jeffries spoke about, or what the outcome of the meeting was.

Jeffries has been holding meetings with top Democrats and the Congressional Black Caucus in the weeks since Biden’s disastrous debate performance. While he’s avoided making any definitive statements, closed-door Democratic meetings have been described as “an insult to funerals,” with Jeffries absorbing various concerns about Biden’s fitness to serve, pitches for Kamala Harris to replace Biden, and declarations of support for Biden. To date, 18 House Democrats and one Democratic senator have publicly called on Biden to step aside, including four independents who caucus with Democrats. Privately, influential Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have reportedly expressed concerns about Biden’s candidacy, with Pelosi providing an explosive nonanswer on Wednesday morning about a need for Biden “to decide if he is going to run.”

Following a middling NATO press conference on Thursday evening with some oof-worthy gaffes, one Democratic operative described the state of the party to Politico as “in purgatory.” Jeffries’s letter announcing that he passed along opinions from Democrats to Biden appears to be a continuation of the party’s nonmovement, as Biden has firmly indicated he has no intention of stepping aside despite continued calls for him to do so.

Representative James Clyburn pledged his support to whatever Joe Biden decides, including whether he changes his mind.

NBC’s Savannah Guthrie asked Clyburn Friday morning about whether he’s leaving “the door open just a little bit” for continued questions about Biden staying on as the Democratic nominee for president.

“I took him at his word, and that’s why I am all in,” Clyburn said, referring to Biden’s stated desire to stay on as president. “I’m ridin’ with Biden, no matter what direction he goes, no matter what method he takes; I’m with Joe Biden.”

But the South Carolina Democrat offered a caveat.

“And if he were to change his mind, I’ll just answer the question, I would be all in for the vice president,” Clyburn said, referring to Kamala Harris.

With that answer, Clyburn somehow both affirmed his support for Biden but also for Harris to succeed him. He further elaborated on what he meant when NBC’s Craig Melvin asked him, “Should the conversation about the president getting out of this race, should that conversation continue?”

“No it shouldn’t,” Clyburn said. “The conversation should focus on the record of this administration, on the alternative to his election, and let Joe Biden continue to make his own decisions about his future. He’s earned that right, and I am going to give him that much respect. If he decides to change his mind later on, then we would respond to that.”

“If Project 2025 were to become the law in any form, that is where our focus ought to be,” Clyburn added.

Clyburn’s latest remarks build on what he said nearly two weeks ago after Biden’s poor debate performance, when he gave a stronger endorsement of Harris. Now Clyburn still supports Harris, but only if Biden were to decide himself to step down. On Thursday, Biden held a rare press conference that didn’t allay many people’s concerns about his fitness for office. He stumbled starting off, and concluded chaotically after he attempted to answer a question about Harris replacing him. This press conference may have won over Clyburn, but he’s clearly still giving Biden room to drop out.