The Squiz 

After weeks of political turmoil, US Democrats had the chance to have their say on President Joe Biden’s future during meetings of their elected congressional representatives yesterday. But reports say rather than bringing them together, they left with no clear plan forward… Biden’s been facing pressure to drop out of the presidential race over concerns about his ability to do the job for 4 more years – and now celebrities are joining in – but he’s vowed to stick with it, and his team has been working overtime to shut down his critics. VP Kamala Harris – who’s been touted as the most likely Democrat to take over from Biden – defended him on the campaign trail yesterday, saying “he is a fighter”. But it’s fair to say that, more broadly, Democrats are split over the issue… 

Why haven’t they moved on this?

It’s tricky because up until Biden’s disastrous performance at the first 2024 presidential debate, Democrats had been backing him with everything they had. But with the November election coming up fast, some senior party officials now say that the logistics of picking a new nominee would be too difficult even though many believe the 81yo can’t lead them to victory… Regardless, it’s nearing crunch time to make a call… Meanwhile, all that infighting has left the door open for Republican candidate Donald Trump to go on the offensive. At a rally in Florida yesterday, he said “it doesn’t matter who they nominate because we are going to beat any one of them”. 

So Biden’s truckin’ on? 

Yep, including as host of the NATO Summit in Washington… It’ll wrap up tomorrow our time and delegates are expected to agree to more humanitarian/military aid for Ukraine for its defence against Russia. Biden and the leaders of several European countries have already pledged new air defence systems to help. The President’s also been working to reassure members that NATO “is stronger than it’s ever been” and that he is capable of remaining at the helm there, too. Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles is there and is hedging his political bets as he also meets up with Trump-affiliated Republicans to ensure continuing support for the AUKUS security pact. It’s good to cover your bases…