Axios

President Biden's White House went around its normal processes for his first post-debate interview with a Black radio station earlier this week.

Why it matters: The White House helped draft the questions that the host asked the president. Then the Biden campaign sent them to the radio station, given it was technically a campaign interview, a person familiar with the matter tells Axios.

The judge presiding over former President Trump's classified documents case in Florida pushed back some of the deadlines in the case on Saturday to allow for further briefing.

Why it matters: Judge Aileen Cannon's order follows the 6-3 Supreme Court opinion allowing presidential immunity for official acts conducted as president.

Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) on Saturday became the latest House Democrat calling on President Biden to exit the presidential race.

Why it matters: Craig is the first swing-district House Democrat to try to nudge Biden out amid concerns that his age will cause problems for Democrats running further down the ballot.

House Democratic leadership is bringing out the big guns against a Republican bill set to be voted on next week that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: House Republicans have made non-citizen voting in federal elections — for which there is no evidence of a widespread phenomenon — a marquee issue going into the 2024 campaign.

President Biden's interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos did little to tamp down mounting concerns from Democratic members of Congress about his ability to defeat former President Trump.

Why it matters: Four House Democrats have publicly called for Biden to step down from the ticket, with lawmakers saying they expect more to follow soon.

President Biden has lost more than broad Democratic support since his bad debate. He has bled credibility — with the media, lawmakers, top officials and even his own paid staff, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a Behind the Curtain column.

• Why it matters: It's not clear if — and how — Biden recovers it, top Democrats tell us.

Some top Democrats told us Biden made matters worse Friday with his ABC interview, where he denied bad poll numbers and widespread Democratic panic.

There were so many early signs, Jim and Mike write.

• Biden rarely did tough interviews — much, much fewer than his predecessors. It was almost always friendly questions on friendly terrain. Presidential scholar Martha Kumar has data showing Biden has given about one-third as many formal press conferences and interviews as former President Trump at this point in their first term — and the fewest formal news conferences of any president since Ronald Reagan.

Today is the eighth day in a row that Jim and I have brought you a "Behind the Curtain" column about the post-debate crisis for President Biden, drawing on our constant conversations with top players in both parties.

• Why it matters: The feedback from the highest levels has been humbling. Please keep the leaks, suggestions and reactions coming: [email protected] & [email protected].

The week you've lived [Updated]:

Top quotes from President Biden's 22-minute interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos yesterday in Madison, Wis.:

1. If he's had specific cognitive tests or an examination by a neurological specialist: "No. No one said I had to. No one said. They said I'm good."
2. If he'd be willing to undergo an independent medical evaluation that included neurological and cognitive tests, and release the results: "Look. I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, but I'm running the world. ... [S]ounds like hyperbole, but we are the essential nation of the world."

President Biden's interview did little to tamp down mounting concerns from Democratic members of Congress about his ability to defeat former President Trump.

1. "We'll certainly amp up the public pressure as needed," a House Democrat told Axios' Andrew Solender.
2. A House Democrat said their colleagues feel Biden's interview was "not impressive" and that "he's toast" in November.
3. Said a third: "The interview hardly inspires confidence. It changes nothing."
4. A fourth House Democrat said they were "shocked" by Biden's "refusal to recognize reality" in polling.

🧮 By the numbers: Four House Democrats have publicly called for Biden to step down from the ticket, with lawmakers saying they expect more to follow soon:

New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, 61, leader of the center-left Labour Party, stood outside his new home and office at No. 10 Downing Street, and pledged to use his massive electoral majority to rebuild the country.

• Why it matters: Thursday's national election upended U.K. politics. Labour won 412 seats, while the Conservatives lost nearly two-thirds of their seats (now have 121) — including a record number of senior ministers and former Prime Minister Liz Truss. (Reuters)

President Biden has lost more than broad Democratic support since his bad debate. He has bled credibility — with the media, lawmakers, top officials and even his own paid staff.

Why it matters: It's not clear if — and how — Biden recovers it, top Democrats tell us.

President Biden denied in an interview with ABC News Friday that top Democrats in Congress want him to step aside — and rejected "hypotheticals" about what he would do if close allies urged him to withdraw.

Why it matters: As of Friday's taping, only a handful House Democrats had publicly called for Biden to quit the race. But momentum is growing, and Biden's post-debate interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos is unlikely to stem the tide.

President Biden Friday flatly ruled out taking a cognitive test or submitting to an independent medical examination to determine if he has any neurological conditions, insisting he had the energy and ability to run for president and defeat former President Trump.

Why it matters: In an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, the president avoided the verbal flubs and unfinished sentences that defined his disastrous debate performance last week.

President Biden indicated in an interview with ABC News Friday that he would be at peace if he lost to former President Trump "as long as I gave it my all."

Why it matters: Biden is under growing pressure to step aside as the Democratic nominee in the wake of his disastrous debate performance last week, especially given the stakes of a potential Trump second term.