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Column: Biden's defiance, born of his long history, has hardened into denial

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Column: Biden's defiance, born of his long history, has hardened into denial

It took Joe Biden three campaigns and more than 30 years to win the presidency. It should come as no surprise that he’s resisting suggestions that he give it up now, barely a week after a disastrous debate performance sharpened doubts that he can win a second term.

He’s been in this position before. “Same thing happened in 2020,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday.

A recurring pattern of setbacks, defiance and recovery has been the central narrative of Biden’s career. It’s a story he frequently tells — to himself, his family and his party.

“I’ve been knocked down before and counted out my whole life,” he told campaign workers Wednesday. “I learned long ago that when you get knocked down, you get back up.”

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In earlier chapters, Biden’s gritty refusal to be counted out was a virtue. It fueled his 2020 comeback from early-primary failures, when doubters said he was waging a “zombie campaign,” to victory over then-President Trump.

But Biden’s signature defiance appears to be hardening into denial.

In his 22-minute interview with Stephanopoulos, he batted away questions about whether his moments of incoherence at the June 27 debate were signs of a deeper problem.

“I just had a bad night,” the president said — five times.

He dismissed the many polls that show him likely to lose to Trump, who has been convicted of 34 felonies in New York.

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“All the pollsters I talk to tell me it’s a toss-up,” he insisted.

When Stephanopoulos noted that surveys show only 36% of voters have a favorable view of Biden, the president replied: “I don’t believe that’s my approval.”

And he said he wasn’t sure whether he has rewatched the debate to analyze his performance. “I don’t think I did,” he said.

It sounded as if the famous chip on Biden’s shoulder has grown so big that it’s interfering with his ability to understand why so many Democrats are worried.

“The president is rightfully proud of his record,” David Axelrod, who helped Barack Obama win two presidential elections, posted on social media. “But he is dangerously out of touch with the concerns people have about his capacities moving forward and his standing in this race.”

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A handful of Democrats in Congress — five House members, according to a tally by the Washington Post — have publicly urged Biden to withdraw from the race. More than a dozen others have expressed concern over his ability to wage an effective campaign, without explicitly asking him to get out.

Behind them is a much larger number who refuse to be quoted but worry that Biden’s debate performance was more than just one “bad night,” and that the campaign will devolve into a white-knuckled watch over his faltering performance.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) voiced their bottom-line question bluntly in a recent television interview.

“Is this an episode, or is this a condition?” she asked, referring to Biden’s lapses during the debate. “When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate.”

If the answer is a one-time episode, Biden stands a chance of convincing voters that he can be an effective president for four more years. If the answer is that he is suffering from a worsening condition, he needs to retire with grace and honor.

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When Stephanopoulos relayed Pelosi’s question to the president, Biden batted it away. “It was a bad episode,” he said. “No indication of any serious condition.”

But he acknowledged that he has not undergone a full neurological or cognitive evaluation. “No one said I had to,” he said.

“I have a cognitive test every day,” he added, referring to the many meetings he attends as president.

Pelosi, who has not urged Biden to withdraw, said both presidential candidates should undergo more rigorous medical examinations.

“Both candidates owe whatever test you want to put them to, in terms of their mental acuity and their health — both of them,” she said.

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Trump, who at 78 is three years younger than Biden and has never released detailed health records, is unlikely to embrace that idea. So Pelosi’s argument amounted to a plea to the 81-year-old Biden to undergo more tests for the sake of his party, whether Trump follows suit or not.

Democrats expect more shoes to drop next week.

The first week of polls after the debate showed Biden losing about two percentage points, giving Trump an average lead of 3.5% in the nationwide popular vote.

A drop of two points may not seem large, but Democratic strategists aren’t convinced that Biden has bottomed out. “It usually takes about two weeks for an event’s effects to percolate,” one said. So Democratic leaders will be anxiously awaiting results from more polls.

Because of the way electoral votes are apportioned, Biden would need a popular vote lead of at least 2.5% to call the race a toss-up. Trump’s current lead — which may not hold up, of course — puts the president far behind.

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That’s one reason Democrats in Congress are increasingly edgy. The other is that a GOP landslide could doom their chances of holding their majority in the Senate and winning a majority in the House of Representatives.

That outcome would not only cost many Democrats their jobs, it would deprive them of the power to impede Trump’s plans to transform the federal government into an instrument of his whims.

Senate and House members will return to the Capitol on Monday after their July 4 recess. Once Democrats hold their caucus meetings, the trickle of those urging Biden to withdraw could turn into a flood.

The decision, many say, is up to Biden.

If the president bows out, party insiders are already discussing how they could organize a “mini-campaign” in the six weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago begins Aug. 19.

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But if the president stays in, party leaders will try to avoid a chaotic fight over his nomination on the convention floor. The last time a president’s renomination was challenged at a convention, when Sen. Edward M. Kennedy tried to oust then-President Carter in 1980, the outcome was a disaster for the party.

Biden says he’s sticking to his guns. “I am staying in the race!” he shouted at a rally in Wisconsin on Friday. “I will beat Donald Trump!”

When Stephanopoulos asked the president if he would withdraw if he was convinced that he cannot win, Biden replied: “If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might.”

Our political parties usually take a year or more to choose a presidential candidate. It’s clearly going to take longer than 10 days to decide whether to unchoose one.

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Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

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Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

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Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.

“I’ve decided to step out of this race, and I’ll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that’s in front of me for the next year.” “All right, so this is Quality Learing Center — meant to say Quality ‘Learning’ Center.” “Right now we have around 56 kids enrolled. If the children are not here, we mark absence.”

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Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.

By Shawn Paik

January 6, 2026

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Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu

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Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu

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A San Francisco Democrat demanded the impeachment of President Donald Trump, accusing him of carrying out a “coup” against Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener, seen as the likely congressional successor to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wiener has frequently drawn national attention for his progressive positions, including his legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom designating California as a “refuge” for transgender children and remarks at a San Francisco Pride Month event referring to California children as “our kids.”

In a lengthy public statement following the Trump administration’s arrest and extradition of Maduro to New York, Wiener said the move shows the president only cares about “enriching his public donors” and “cares nothing for the human or economic cost of conquering another country.”

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KAMALA HARRIS BLASTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO AS ‘UNLAWFUL AND UNWISE’

California State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, speaks at a rally. (John Sciulli/Getty Images)

“This lawless coup is an invitation for China to invade Taiwan, for Russia to escalate its conquest in Ukraine, and for Netanyahu to expand the destruction of Gaza and annex the West Bank,” said Wiener, who originally hails from South Jersey.

He suggested that the Maduro operation was meant to distract from purportedly slumping poll numbers, the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, and to essentially seize another country’s oil reserves.

“Trump is a total failure,” Wiener said. “By engaging in this reckless act, Trump is also making the entire world less safe … Trump is making clear yet again that, under this regime, there are no rules, there are no laws, there are no norms – there is only whatever Trump thinks is best for himself and his cronies at a given moment in time.”

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GREENE HITS TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES, ARGUES ACTION ‘DOESN’T SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’

In response, the White House said the administration’s actions against Maduro were “lawfully executed” and included a federal arrest warrant.”

“While Democrats take twisted stands in support of indicted drug smugglers, President Trump will always stand with victims and families who can finally receive closure thanks to this historic action,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.

Supporters of the operation have pushed back on claims of “regime change” – an accusation Wiener also made – pointing to actions by Maduro-aligned courts that barred top opposition leader María Corina Machado from running, even as publicly reported results indicated her proxy, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the vote.

“Trump’s illegal invasion of Venezuela isn’t about drugs, and it isn’t about helping the people of Venezuela or restoring Venezuelan democracy,” Wiener added. “Yes, Maduro is awful, but that’s not what the invasion is about. It’s all about oil and Trump’s collapsing support at home.”

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EX-ESPN STAR KEITH OLBERMANN CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT OF TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES THAT CAPTURED MADURO

Around the country, a handful of other Democrats referenced impeachment or impeachable offenses, but did not go as far as Wiener in demanding such proceedings.

Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-Md., who represents otherwise conservative “Mountain Maryland” in the state’s panhandle, said Monday that Democrats should “imminently consider impeachment proceedings,” according to TIME.

McClain-Delaney said Trump acted without constitutionally-prescribed congressional authorization and wrongly voiced “intention to ‘run’ the country.”

SCHUMER BLASTED TRUMP FOR FAILING TO OUST MADURO — NOW WARNS ARREST COULD LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’

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One frequent Trump foil, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., cited in a statement that she has called for Trump’s impeachment in the past; blaming Republicans for letting the president “escape accountability.”

“Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality. I am reconsidering that view,” Waters said. 

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“What we are witnessing is an unprecedented escalation of an unlawful invasion, the detention of foreign leaders, and a president openly asserting power far beyond what the Constitution allows,” she said, while appearing to agree with Trump that Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and “collaborat[ion] with… terrorists.”

Wiener’s upcoming primary is considered the deciding election in the D+36 district, while a handful of other lesser-known candidates have reportedly either filed FEC paperwork or declared their candidacy, including San Francisco Councilwoman Connie Chan.

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California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress

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California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress

California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) has died, GOP leadership and President Trump confirmed Tuesday morning.

“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House majority whip, in a post on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”

LaMalfa, 65, was a fourth-generation rice farmer from Oroville and staunch Trump supporter who had represented his Northern California district for the past 12 years. His seat was one of several that was in jeopardy under the state’s redrawn districts approved by voters with Proposition 50.

Emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from LaMalfa’s residence at 6:50 p.m. Monday, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. The congressman was taken to the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, where he died while undergoing emergency surgery, authorities said.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is planned, according to the sheriff’s office.

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LaMalfa’s district — which stretches from the northern outskirts of Sacramento, through Redding at the northern end of the Central Valley and Alturas in the state’s northeast corner — is largely rural, and constituents have long said they felt underrepresented in liberal California.

LaMalfa put much of his focus on boosting federal water supplies to farmers, and seeking to reduce environmental restrictions on logging and extraction of other natural resources.

One LaMalfa’s final acts in the U.S. House was to successfully push for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act, a long-standing financial aid program for schools surrounded by untaxed federal forest land, whose budgets could not depend upon property taxes, as most public schools do. Despite broad bipartisan support, Congress let it lapse in 2023.

In an interview with The Times as he was walking onto the House floor in mid-December, LaMalfa said he was frustrated with Congress’s inability to pass even a popular bill like that reauthorization.

The Secure Rural Schools Act, he said, was a victim of a Congress in which “it’s still an eternal fight over anything fiscal.” It is “annoying,” LaMalfa said, “how hard it is to get basic things done around here.”

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In a statement posted on X, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff said he considered LaMalfa “a friend and partner” and that the congressman was “deeply committed to his community and constituents, working to make life better for those he represented.”

“Doug’s life was one of great service and he will be deeply missed,” Schiff wrote.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement called LaMalfa a “devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented.”

“While we often approached issues from different perspectives, he fought every day for the people of California with conviction and care,” Newsom said.

Flags at the California State Capitol in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff in honor of the congressman, according to the governor.

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Before his death, LaMalfa was facing a difficult reelection bid to hold his seat. After voters approved Proposition 50 in November — aimed at giving California Democrats more seats in Congress — LaMalfa was drawn into a new district that heavily favored his likely opponent, State Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat who represents the state’s northwest coast.

LaMalfa’s death puts the Republican majority in Congress in further jeopardy, with a margin of just two votes to secure passage of any bill along party lines after the resignation of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday evening.

Adding to the party’s troubles, Rep. Jim Baird, a Republican from Indiana, was hospitalized on Tuesday for a car crash described by the White House as serious. While Baird is said to be stable, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson from Louisiana, will not be able to rely on his attendance. And he has one additional caucus member – Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who has made a habit of voting against the president, bringing their margin for error down effectively to zero.

President Trump, addressing a gathering of GOP House members at the Kennedy Center, addressed the news at the start of his remarks, expressing “tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member” and stating his speech would be made in LaMalfa’s honor.

“He was the leader of the Western caucus – a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water. ‘Release the water!’ he’d scream out. And a true defender of American children.”

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“You know, he voted with me 100% of the time,” Trump added.

A native of Oroville, LaMalfa attended Butte College and then earned an ag-business degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He served in the California Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and the California State Senate from 2010 to 2012. Staunchly conservative, he was an early supporter of Proposition 209, which ended affirmative action in California, and he also pushed for passage of the Protection of Marriage Act, Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage in California.

While representing California’s 1st District, LaMalfa focused largely on issues affecting rural California and other western states. In 2025, Congressman he was elected as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, which focuses on legislation affected rural areas.

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