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Opinion: If you were relieved by the Supreme Court's abortion rulings this term, think again

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Opinion: If you were relieved by the Supreme Court's abortion rulings this term, think again

Emergency access to abortion has been a flashpoint in the chaotic aftermath of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the right to terminate a pregnancy in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022.

Can states deny women the care they need to preserve their health in the aftermath of Dobbs, or does federal law provide some protection for patients?

In January, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases testing whether the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act — or EMTALA — could override Idaho’s strict state abortion ban. Idaho has some of the narrowest exceptions to its ban in the nation — allowing doctors to intervene only when there was a threat to the life, not health, of the patient. The Biden administration argued that the federal law provided broader protection — and trumped the state’s ban. But on Thursday, the justices decided they had taken up the issue too soon, dismissing the cases as “improvidently granted” and sending them back to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In practical terms, Thursday’s ruling means that a district court order in Idaho that agreed with the administration about EMTALA went back into effect: Emergency access to abortion will be protected in the state, at least for the time being.

It may seem at first that abortion supporters should be happy. The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority agreed to hear two major abortion cases in a single term. And yet with Thursday’s ruling, and the court’s earlier decision that maintained wide access to mifepristone, a drug used in more than half of abortions nationwide, things didn’t get worse for reproductive rights.

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The truth is that the court’s Idaho ruling is its own kind of disaster. It will increase the confusion and chaos women face when they need an emergency termination in states that ban all or most abortions. And the decision contains important clues about what could happen when or if the justices get another chance at these issues. The bottom line is simple: Don’t expect the Supreme Court to come to the rescue of women who find themselves in dire need of an abortion.

In theory, every state that severely limits or bans abortion has some kind of exception for threats to the life or health of the patient, but many of those exceptions are narrowly drawn and hard to understand. In addition, states impose unprecedented penalties on physicians who perform abortions that don’t fall under an exception — including, in some cases, life in prison. For these reasons, physicians have been reluctant to intervene, even when a patient may qualify under an exception.

States have scrambled to offer clarity, with some legislatures or medical boards adding explicit examples of when certain abortions may be performed, but these moves have only amplified the confusion. If an emergency condition doesn’t appear on a state’s list, does that automatically mean that a physician can’t act? Are there state or federal constitutional limits on denying access to patients who may die or suffer severe and permanent health damage? And what role, if any, does EMTALA play? The Supreme Court’s ruling ensures that none of these questions will be fully answered in the short term, and patients will be the ones to pay the price.

The “improvidently granted” ruling split the court into three three-justice factions, with a center-right bloc agreeing with the liberals to dismiss the case, and the most conservative justices, led by Samuel A. Alito Jr., prepared to hold that EMTALA does absolutely nothing to limit strict abortion bans.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by Brett M. Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., agreed that it was too early for the court to intervene, but they didn’t seem averse to accepting Idaho’s arguments against EMTALA. Even if the center-right justices could find some rationale for providing patients with protection under EMTALA, they suggested a Faustian bargain: The court would interpret EMTALA to apply only to physical, not mental, health — and would conclude that the law does nothing to stop doctors with conscience-based objections from turning patients away, even when they face life-threatening emergencies.

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The opinion Barrett penned clearly reflects suspicions about patients who invoke mental health as a justification for terminating a pregnancy, a long-standing talking point for those who consider psychological struggles during pregnancy to be a mere excuse for “abortion on demand.”

As for conscience-based denials of care, we can guess what Barrett has in mind because Kavanaugh’s majority opinion in the mifepristone case already spelled it out: Instead of the law having to balance doctors’ conscience-based objections with patients’ safety, the objecting doctors would be able to just say no, even in healthcare deserts where other providers may be unavailable.

The most concerning signal about what could be in store for those who get pregnant came in Alito’s dissent in the decision to send the Idaho case back to the lower court. Joined by Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, he suggested that EMTALA, rather than protecting a pregnant patient with a life-threatening emergency, protects the unborn patient instead.

Antiabortion groups have long argued that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution guarantees constitutional fetal rights. Alito did not explicitly take up that question, but his reading of the statute aligns with so-called fetal personhood views. He reasoned that because the wording in EMTALA includes the term “unborn child,” its framers must have prioritized the fetus over the mother, even when the mother’s life or health is in jeopardy.

As EMTALA litigation moves back into the federal courts, the 2024 election could make the whole thing moot. A second Trump administration would almost certainly withdraw President Biden’s guidance on EMTALA and let the states make their own decisions about when to withhold emergency care from patients. That is precisely what conservatives, led by the Heritage Foundation, have recommended in Project 2025, a proposed blueprint for another Trump presidency.

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Abortion rights advocates may have been relieved on Thursday that the conservative majority on the Supreme Court punted on the Idaho abortion cases, but any celebration will be short-lived. In reality, there is no relief in sight for pregnant patients facing the dangers of a post-Roe America.

Mary Ziegler is a law professor at UC Davis and the author of “Roe: The History of a National Obsession.”

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Cash Dash: Trump tops Biden in fundraising battle the past three months

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Cash Dash: Trump tops Biden in fundraising battle the past three months

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Former President Trump’s campaign says it has out raised President Biden over the past three months and showcases that it has more cash-on-hand.

Trump’s campaign announced on Tuesday that it and the Republican National Committee hauled in a staggering $331 million during the April through June second quarter of 2024 fundraising, topping the massive $264 million raked in by the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee the past three months.

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And the former president’s campaign spotlighted that it had $284.9 million in its coffers as of the end of June, compared to $240 million for Biden.

BIDEN MEETING WITH DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS WEDNESDAY AS HE TRIES TO SHORE UP PARTY SUPPORT FOR 2024 CAMPAIGN

Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Historic Greenbrier Farms in Chesapeake, Virginia, US, on Friday, June 28, 2024. (Parker Michels-Boyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But Biden hauled in $127 million in June fundraising, topping the $111.8 million Trump raised last month.

“President Trump’s campaign fundraising operation is thriving day after day and month after month. Winning this quarter brought us a cash on hand advantage, which is punctuated by a Biden burn rate that grows while yielding no tangible results for them,” Trump co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles emphasized in a statement.

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BIDEN TRIES TO FLIP THE SCRIPT ON NEGATIVE NARRATIVE COMING OUT OF DISASTROUS DEBATE WITH TRUMP

The Trump and Biden campaign cash reports were released as the president’s campaign tries to flip the script on the brutal narrative coming out of last week’s first debate.

Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is facing the roughest stretch of his bid for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at the debate, sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party elected officials and donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

Joe Biden, Donald Trump

President Biden and former President Trump debated on Thursday night.  (Getty Images)

A sizable chunk of Biden’s June’s haul was raked in at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles with former President Obama, Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and late night TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. The campaign said after the event that it set a new Democratic Party fundraising record with a $30 million haul. 

The president also brought in over $8 million a few days later at a fundraiser at the Northern Virginia home of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, where Biden was also joined by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and former Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was the Democrats’ 2016 standard-bearer.

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NEW POLLS RAISE RED FLAGS FOR BIDEN 

But boosting the June fundraising to higher heights was the $33 million the campaign says was raised last Thursday through Saturday, the day of the first presidential debate and the following two days. And the Biden campaign showcased that their single best hour of fundraising this cycle came during the 11pm to midnight eastern hour on Thursday, immediately after the end of the debate with Trump in Atlanta, Georgia.

But boosting the June fundraising to higher heights was the $33 million the campaign says was raised last Thursday through Saturday, the day of the first presidential debate and the following two days. And the Biden campaign showcased that their single best hour of fundraising this cycle came during the 11pm to midnight eastern hour on Thursday, immediately after the end of the debate with Trump in Atlanta, Georgia.

President Biden sets a fundraising record in June, in his 2024 election rematch with former President Trump

President Joe Biden reacts after speaking at a campaign rally in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, June 28, 2024.  (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

Biden and the DNC enjoyed a large fundraising lead over Trump and the Republican National Committee earlier this year. But Trump and the RNC topped Biden and the DNC in fundraising for the first time in April.

And in May, the Trump campaign and the RNC, fueled in part by a fundraising surge following the former president’s history-making guilty verdicts in his criminal trial, combined hauled in a stunning $141 million, easily besting Biden and the DNC.

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Fundraising, along with public opinion polling, is a key metric used to measure the strength of a candidate and their campaign. Money raised can be used to build up grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote operations, staffing, travel and ads, among other things.

The Biden campaign has been using its funds to build up what appears to be a very formidable ground operation in the key battleground states and announced two weeks ago that they had hired their 1,000th staffer and had opened over 200 coordinated offices in the swing states. The Biden campaign enjoys a large organizational advantage over the Trump campaign when it comes to grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote ground game efforts in the states that will likely decide the outcome of the election rematch.

“Team Biden-Harris grew its historic war chest while also significantly expanding its footprint and operations both in HQ and across the key states – the resources needed to win a close election,” the campaign highlighted in a release.

Former-President-Donald-Trump-Holds-Campaign-Rally-In-Chesapeake,-Virginia

CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA – JUNE 28: Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump walks offstafe after giving remarks at a rally at Greenbrier Farms on June 28, 2024, in Chesapeake, Virginia.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

But the Trump campaign argues that Biden’s team has been wasting their money.

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“Despite Biden spending nearly $120 million on tv, cable and radio alone, polling and voter enthusiasm continue to grow for President Trump. This fundraising momentum is likely to grow even more as we head into a world-class convention and see the Democrats continue their circular firing squad in the aftermath of Biden’s debate collapse,” LaCivita and Wiles argued in their statement.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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Californians won't pay more than one month's rent for security deposits under new law

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Californians won't pay more than one month's rent for security deposits under new law

The days of needing to save two to three months’ worth of rent for a security deposit are largely over in California.

Legislation took effect Monday that limits a security deposit on a rental property to no more than one month’s rent for all but the smallest landlords. The law, passed as Assembly Bill 12, was authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco).

“Massive security deposits can create insurmountable barriers to housing affordability and accessibility for millions of Californians,” said Haney, who chairs the California Legislature’s Renters Caucus, in a statement.

Previously, owners could charge two months of rent for unfurnished property and three months for furnished.

The median rent in Los Angeles is $2,795, according to Zillow, an online real estate marketplace.

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An exception in the bill was carved out for landlords who own two or fewer properties that collectively have no more than four rental units.

The bill was written in December 2022, passed by the Assembly and Senate last fall and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October.

Along the way, it earned support from the Los Angeles County Board of Trustees.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath noted in May 2023 that she was unable to move into a rental a couple of years earlier because she was asked to pay “nearly a half a year’s rent upfront.”

“As someone with a well-paying job, making more than the median income of the county, it was difficult for me to rent a new apartment because of the substantial deposits that were required,” she said.

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But the legislation raises concerns among some in the real estate industry.

Sharon Oh-Kubisch, a partner at Irvine-based Kahana Feld, which practices real estate law, noted two potential drawbacks to the legislation.

While she supports the bill’s aim of alleviating high costs of renting, financial burdens are being flipped to landlords, she said.

She noted that security deposits are intended to cover damages when a tenant moves out. Lower deposits mean landlords are more likely to have to sue clients who cause considerable damage.

“A landlord can demand damages at the back end, but then they’re more than likely going to have to sue and hire counsel to get that money,” Oh-Kubisch said.

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Additionally, she said that reducing security deposits may work against tenants who have less than perfect credit or lack a strong history of renting.

Higher security deposits allowed landlords to be more flexible, Oh-Kubisch said. With those “safeguards” gone, she expects landlords to be “more precise and heighten scrutiny for tenants.”

Still, others say the legislation will benefit those who have the most trouble finding housing.

Masih Fouladi, executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, said in a statement that the law will help vulnerable communities.

“In California’s high-cost rental market, expensive security deposits are often imposed on immigrants and people of color, effectively limiting access to safe and affordable housing,” he said. “By capping high security deposits, AB-12 advances a measure of equity.”

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Catherine A. Rodman, director and supervising attorney of San Diego-based Affordable Housing Advocates, a tenants rights legal group, said the news received mixed reviews among her mainly working-class clients.

“I know that it’s been a big relief to many throughout the state, but at least here in the San Diego area, it’s not a big issue,” Rodman said.

Zillow lists the median rent in San Diego at $3,095.

She said “soaring rents” have already led most area landlords to require no more than one month’s rent as a security deposit.

“I’ve been here for 40 years, and I’ve only encountered security deposit gouging on a few occasions,” Rodman said. “Our issue is rent.”

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Rodman said she didn’t want to “pooh-pooh” the legislation but hoped it was part of a broader vision to make housing affordable for larger swaths of the state.

“I’m sure it helps, but we need to address the cost to rent, because that’s really the big roadblock,” she said.

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Dems 'coming to terms' that Biden 'not in control' following disastrous debate: former WH doc

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Dems 'coming to terms' that Biden 'not in control' following disastrous debate: former WH doc

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The Democratic Party and its allies are “coming to terms” with the fact that President Biden is “not in control” of his administration following the president’s disastrous debate performance, according to a congressman who served as a physician in the White House under three administrations.

Democrats are “now coming to terms with the reality that concerned Americans and I have shared for many years, which is that President Biden is not in control and he is not in charge. They are for the first time acknowledging that this is a grave concern for our national security and the integrity of our democracy,” Rep. Ronny Jackson told Fox News Digital this week. 

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“I’ve gone to no lengths to hide my true opinions about Joe Biden and his policies that are wrecking our country. In tandem, I have consistently shared my concerns as a former doctor of three United States Presidents regarding his fitness for office. Joe Biden was never fit for the job, and he sure as heck isn’t fit for the job moving forward. It is absolutely crazy to think he could lead this country 4-year term as our President,” Jackson added. 

The Texas Republican previously served as physician to the president under both the Obama and Trump administrations, after previously serving in the White House Medical Unit in the George W. Bush administration. Jackson has been at the forefront of sounding the alarm on Biden’s mental acuity since he announced his candidacy for the White House in 2020. 

BIDEN STAFF ‘SCARED S—LESS’ OF HIM, SENIOR ADMIN OFFICIAL SAYS; WH HITS BACK

Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician, said Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report “validates” what he and many Americans have known all along – that President Biden has “serious issues.” (Getty Images)

Jackson’s comments come as former Homeland Security Secretary under the Obama administration, Jeh Johnson, said in an MSNBC interview this week hat he still supports Biden’s re-election campaign due to Biden’s cabinet members. 

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“A presidency is more than just one man,” Johnson said on MSNBC on Tuesday. “I would take Joe Biden at his worst day at age 86 so long as he has people around him like Avril Haines, Samantha Power, Gina Raimondo supporting him, over Trump any day.” 

“I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man we’ve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for eight years.”

Concern over the president’s mental fitness and age is at a fever pitch this summer, following last Thursday’s debate performance where the president tripped over his words, lost his train of thought at times, delivered responses with a raspy voice, and was overall slammed for having a slow and weak demeanor while squaring up against former President Donald Trump. 

“We finally beat Medicare,” Biden said amid one his debate gaffes, with Trump responding that Biden is destroying the senior-focused health insurance program. 

Moments later, when Biden and Trump traded barbs over the immigration crisis, Trump slammed Biden for his rambling response.

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EX-WHITE HOUSE DOCTOR RONNY JACKSON CALLS ON BIDEN TO TAKE DRUG TEST BEFORE TRUMP DEBATE

President Biden at debate

President Biden is seen at last week’s presidential debate. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either,” Trump shot back. 

Jackson continued in his comments to Fox News Digital that President Biden is “not the same man” that America knew during his tenure as former President Obama’s veep. 

“In 2020, I was criticizing candidate Joe Biden for his apparent lack of fitness for his first potential term,” he said. “I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man we’ve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for eight years.”

BIDEN FAMILY BLAME STAFF FOR DEBATE PERFORMANCE AS HE LAYS LOW AGAIN AT CAMP DAVID: REPORTS

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“I’ve gone to no lengths to hide my true opinions about Joe Biden and his policies that are wrecking our country. In tandem, I have consistently shared my concerns as a former doctor of three United States Presidents regarding his fitness for office. Joe Biden was never fit for the job, and he sure as heck isn’t fit for the job moving forward. It is absolutely crazy to think he could lead this country 4-year term as our President.” 

The White House brushed off Jackson’s comments when approached by Fox News Digital, comparing Jackson to a doctor character from “The Simpsons.”

“We’ll put this in the same box where we keep the rest of Dr. Nick Riviera’s fan mail,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. 

Three shots of Biden during the debate

Voters have expressed concerns over Biden’s age and capability to serve a second term after the debate. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Following the debate, Jackson argued the Democratic Party made an about-face with its support of Biden. Left-wing media pundits were among the first to express concern over the debate performance, taking over the airways immediately after the debate ended, expressing shock over the president’s performance. 

‘NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE’: EX-WH DOCTOR RAISES ALARMS ON BIDEN’S MENTAL HEALTH AFTER BOMBSHELL REPORT

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“I just want to speak from my heart,” CNN political commentator and former Obama adviser Van Jones said in an emotional response on Thursday evening. “I love that guy. That’s a good man. He loves his country. He‘s doing the best that he can, but he had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence of the country and of the base. And he failed to do that. And there‘s a lot of people who are going to want to see him consider taking a different course now.”

Trump, left, and Biden, right, on CNN debate stage

President Joe Biden (R) and Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump participate in the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“We‘re still far from our convention, and there is time for this party to figure out a different way forward, if he will allow us to do that,” he continued. “But that was not what we needed from Joe Biden, and it’s personally painful for a lot of people. It‘s not just panic, it’s pain of what we saw tonight.” 

Kamala Harris closeup shot at lectern

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a “First In The Nation” campaign rally at South Carolina State University on February 02, 2024 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris soon hit the news channels following the debate to defend the president’s performance, including having a testy exchange with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

“Democratic lawmakers watching the debate were worried about the performance. One said it was a disaster and another called it a train wreck. Those are Democrats especially worried that Biden did not punch back on Trump‘s lies,” Cooper said. 

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT: HIS CANDIDACY IS A ‘RECKLESS GAMBLE’

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Harris attempted to pivot to lambasting Trump as a liar, but Cooper cut her off. 

“All that may be true, but the President of the United States was not able to make that case to Donald Trump on the stage tonight,” Cooper said. “You debated against then-Vice President Biden four years ago, and he was a very different person on the stage four years ago when you debated him. That‘s certainly true, is it not?”

“The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant.”

— The New York Times editorial board

DOCTORS EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT BIDEN’S APPARENT COGNITIVE ISSUES DURING DEBATE: ‘TROUBLING INDICATORS’

Thursday’s late-night media analysis of the debate soon cascaded into legacy outlets, including the New York Times and Chicago Tribune, calling on Biden to devise an exit strategy and drop out of the race. 

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The New York Times described a blunt assessment of Biden, saying, he “is not the man he was four years ago.”

“The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant. He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term. He struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s provocations. He struggled to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his lies, his failures and his chilling plans. More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence,” the editorial board wrote. “Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.”

BIDEN’S ‘DISASTER’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE SPARKS MEDIA MELTDOWN, CALLS FOR HIM TO WITHDRAW FROM 2024 RACE

Jackson told Fox News Digital that ongoing inflation, the spiraling immigration crisis, and the “weaponization of our justice system” under the Biden administration is due to an “inner circle” at the White House making decisions as opposed to the president himself. 

Ronny Jackson in 2018 as White House physician at news conference

Physician to U.S. President Donald Trump Dr. Ronny Jackson speaks during the daily White House press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. Dr. Jackson discussed the details of President Trump’s physical check-up from last week.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“The past three and a half years have revealed what happens when you have a physically and mentally incapacitated President who is not making the decisions. Instead, his ‘inner circle,’ led by Jill Biden and radical progressive staffers in the administration, are pulling the strings and deciding the fate of our country. Sadly, they have put our country into a death spiral,” he said. “Americans have had to suffer through raging inflation, a wide-open border, unprecedented crime in the streets, and the weaponization of our justice system. Meanwhile, our Commander-in-Chief, who is responsible for the nuclear codes, shuffles around oblivious to everything around him.”

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MEDIA FIGURES SHOCKED AT BIDEN’S ‘BAD’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE: ‘TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISASTER’ 

A White House official told the media that Biden had a cold during the debate, ostensibly in a bid to explain Biden’s performance and raspy voice. Jackson squelched that narrative, arguing Biden’s behavior Thursday was more of the same America has witnessed since 2020. 

“I don’t believe President Biden had a cold. For several years now, we’ve seen and heard the same Joe Biden we witnessed at the debate who speaks softly, slurs his speech, and appears confused. Unfortunately it was on full display during the debate and our adversaries, our allies, and the whole world watched in disbelief that this could possibly continue to be the leader of the free world,” he said. 

President Biden closeup shot

President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Amid left-wing media outrage over the debate performance and some Democratic politicians joining the media’s chorus calling for Biden to step aside, the president and his circle of allies have defended him remaining in the race. Biden hit the campaign trial following the debate, visiting North Carolina for an event last Friday, before traveling to the Northeast for fundraisers. 

BIDEN RIPPED FOR ‘OLD’ APPEARANCE, ‘WEAK’ VOICE DURING FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: ‘DEEPLY ALARMING’

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“I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” Biden told the several dozen people at a New Jersey fundraiser. 

“Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on Jan. 6,” he added. “People remember the bad things during his presidency.”

First lady Jill Biden has also been at the forefront of defending her husband remaining in the race. 

“[We] will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been president. We will continue to fight,” Jill Biden told Vogue. The first lady is Vogue’s cover story for its August edition. 

“[President Biden] will always do what’s best for the country.”

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“The contrast between Trump and Biden has never been clearer than after Thursday’s debate, and it’s time to turn a new page for America and provide real leadership both domestically and on the world stage.”

BIDEN DONORS BACK ‘PLAN B’, SAY ‘IT’S ARMAGEDDON’ AFTER DEBATE: REPORTS

Biden’s mental fitness has come under scrutiny for years, which was compounded in February when Special Counsel Robert Hur published his report investigating the president’s handling of classified documents after his departure as vice president under the Obama administration. 

The report stated Hur would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

The Wall Street Journal also published a piece earlier this year based on dozens of interviews with lawmakers and administration officials who characterized Biden as losing his mental edge and showing his age in meetings. The White House slammed the article as a partisan hit piece. 

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As calls ring out among members of the media and some Democrats for Biden to step aside, Fox News confirmed the Democratic National Committee is considering formally nominating Biden as early as mid-July. The Democratic Party is holding its convention towards the end of August in Chicago. 

Dr. Ronny Jackson gives thumbs up in 2018 photo

Physician to the President Ronny Jackson gives a thumbs up after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following his annual physical examination January 12, 2018 in Bethesda, Maryland. Trump will next travel to Florida to spend the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

 

“The contrast between Trump and Biden has never been clearer than after Thursday’s debate, and it’s time to turn a new page for America and provide real leadership both domestically and on the world stage. That day is just around the corner to officially retire Joe Biden and allow President Trump to Make America Great Again,” Jackson said. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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