Biden’s future, Trump’s immunity dominate presidential campaign

(NewsNation) — The presidential campaign enters Independence Day weekend with no letup in the conversation and speculation about whether President Joe Biden should continue his reelection bid, while former President Donald Trump will learn whether the Supreme Court will uphold or wipe away the charges that he conspired to overthrow the 2020 election.

President Biden’s family is urging him to stay in the race, a source familiar with the matter told NewsNation. The source said that first lady Jill Biden and son Hunter were the strongest in pushing the president not to withdraw during discussions at Camp David on Sunday.

There is also a lot of anger by the family directed at the campaign staff who were deeply involved in the debate preparation, the source confirmed. “They did him a disservice,” is how the source summarized the family’s feelings.

Responding to that report, Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told NewsNation: “The aides who prepped the President have been with him for years, often decades, seeing him through victories and challenges. He maintains strong confidence in them.”

There are ongoing discussions about Biden doing some type of press event later this week to answer the criticism of his performance, the source said. The president’s official schedule has him returning to the White House Monday night.

Democratic support, dissent

The man in charge of Biden’s debate preparation, former White House chief of staff Ron Klain, said he’s 100% certain that Biden will stay in the race.

“He is the choice of the Democratic voters,” Klain told The New York Times. “We are seeing record levels of support from grass-roots donors. We had a bad debate night. But you win campaigns by fighting, not quitting, in the face of adversity,” he said.

No prominent Democratic officeholder has publicly called on Biden to quit the race, but one longtime Biden Senate colleague has.

“I think the president should step aside and let the convention pick a new candidate,” said former Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who served with Biden for more than two decades in the Senate. “He has a great legacy, and now it’s time to pass the torch,” Harkin told The Washington Post.

A handful of major news organizations have called on Biden to quit the race, including The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Chicago Tribune, The New Yorker and The Economist. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal editorial boards said that Biden should seriously consider bowing out, but neither explicitly called for him to withdraw.

While the money poured in, public doubt grew. In a CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday, 45% of Democratic registered voters surveyed said Biden should step aside, while 55% said he should continue running.

The survey of 1,130 registered voters taken last Friday and Saturday has a 4.2% margin of error.

The president’s debate performance did not hurt the campaign’s fundraising effort. In a Sunday email, the campaign said it raised more than $33 million since the Thursday debate – $13 million of that from first-time “grassroots” donors. The email boasted that “Thursday was “our best grassroots fundraising day ever, while Friday was the second best.”

Trump awaits Supreme Court

Former President Donald Trump was off the trail most of the weekend but shared his thoughts on the expected Monday ruling from the Supreme Court on presidential immunity.

“Without Presidential Immunity, a President of the United States literally could not function!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

“It is a BIG decision, an important decision, a decision which can affect the Success or Failure of our Country for decades to come. We want a GREAT Country, not a weak, withering, and ineffective one. STRONG PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY IS A MUST!”

A senior Trump adviser says the former president will travel from Mar-A-Lago to his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. on Monday. As of Sunday night, Trump had no public events on his schedule this week.

Trump wants the court to dismiss the charges filed in Washington, D.C. that he repeatedly spread false claims about the 2020 presidential election, tried to discount legitimate votes and helped plan the January 6 attempt to stop the vote certification by Congress.

VP hopefuls praise Trump

Since Thursday’s debate, some of those believed to be on the shortlist to become Trump’s running mate have lavishly praised his performance – something one observer says they must do.

“The ones that wallflower aren’t going to get picked. This is the moment. This is a key moment for them,” Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said of Trump’s would-be running mates. “It’s a real test on whether they rise to the occasion and they defend Trump and go on the attack,” he told The Hill.

One of those vice-presidential hopefuls, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, is taking a “double negative” approach to his praise by saying how unimportant the running mate may be in the campaign.

“He’s winning — he can win this election by himself, so he’s got the luxury of picking someone who can help him govern, and that’s gonna lead to a good choice,” Burgum told Fox News.

GOP platform takes shape

Also: a memo from two Trump advisers calls for a “streamlined” Republican party platform for Trump to present to the delegates at the party’s convention in Milwaukee.

“The platform is an opportunity to make our vision clear, and to lay out a framework for policy-making while rejecting any special interest influence that seeks to make public policy stray from our clear and straightforward objectives,” stated the memo, signed by Trump advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, obtained by NPR, The New York Times and other news organizations.

Still to be determined: What the GOP platform will say about abortion. Democrats have promised to make abortion rights a major campaign topic up and down the ballot.

While the Trump and Biden campaigns await the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, occasional Trump adviser Steve Bannon won’t be around to comment. He’s scheduled to report to the low-security federal prison in Danbury, Conn., Monday to serve a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.

Bannon refused to obey a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the January 6, 2020, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

NewsNation producer Kevin Bohn, The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.