Wednesday, July 10, 2024

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1/ Nancy Pelosi urged Biden to make a decision about whether to stay in the presidential race, saying “time is running short.” When asked if she supported Biden continuing his reelection bid, Pelosi replied that Biden is “beloved” and “respected” and “it’s up to [him] to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision.” Hours after Pelosi’s comments, Rep. Pat Ryan said Biden should drop out “for the good of the country.” He’s the 11th House Democrat to call for Biden to drop out. Meanwhile, longtime Democratic fundraiser George Clooney wrote in a New York Times op-ed that Biden to step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee. “I love Joe Biden,” Clooney wrote. “As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him.” But, he added, the “Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” Clooney also called on Biden “to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign.” (Associated Press / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News / New York Times / ABC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Axios / Politico)

2/ Biden pledged to provide Ukraine with dozens of tactical air defense systems to counter Russian attacks. In a speech on the first day of a NATO summit in Washington, Biden called the military alliance “more powerful than ever” even as it faces a “pivotal moment” in the war between Russia and Ukraine. “Ukraine can and will stop Putin, especially with our full, collective support.” NATO countries, meanwhile, have started transferring the first of more than 60 American-made F-16s to Ukraine. (WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.