Happy July!

Welcome to the second half of 2024. Boy, did the first half fly by. And the second half is opening like gang-busters. You can dub today’s Brew a “pressure cooker.”

Battered Biden Meets With Family at Camp David to Discuss Campaign Future

Joe Biden was at Camp David Sunday huddled with family. According to NBC News, they were meeting to discuss the future of his campaign. The White House denies the report.

Except late Sunday, the New York Times reported the family has urged Biden not to quit the race. According to the Times, Hunter Biden is leading the push. “Hunter Biden wants Americans to see the version of his father that he knows — scrappy and in command of the facts — rather than the stumbling, aging president Americans saw on Thursday night.”

Although Biden is putting on a brave public face, NBC News reports that behind the scenes, the president is described as “humiliated, devoid of confidence and painfully aware that the physical images of him at the debate — eyes staring into the distance, mouth agape — will live beyond his presidency, along with a performance that at times was meandering, incoherent and difficult to hear.”

But will he withdraw? On Saturday, the New York Times reported that Democratic megadonors discussed having an “intervention” with Biden to convince him to step down. However, a source tells NBC News what we’ve been saying. It’s all up to Dr. Jill. “The only person who has ultimate influence with him is the first lady,” the source said. “If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course.”

The pressure for Biden to step aside did not let up over the weekend.

New York Times, Time Magazine Call for Joe Biden to Withdrawal From Race

Is it true the Secret Service has changed Joe Biden’s code name to Hindenburg? (That’s not just the name of a Zeppelin that crashed, but also of the infamously senile German leader who gave way to Hitler.) The aftershocks from Biden’s disastrous debate performance continue. Yes, Barack Obama has, for now, thrown his former VP a lifeline by saying “Bad debate nights happen.” But that didn’t stop the New York Times editorial board Friday from declaring “To Serve His Country, Joe Biden Should Withdrawal From the Race.” (It’s behind a paywall, but you read the lowlights here.)  

It should be remembered that Mr. Biden challenged Mr. Trump to this verbal duel. He set the rules, and he insisted on a date months earlier than any previous general election debate. He understood that he needed to address longstanding public concerns about his mental acuity and that he needed to do so as soon as possible.

The truth Mr. Biden needs to confront now is that he failed his own test.

Time magazine put out a brutal cover story, depicting Biden wandering off the edge of the cover, with just one word: “Panic.”

BRUTAL! pic.twitter.com/HRVEZ9O8To

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 28, 2024

In the piece detailing the behind the scenes story of Thursday’s debacle, Time says before the debate Jill Biden assured donors that “Joe’s ready to go. He’s prepared.” “Fact check: false,” writes Time.

On Friday, Biden admitted he had a bad night, but added, I know what millions of Americans know: when you get knocked down, you get back up.” Said Time in response:

True, Biden has been knocked down plenty in his career, but sometimes it’s best to stay on the canvas. “Folks, I give my word as a Biden: I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job,” he said. For many Democrats who watched the debate, the problem is that what Biden believes is starting to look more and more at odds with reality.

According to Axios, that reality includes White House aides admitting the Commander-in-Chief is “dependably engaged” from only 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. Outside that window, trouble. (We’ll talk more about this in Al’s Afternoon Tea.) 

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson is urging the Cabinet to consider evoking the 25^th Amendment. Worse for Biden, so is influential liberal Daily Show host Jon Stewart.

Check out my debate wrap, “Democrats in a Panic After Disastrous Biden Showing” and my new one on the aftermath, “Desperate Dems Need to Pressure Jill, Not Joe, to Abandon Ship.”

Plus John Z posted a wonderful debate analysis called “Was Biden’s Televised Meltdown a Glitch in the Matrix or Part of the Plan?”

Is Going After Your Political Enemies a Good Thing or a Bad Thing? Biden Can’t Make Up His Mind

In Thursday night’s debate, Joe Biden railed several times about how Donald Trump was going to seek “retribution” against his political foes. Biden was indignant.

On Friday, when the crowd at his North Carolina rally chanted “Lock Him Up,” Biden replied “There’s time for that.”

Unfortunately for Biden, that window may be closing.

Does Trump (and Other Presidents) Have Immunity? SCOTUS is About to Let Us Know

In a couple hours, the Supreme Court will issue its ruling on whether presidents have immunity for actions taken while in office, and if so, to what degree. That decision could spell the death of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s J6 case against Trump, which already took a blow Friday when SCOTUS ruled DOJ misused a federal statute about “obstruction of an official proceeding” to overcharge and over sentence hundreds of J6 defendants. That charge is also being used against Donald Trump.

Good News: Tractor Supply Puts Woke Initiatives in Reverse

Tractor Supply has shifted into reverse and hit the pedal. A week after its full throttle endorsement of DEI and LGBTQA+ ideology was publicized by Robby Starbucks, Tractor Supply’s apologized to its (conservative) customer base, announced it was eliminating all DEI programs within the company, and nixing politically-tinged initiatives. “We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them. We have taken this feedback to heart,” Tractor Supply said in a statement.  

Oklahoma to Require Schools to Incorporate Biblical Teachings into the Curriculum

The Bible is coming back into the classrooms of Oklahoma. State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Thursday that all public schools in the state must add Bible teachings, including the Ten Commandments, into their curriculum. Walters described the Bible as an “indispensable touchstone” that informs our understanding of Western civilization, and served as the basis for America’s founding documents.

There will be legal challenges, of course. But Oklahoma law already allows Bibles in schools and teaching of religions in context, just not religious instruction. “Oklahoma kids will learn that the Bible and the Ten Commandments are foundational for western civilization,” Walters said. “The left is upset, but one cannot rewrite history.”  

Oklahoma kids will learn that the Bible and the Ten Commandments are foundational for western civilization. The left is upset, but one cannot rewrite history. pic.twitter.com/iZKhv9tKoc

— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) June 27, 2024

Tennessee Begins a Month of Fasting and Prayer

The state of Tennessee kicks off a month of prayer and fasting today. Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill in June, urging residents to pray and fast “as a means of humbling ourselves to receive God’s grace, mercy, and blessing in Tennessee and in our Nation.”

Yesterday, participating churches called on worshippers to:

• “Examine our lives in light of God’s Word and confess of our sins,”
• “Acknowledge that we, as the Church, have failed to stand for the principles of God, ask for His Forgiveness and Mercy, and commit to stand firmly on those principles going forward,”
• “For those who are able, join in prayer and intermittent fasting as a means of demonstrating our desire for repentance.”

Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills has called on all Americans to follow Tennessee’s lead, noting that California Gov. Gavin Newsom would not issue such a call. “Let’s all be Tennesseans this month of July and pray and fast as the Lord leads you.”

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.