THE CATCH-UP

HOT JOB … via Daybook: “The JOE BIDEN for President Campaign seeks a Social Media Platforms Strategist to write daily content for VP KAMALA HARRIS and expand the Vice President’s voice online.”

BOMBSHELL OR BENCHMARK? — A new report may be signaling where exactly Biden views himself in the presidential race after his paltry debate performance — and depending on your reading of it, it could either crack open the door to an early exit or show how the president is trying to set expectations.

“Biden has told a key ally that he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is up for the job after a disastrous debate performance last week,” NYT’s Katie Rogers scooped.

The Biden world source continued, telling the NYT that Biden “understands that his next few appearances heading into the holiday weekend — including an interview scheduled for Friday with GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS of ABC News and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — must go well.

“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place” the ally said, referring to the debate.

How we’re reading it: On its surface, the claim from the anonymous “ally” reads like an Earth-shaking admittance. But if you read between the lines, it can also be viewed as an expectation-setting cleanup effort from the White House. In essence, the White House wants the public to know that they hear the criticism and want a week to calm the storm.

Either way, it’s a significant development that ratchets up the stakes of each public appearance this week — and it could make it difficult for Biden if he slips up at any point.

If Biden himself is saying this is how he should be judged, and the respective power corners of the Democratic Party don’t see what they need by the weekend, can he stick things out?

FWIW: The White House and campaign press shops quickly tried to stomp out the report, with ANDREW BATES and QUENTIN FULKS calling it “false.”

Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. We’ll be off tomorrow and Friday for the Fourth of July, but Playbook will still be in your inbox in the mornings. Drop me a line at [email protected].

WHERE THINGS STAND:

— On Capitol Hill: The White House sent a memo this morning to House allies claiming that the campaign is still in a position to beat Trump, Daniella Diaz reports. Biden also finally made a call to Rep. NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) today, per WaPo’s Tyler Pager.

— With campaign staff: Similarly, the campaign circulated an internal memo this morning, Elena Schneider reports. (Both memos highlighted the campaign’s cash reserve and specifically sought to get ahead of a forthcoming NYT/Siena poll that is expected to show a big dip for Biden.) Back at the White House, chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS told staff on a call today to focus on governing, AP’s Seung Min Kim reports.

— In the polls: All the while, there are two new polls already out today that show sagging support for Biden — and why it could be tough for Dems to move on from him.

In a CBS poll, Trump leads Biden 50% to 48% nationally and 51% to 48% in battleground states. But there’s hope for Biden if he can spark the base again: “A big factor here is motivation, not just persuasion: Democrats are not as likely as Republicans to say they will ‘definitely’ vote now,” CBS’ Anthony Salvanto, Kabir Khanna, Fred Backus, Jennifer De Pinto write.

Then there’s the new Reuters-Ipsos poll, which throws some cold water on the “Dump Biden” crowd. The survey measured voters’ favorables for a host of top Democratic figures who have been floated as replacements for the president, including VP KAMALA HARRIS, California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM, Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER, Illinois Gov. J.B. PRITZKER, Kentucky Gov. ANDY BESHEAR and former first lady MICHELLE OBAMA.

It also polled the head-to-heads for each of the names. The only Democrat to run ahead of Trump? Obama, by a margin of 47% to Trump’s 35%. (Biden and Trump are tied at 36%, while Trump leads Harris 39% to 38%.) See the full poll

— With donors: As for the high-dollar Dems who are wringing their hands, NYT’s Theodore Schleifer, Kenneth Vogel, Shane Goldmacher and Kate Kelly report that donors are “increasingly gritting their teeth in silence about President Biden, fearful that any move against him could backfire.”

Despite the immediate freakout, early “moves by donors to mount their own campaigns to pressure Mr. Biden to step down as the party’s presidential candidate have either fizzled out or prompted pushback from fellow contributors and operatives.”

And yet: “Leadership Now Project, a coalition of 400 politically active current and retired executives who mostly but not entirely lean left, issued a statement on Wednesday urging Mr. Biden to ‘pass the torch of this year’s presidential nomination to the next generation of highly capable Democrats,’” NYT’s Ken Vogel reports.

And JAMES CARVILLE isn’t standing down, either. The longtime Dem operative on a call this morning pushed a collection of donors “who want Biden out of the race to cut off money to politicians who won’t take their side,” Semafor’s Kadia Goba reports.

Top donors are also turning to a galaxy far, far away to assuage their concerns, WSJ’s Emily Glazer, Preetika Rana and Dana Mattioli write. The donors are saying Biden is the YODA (“old and frail yet wise and influential”) to Trump’s JABBA THE HUTT (“a gluttonous and powerful gangster”). They’re also reminding people (and perhaps themselves) that one of their icons, WARREN BUFFETT, “made a vast amount of his fortune between the ages of 83 and 93.”

6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. BOXING BIDEN IN ON THE BALLOT: “Inside the GOP Effort to Make Sure Biden Is the Democratic Nominee,” by NOTUS’ Ben T.N. Mause and Reese Gorman: “Led by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, Republicans are currently looking to guarantee that Biden will be the Democratic nominee — and to make it so that, if Biden withdraws, it won’t be easy to replace him on ballots. While Biden’s campaign insists he has no plans to drop out, Republicans are gearing up for any and all possibilities. They’ve been preparing for this moment for quite some time.

“About four months ago, after special counsel ROBERT HUR’s report raised more concerns about Biden’s health, staffers at Heritage’s Oversight Project started researching laws in states across the country for replacing a nominee. … The memo identifies Wisconsin, Nevada and Georgia as attractive states for litigation to keep a new Democrat from replacing Biden on the ballot.”

2. MARKUP YOUR CALENDARS: The Senate is planning to start marking up spending bills next week, Caitlin Emma reports. “Bypassing subcommittee markups, the full Senate Appropriations Committee will take up its Legislative Branch, Military Construction-VA and Agriculture-FDA spending bills on July 11, in addition to a dozen subcommittee allocations known as the 302(b)s. Like last year, Senate Democrats and Republicans have not reached an agreement on overall funding levels for 12 appropriations bills, and the numbers will likely pass the committee along party lines. The spending bills that flow from those totals, however, are expected to pass the committee with bipartisan support.”

3. VEEPSTAKES: “Doug Burgum emerges as veepstakes favorite of pro-Israel Republicans,” by Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel: “In contrast with [Sen. J.D.] VANCE, one of the most outspoken opponents of aiding Ukraine in the Senate, Burgum — who has expressed support for continued military funding to Ukraine — is embracing a more hawkish foreign policy approach that has drawn admiration from establishment conservatives and major donors in the pro-Israel community. FRED ZEIDMAN, a top GOP donor who had backed Haley for president, said he was impressed with Burgum’s address at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, when he met privately with the governor for an hour-long conversation that touched on Middle East policy.”

4. THE VIEW FROM KYIV: Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY is challenging Trump to “come forward with his plan to quickly end the war with Russia, warning that any proposal must avoid violating the nation’s sovereignty,” Bloomberg’s Annmarie Hordern and Daryna Krasnolutska report. “‘If Trump knows how to finish this war, he should tell us today,’ Zelenskiy said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Kyiv on Wednesday. ‘If there are risks to Ukrainian independence, if we lose statehood – we want to be ready for this, we want to know.’”

On Biden: Zelenskyy also “looked stunned” when asked “if he could imagine doing his job at 81, even as he chose his words carefully in response to Biden’s debate performance that’s triggered speculation about his cognitive health,” Hordern writes. “‘Oh, I don’t know,’ he laughed, adding that a lot depends on health, his team and the situation — Ukraine is at war, America isn’t.”

5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: AMOS HOCHSTEIN, who has emerged as the White House’s top envoy trying to defuse the Israel-Hamas conflict, is in Paris today where he will meet with French officials to “discuss ways to defuse the escalating border fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, a conflict that Secretary of State ANTONY J. BLINKEN said this week had caused Israel to lose sovereignty in its north,” NYT’s Michael Crowley reports.

6. FOR YOUR RADAR: “A covid summer uptick is underway as FLiRT and LB.1 variants ascend,” by WaPo’s Fenit Nirappil: “Three years after President Biden hoped July 4, 2021, would mark the country’s independence from covid, the coronavirus is still here as new variants drive yet another summer uptick. … Coronavirus infections are likely growing in 44 states and territories as of June 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationally, coronavirus activity in wastewater remains low but is increasing; it is highest and rising most sharply in the West, according to the CDC.”

PLAYBOOKERS

Gavin Newsom and Marshawn Lynch are starting a podcast.

Leon Panetta is also getting into the podcast game.

ENGAGED — Alexander Eberhardt, law student at American University Washington College of Law, on Sunday proposed to Morgan McCue, senior legislative assistant to Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.). The couple met in 2018 while working together in San Diego and got engaged on the 17-Mile Drive in California. Pic

WEEKEND WEDDING — Erenia Michell, senior booking producer for "The Hill Sunday" with Chris Stirewalt on NewsNation, on Saturday married Coleman Smith, director of NewsNation's "The Hill" and "On Balance with Leland Vittert." The couple wed in Napa and met in Chicago at NewsNation's HQ, launching On Balance with their first conversation taking place after their first show when the team went out for dinner. Pic

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