Biden heads into a make-or-break stretch for his imperiled presidential campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday opened a critical stretch in his effort to salvage his imperiled reelection campaign, facing a growing sense that he may have just days to make a persuasive case that he is fit for office before Democratic support for him completely evaporates.

In the aftermath of Biden's disastrous debate performance last week against Republican Donald Trump, some financial backers were holding off or canceling upcoming fundraisers, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions.

“I'm not going anywhere," Biden told a crowd gathered for a July Fourth barbecue on the White House South Lawn.

Later, during evening fireworks, he stood on the balcony with his family and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, in a clear show of support. Harris at one point grabbed Biden's hand and held it high in the air, and later the two hugged.

In a Wednesday night meeting with Democratic governors, Biden acknowledged that he needs to get more sleep and limit evening events so he can turn in earlier to be rested for the job, according to three people familiar with the meeting, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. One person said the president joked that his health was fine, it was his brain that had challenges.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was in the meeting, was asked Thursday about the idea that Biden wants to limit events after 8 p.m. and responded: “He did that with a smile on his face. It was more of a rhetorical framework of just being fit and rested.”

Newsom, who was campaigning for Biden in western Michigan, added, “I like when a president acknowledges they’re human."

Biden argued that much more than his own political future was in jeopardy. In an interview with a Wisconsin radio station that aired Thursday he said: "The stakes are really high. I know you know this. For democracy, for freedom ... our economy, they’re all on the line.”

The interview on the Earl Ingram Show on the Civic Media Radio Network, taped Wednesday, was the part of a media and public events blitz that the Democratic president and his staff have acknowledged as a make-or-break moment.

At the July Fourth barbecue, Biden welcomed military families formally from a lectern. He then went over to personally greet the crowd for a few moments. He suddenly grabbed a microphone and stood in the center of the grass, explaining that there were thousands of people waiting to come into the party and he needed to duck back inside because the grounds were locked down as long as he was out there.

“Keep up the fight!” one supporter yelled.

“You got me, man,” Biden replied.

He also made a halting reference to Trump, who in 2018 skipped a trip to a World War I cemetery in France that Biden visited recently.

The president is scheduled to campaign in Wisconsin on Friday and sit for an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos that will air as a prime-time special that night.

He plans to be in Philadelphia on Sunday and hold a full news conference during the NATO summit in Washington next week.

It is not a given that his campaign will survive even that long if he does not deliver a strong showing on ABC. Discussions that were once a whisper around who should step into his place should he bow out are growing louder.

For now, Biden is not ready to walk away and he has communicated that in conversations with Democratic governors, close allies and staffers from his campaign.

But time is short for a possible change. The Democratic National Committee announced weeks ago that it would hold a virtual roll call for a formal nomination before the party's national convention, which begins Aug. 19.

“I’m proud to be running for reelection as a president who’s made his promises and I’ve kept them,” Biden said in the radio interview.

“I had a bad night. A bad night. I screwed up,” he said of the debate, where he gave halting and convoluted answers.

“But 90 minutes on stage does not erase what I've done for 3 1/2 years," he said in a different interview, with Philadelphia-area WURD Radio.

In his private conversations, Biden has focused on how to reverse the trajectory from his rocky debate and has emphasized the critical nature of this year's presidential election.

During one call, when asked what would happen if his efforts to course correct do not work, Biden stressed that he understood how important the race is and that he would put the country first, according to a person who spoke directly with the president. The person was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Biden's meeting Wednesday with the Democratic governors lasted for more than hour and drew more than 20 of them, some in person and some participating virtually. Afterward they described the conversation as “candid” and said they were standing behind Biden despite being concerned about a Trump victory in November. Details about Biden's comments on getting more sleep were first reported by The New York Times.

During that meeting, Biden told leaders he had been checked out by his doctor following his debate performance, according to two people familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private conversation. A few hours earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had said Biden had not been examined by the doctor.

The White House has blamed Biden's debate performance, where he appeared pale and his raspy voice trailed off at times, on a cold. Biden also said he had jet lag following back-to-back foreign trips that ended 12 days earlier.

Biden's staff has resisted repeated calls to release more robust medical records for the 81-year-old president. After his last full physical in February, his doctor declared him fit for duty.

Two Democratic lawmakers have publicly called for Biden to drop out of the race. Most Democratic lawmakers, though, are taking a wait-and-see approach, holding out for a better idea of how the situation plays out through new polling and the TV interview. That's according to Democratic lawmakers who requested anonymity to speak bluntly about the president.

Some have suggested Harris is emerging as the favorite to replace Biden if he were to withdraw. Those involved in private discussions acknowledge that California's Newsom and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan remain viable alternatives. But for some insiders, Harris is viewed as the best prospect to quickly unify the party and avoid a messy and divisive convention fight.

Newsom was asked directly whether, if Biden dropped out, he would he support Harris. He said, “I don’t even like playing in the hypotheticals."

Trump was seen on video declaring that Harris would be his new rival, saying, “she’s so pathetic.” It was unclear when he made the comments, which were posted on his social media account.

Later Thursday, Trump called for a second debate, “but this time, no holds barred ... with just the two of us on stage.”

Even as other Democratic allies have remained quiet since the debate, there is a growing private frustration about the Biden campaign’s response at a crucial moment in the campaign — particularly in Biden waiting several days to do direct damage control with senior members of his own party.

Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in South Haven, Michigan, and Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive on stage to speak to active-duty military service members and their families during a Fourth of July celebration and barbecue on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

First lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglass Emhoff watch as President Joe Biden raises the hand of Vice President Kamala Harris while they view the Independence Day firework display over the National Mall from the balcony of the White House, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Fagan Harris, far right, chief of staff to Maryland Gov. Moore, gestures for governors to finish answering questions from reporters, as from left, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz listen after they met with President Joe Biden, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Joe Biden, left, standing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, speaks to active-duty military service members and their families during a Fourth of July celebration and barbecue on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Joe Biden speaks during a barbecue with active-duty military service members and their families on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

California Gavin Gavin Newsom visits with supporters during a stop Thursday, July 4, 2024, at the Van Buren County Democratic Party Fourth of July reception in South Haven, Mich. Newsom offered a forceful defense of embattled President Joe Biden on Thursday, telling Democrats in Michigan that the 81-year-old president has the record and energy to win a second term despite widespread doubts about his ability to campaign or govern effectively. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

First lady Jill Biden listens as President Joe Biden speaks during a barbecue with active-duty military service members and their families on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden speaks during a barbecue with active-duty military service members and their families on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden speaks to active-duty military service members and their families during a Fourth of July celebration and barbecue on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Joe Biden listens during a visit to the D.C. Emergency Operations Center, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden arrives to speak in the Cross Hall of the White House Monday, July 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Joe Biden speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House Monday, July 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

FILE - President Joe Biden, speaks during a presidential debate hosted by CNN with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

PARIS (AP) — Voting has begun in mainland France on Sunday in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its inward-looking, anti-immigrant vision — or produce a hung parliament and years of political deadlock.

French President Emmanuel Macron took a huge gamble in dissolving parliament and calling for the elections after his centrists were trounced in European elections on June 9.

The snap elections in this nuclear-armed nation will influence the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability, and they’re almost certain to undercut President Emmanuel Macron for the remaining three years of his presidency.

The first round on June 30 saw the largest gains ever for the anti-immigration, nationalist National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen.

A bit over 49 million people are registered to vote in the elections, which will determine which party controls the National Assembly, France's influential lower house of parliament, and who will be prime minister. If support is further eroded for Macron’s weak centrist majority, he will be forced to share power with parties opposed to most of his pro-business, pro-European Union policies.

Racism and antisemitism have marred the electoral campaign, along with Russian cybercampaigns, and more than 50 candidates reported being physically attacked — highly unusual for France. The government is deploying 30,000 police on voting day.

The heightened tensions come while France is celebrating a very special summer: Paris is about to host exceptionally ambitious Olympic Games, the national soccer team reached the semifinal of the Euro 2024 championship, and the Tour de France is racing around the country alongside the Olympic torch.

The elections wrap up Sunday at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) in mainland France and on the island of Corsica. Initial polling projections are expected Sunday night, with early official results expected late Sunday and early Monday.

Voters residing in the Americas and in France’s overseas territories of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana and French Polynesia voted on Saturday.

The elections could leave France with its first far-right government since the Nazi occupation in World War II if the National Rally wins an absolute majority and its 28-year-old leader Jordan Bardella becomes prime minister. The party came out on top in the previous week's first-round voting, followed by a coalition of center-left, hard-left and Green parties, and Macron’s centrist alliance.

But the outcome remains highly uncertain. Polls between the two rounds suggest that the National Rally may win the most seats in the 577-seat National Assembly but fall short of the 289 seats needed for a majority. That would still make history, if a party with historic links to xenophobia and downplaying the Holocaust, and long seen as a pariah, becomes France’s biggest political force.

If it wins the majority, Macron would be forced to share power in an awkward arrangement known in France as "cohabitation."

Another possibility is that no party has a majority, resulting in a hung parliament. That could prompt Macron to pursue coalition negotiations with the center-left or name a technocratic government with no political affiliations.

Both would be unprecedented for modern France, and make it more difficult for the European Union’s No. 2 economy to make bold decisions on arming Ukraine, reforming labor laws or reducing its huge deficit. Financial markets have been jittery since Macron surprised even his closest allies in June by announcing snap elections after the National Rally won the most seats for France in European Parliament elections.

Regardless of what happens, Macron said he won’t step down and will stay president until his term ends in 2027.

Many French voters, especially in small towns and rural areas, are frustrated with low incomes and a Paris political leadership seen as elitist and unconcerned with workers' day-to-day struggles. National Rally has connected with those voters, often by blaming immigration for France's problems, and has built up broad and deep support over the past decade.

Le Pen has softened many of the party's positions — she no longer calls for quitting NATO and the EU — to make it more electable. But the party’s core far-right values remain. It wants a referendum on whether being born in France is enough to merit citizenship, to curb rights of dual citizens, and give police more freedom to use weapons.

Surk reported from Nice, France.

Follow AP’s global election coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/

A woman casts her ballot in the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Strasbourg, eastern France. France votes Sunday in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and its inward-looking, anti-immigrant vision — or produce a hung parliament and years of political deadlock. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Local city officials prepare voting kits for the legislative election in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Saturday, July 6, 2024. Voters face a decisive choice in the runoff Sunday of snap parliamentary elections that could produce the country’s first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Local city officials prepare voting kits for the legislative election in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Saturday, July 6, 2024. Voters face a decisive choice in the runoff Sunday of snap parliamentary elections that could produce the country’s first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron reacts as he delivers a speech, Wednesday, June 12, 2024 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron's expected political failure in decisive parliamentary elections Sunday may paralyze the country, weaken him abroad and overshadow his legacy, just as France is about to be in the global spotlight as host of the Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

FILE - Far-right National Rally party president Jordan Bardella, right, leaves with far-right leader Marine Le Pen after a press conference, Monday, June 24, 2024 in Paris. Both Le Pen and Bardella have made clear that, in power, they would seek to rein-in Macron and exert themselves in defense, European and foreign affairs decision-making. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)