“President 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. The president, who the ally emphasized is still deeply in the fight for re-election, 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,” the New York Times reports, which we copied verbatim as to not mince words. “He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place” by the end of the weekend, said the “key ally” whose actual position and agenda went unmentioned.

The Times’s agenda here is also opaque, other than the fact that they’re untrustworthy worms who would print a call for Biden to drop out and then this story. Narrative reliability optional here.

Timeless quotes from Kamala Harrispic.twitter.com/XqcRa17Fow

— GOP (@GOP) July 3, 2024

The MAGA Reich on the other hand obviously prefer Biden to stay in but are simply covering their bases in case of a rapid Kamalascendancy. An anonymous House Republican this week told Fox News that “it’s probably good for Joe Biden that he’s now probably not going to have to be subjected to this another four years. But for the party, it’s not great. It’s not clear to me that it’s good for us, either,” adding that another Dem nominee makes it “a tougher race” for their Orange God Emperor in November. It changes everything. It’s just a completely unknown wildcard right now.”

Again, we’d like to stay out of this and focus on the singular goal of ending the threat Trump poses to American democracy. The simple truth is that something has to end: Either Biden’s candidacy or this fucking insufferable circlejerk in the media over it. This can’t continue and we’re absolutely rooting for Joe to pull through this critical stretch. If he can’t? There’s one option.

UPDATE 7/3/2024 11:45 AM EDT: CNN White House correspondent MJ Lee on Wednesday separately confirmed all but the “considering whether to drop out” part of the NYT’s story.