really tough spot. i feel bad for the democrat party at this point. all right. let's bring in my colleague bret baier, our chief political anchor here at fox news. get his reaction to this breaking news, bret, we saw drip, drip, drip, 37 democrats saying president biden should step aside. and now we've got the announcement. your thoughts, mike, this is a tectonic shift in politics. think about where we have been and in such a fast time to have changed. now, this nominee stepping down, it was only three weeks ago that there was that debate, at which point, you know, president biden walked out and in the first few minutes, the world kind of gasped that that was what was on stage. after all the preparation he did, the fallout from that, i don't think ever really recovered. and his effort to do interviews afterwards did not stop the bleeding. as far as his political problems. and i think

that there was this sense that this was inevitable, that it was going to happen. except, what happened was that there was a pushback from the campaign, from the white house. you saw this this effort. now, i think there's a real, you know, going forward, if you look in that letter, mike, there's not a strict and of vice president harris, there is a lot of questions. there are a lot of questions about what the process is going to look like. and this mini primary kind of thing, you know, remember, 14 million democrats have voted. and for all the you heard, former president trump on the stand on on the stump the other day, you know, they say i'm a threat to democracy. they're going through, a situation where they're going to come up with a different candidate than 14 million people voted for. so expect all of that back and forth. but the next thing that i think you're going to hear is

that if he's stepping down as the nominee, how can he continue to be president for the next six months, and i think that that's part of the discussion you're starting. you'll start to hear, at least from republicans, you've already seen jd vance and others bring that up. and we've heard talk. bret, if there's going to be a mini primary now that he is stepping aside or whether it's going to be a coronation for vice president kamala harris, what about that? yeah, listen, the mini primary thing is, it's a false nomer because you're not going to have actual people voting. if anything, you would have different forums around the country where people would throw their hat in the ring. maybe they make a certain bar of percentages or money and then they have a discussion, and then it's decided it would seem in the convention by delegates, democratic delegates in the convention in chicago. so, you know, it's not a

primary in essence, of voters voting. it would be democratic. and you know, delegates. and it becomes, i heard dana perino say, you know, back in the vape filled rooms of chicago that you maybe get a nominee. i think, you know, it's going to be a fascinating process. i think that the overall sense that kamala harris may be the one that that gets the most benefit initially, but it's not clear, at least from this letter, that he's throwing his support behind her. well, and i played some sound from uva professor larry sabato last hour, basically saying that there are rules in the democratic rules that allow for delegates to vote their conscience. and so if there's not a clear cut nominee going into the convention, we could be looking at really an unprecedented situation. no. yes. it could be wide open. the super delegates can vote how

they want on the second ballot. but the legit and democrats have a lot more leeway than, than republicans as far as that process on on voting on different ballots. but nobody thought it would ever get to this. you know, conventions, as you know, are mostly endorsing factories that are designed to tell the narrative. we have never seen an election like this where one side, the opponent is, has an attempted assassination, a former president attempted assassination, just, you know, six, seven days ago. and then the other side has such a horrific debate performance and the fallout from it that his party abandoned him. and, you know, it wasn't just the 37 democrats who spoke out. there was a whisper campaign, as you know, in washington. and more importantly, the donors had left and the money had dried up. so it became untenable, the

question is, you know, what happens to this presidency and is there pressure on on that aspect of it as well? because if he were to turn it over to vice president harris sooner than later, give her an opportunity to be president for now, presumably that may give her give her a little bit better of a chance in november, i guess. obviously, we'll see where the polling goes. bret. yeah. i mean, obviously it doesn't sound like this letter. he's stepping down. it sounds like he's leaving the nomination, but it raises all kinds of questions about world leaders, how they look at this situation. this is a very unstable, tumultuous time for our country. and we've got to get all the way to november and a vote, one side of the political spectrum is really up in the air right now. and, there's a lot of people probably rethinking what they may have been doing at this moment. bret, stick with me. we want to reset for our audience.

just joining us, 205 eastern and president biden, within the last few minutes has put out a statement on x saying that he is going to step aside from the 2024 presidential race. he says he intends to fulfill his existing term. he does not mention endorsing his sitting vice president, kamala harris. and so the ap is suggesting that that sends democrats into chaos. just months before election day. massive breaking news not entirely surprise 37 democrats have come forward in recent days to say that they were calling for president biden to step aside. two today, my colleague kevin corke is traveling with the president in rehoboth beach, delaware. kevin, your reaction to this earthquake in politics that he was going to. mike, i think you nailed it when you said this was not unexpected. however, given the timing, given the brevity of time that we have between now and the election in

november, this is without a doubt an absolute earthquake for democrats, because now they have to come up with a candidate to secure the more than 4000 delegates. will that be the vice president you saw on the president's letter today? he thanked her for the job she has done. he did not specifically endorse her. so now the coalition, the coalition will have to figure out where do they go from here? i would submit to you that if they choose someone other than kamala harris, it could be a massive amount of blowback for the democrats in particular, among their most reliable voting bloc, african american women. i also would submit this to you as well as you, and i watched the numbers continue to climb over the weekend. mike verse 32, 33, 35, 37 i got the sense, as i'm sure many of the folks watching at home got, that this was a president who was on the ropes and would eventually have to succumb to the pressure. would it happen today? might it happen sometime next week? it happened suddenly, but not altogether surprisingly, mike and some of the pressure coming from

longtime allies like house speaker, former house speaker nancy pelosi, senate majority leader chuck schumer, former president obama behind the scenes. what about that, kev? yeah. you know what? i've talked to a few operatives and obviously having covered several white houses, i happen to know some of the people who are as we say, in the business retreads. they worked for obama, they worked for other democrats. they now work for the biden team or the biden campaign. and there was a real sense that the president felt disrespected by some in the obama camp, disrespected by the former speaker because he felt like they were orchestrating this from behind. remember, he's been in this town in washington for, what, a half century now? so he's here's a guy who feels like he's done a lot of favors, some on the record, a lot of them off the record he's made his way to get to this point. he feels like he deserved better. but as i've pointed out throughout our conversation about this over the last several weeks,

sometimes it's just business. and for democrats, they felt like he was too weak to win. so they're making a change. great point kevin corke live up the road rehoboth beach, delaware kevin, thanks very much. now let's bring in fox news chief political analyst brit hume, somebody who has covered washington for decades. reacting to this earthquake in american politics. brit, your thoughts? well, i think this is a case of the president making peace with the reality that he couldn't win. the support was ebbing away from him and the donations, as brett baird has pointed out, were beginning to dry up. support among for him among major leaders within his own party had had slipped away from him. and obviously, in addition to that, the polling was negative, very bad. his pride. i think, is what kept this decision open for as long as it did. but i think when we look back on the history of this time, mike, it will be believed by nearly everybody that this this outcome would

became inevitable once that debate happened. and he did so poorly in it. does it sting even more? brit, when you consider that pelosi, schumer, people he served with for decades were kind of leading the charge against him, i'm sure it does, and i'm sure it has. he's a proud man and at times a stubborn man. and, you know, these people had been his allies and no doubt, as kevin corke was suggesting, he'd done things for them and they actually for him as well, and for him to be abandoned as it, as, as he was by them, must have stung him very much and perhaps caused him to dig in his heels for as long as he did. but this result, i think, in the fullness of time, will be seen as inevitable. he couldn't. he really couldn't go on. now the question will arise is i guess brett suggested that as to whether people start saying, well, look, if he's not well enough to campaign for reelection, how is it that he's well enough to serve serve out his term? and that's a that's an interesting question, and that may be hard. and also, of

course, we have this messy looking process that the democrats are trying to whomp up kind of on the, you know, on, on short notice to create something that will look like a legitimate nominating process. it is the case that if there's, you know, if there's no nominee or the nominee drops out, the delegates are free to vote their conscience under the rules of the democratic party. but remember, these are biden delegates. they were, you know, chosen and elected to run, to be to be to be delegates for the purpose of supporting joe biden. so where their support will go is anybody's guess. i guess it's, you know, it could be wide open. we could have it. we could actually have mike for the first time in many, many cycles, an open convention. imagine that. if democrats try to go around the sitting vice president, does that create a massive fracture in their party? well, i think it would depend on who ends up winning to some extent. but i think it,

you know, she looks like the obvious choice. he's vice president. she is someone who was chosen by him and also, technically speaking, i think, mike, you know, when the delegates voted, they were voting for a ticket, and it and it was biden-harris. so she would be one would imagine the odds on favorite to be the nominee. and it would be hard, i think, for these delegates to turn their back on a, on a, on a, on a woman of color. and i think that's, that's a choice that the party would have to make. the problem for them, of course, is that she has shown great weakness in the polling and might not give the democrats much of a better chance, than they'd have had with biden. although biden's senility was so screamingly obvious that it seems to me that he was basically crippled as a candidate. we've heard talk in recent days, brit, about the possibility of a mini primary. it is july 21st of an election year. is there any time for that? well, there's some time. and presumably, you

know, if people step forward and run, it has to be some kind of competition. it wouldn't actually be a primary because we wouldn't have voters voting. we would have people that had been voted for as delegates. being the audience for this, for this little mini campaign done on a very on a very foreshortened schedule, final thoughts, brit, in terms of what this means and to american politics, usually these conventions are kind of pageants, if you will, for a particular party. it sounds like this may have some real practical politics taking place on the floor. this will be a convention more like the old ones. when delegates showed up and they were heavily. you know, party regulars. that and you wouldn't know for sure who the nominee was going to be until the votes were taken. there have been conventions, i guess back in 1920, there was one that went to something like 100 ballots. and so that kind of thing has happened in the past. we haven't seen anything like that in many, many years. and mike, where you're sitting and anchoring this broadcast right now, you're a witness to

history, buddy, what we've seen in the last couple of weeks is like something we didn't expect. we live in turbulent times, and now we're living in really turbulent times. amazing. brit hume, grateful to have your analysis, your decades of experience during this breaking news, historic breaking news on this sunday. thank you so much for your time. appreciate the analysis, sir. thank you. mike. let's go back to my colleague kevin corke in rehoboth beach, delaware. kevin, your thoughts as president biden did not explicitly endorse his vice president to be the essentially the democratic nominee. what about that? yeah, very interesting decision. and i actually heard some conversation about this previously, this idea that, yes, for the fir the first hundred 56 years in income but is not seeking reelection. what might that mean for the vice president? in this particular circumstance you have to be honest about what they are dealing with. they are dealing with the relatively unpopular vice

president. does that mean the party apparatus cannot filter up a little bit may beget assistance from the fawning press if you will? yes, that certainly could happen. but when you get down to brass tacks if it is to be kamala harris is going to be kamala harris against donald trump. how will that play effectively if you'll pardon me for saying, and the seven or eight swing states where it really does matter? i can say this as well and i do have some contacts on her team. there is a sense in the conversations i've had before they feel very confident even if thethere's an open process at te convention she will fare very, very well they are that confident in her ability of the problem with that bit of confidence if i might posit, it also sometimes ignores what they're saying out in the streets if you will, is she popular or isn't she? let's be honest here vps rarely are popular it's not like they are all waving flags for vp. but if you have on this

decidedly unpopular that really could affect the top of the ticket. we have to wait and step back and say did she get the nod of the convention? and if so who is hurt vp pick may be that person is decidedly more popular is it going to be an all woman ticket? might that make things really interesting in november was simply do not know i can tell you this the fact the president decided not to specifically endorse his vice president speaks volumes about he feels the party can best move forward which is to have an open process come to chicago. mike: we notice when president trump spoke at the republican convention thursday night he told us he was not going to say the name biden he slipped a couple of times and it biden's name came out but that seemed rather intentional the former president preparing for whomever the democrats put up, what about that? >> listen. one of the person they teach in politics 101 is prepared for all contingencies and that means getting your opposition research

for anyone who might elevate and become the president. you do it during the campaign certainly. now we are down to say one, two, maybe four people at the most who could possibly top this ticket you would imagine the trump team is in copious amounts of research. i am sure if you talk to them off the record they will tell you they love the idea of taking on the vice president harris. if you talk to them again off the record they might also say any time it is not biden things can get a little more difficult because if she comes out and has a great convention she comes up with a strong message she has been hitting the idea of abortion as a major topic for the election campaign, if she does well it really connects with women in particular might that really knocked the president office perch? when you look at some the swing staples folder president trump is doing pretty well. can kamala harris chip into that? we just do not know yet we don't know she will ascend be the

standard standardbearer for thiy moving forward. mike: owns you to react to this breaking news now president biden's" i want to offer my full support and endorsement for kamala harris to be the nominee of our party this year. not clear whether they've been watching the covering seeing no endorsement but there you have president biden saying he fully supports and endorses her to be the democratic nominee of the party this year. >> had to do it. i mentioned earlier it's not just because she was and voted on as part of this ticket. millions of americans who support the democrats did not just vote for in the primaries, for joe biden they voted for biden/harris. in some sense he almost had to do it but as i mentioned to you earlier, if you were to bypass a top ranked woman on the ticket for someone else a woman of color as you heard our colleague

brit hume mention i don't think that's a tenable way to go for this party not just in this election but it could damage them for years to come. they have to go with harris is still up my prediction if they choose not to, in spite of the president now endorsing her fully, i think it could create massive problems for them moving forward. we will see we will see if in fact she gets the nod takes an interesting and compelling vp. it is july 21 an election year that is not a whole lot of time for negotiating or horsetrading. jen forging a great job, thanks so much. specific bring colleague senior congressional correspondent chad pergram. your reaction to this earthquake in american politics? what are you picking up from top lawmakers on the hill? >> i was told the morning after the debate by senior house democratic source in the quote e was this was unsustainable. they thought the president has not been served very well by the people around him. and did not think this is going

to last very much longer depending upon how long. it is significant for the president has now just endorsed vice president harris because there are a lot of people on capitol hill especially the congressional black caucus will be okay with that you have some sort of a wide open process or something like that was going to be extremely messy. this is messy enough as it is. people talk about the concept of having a brokered convention i pointed out to people that was not necessary be a brokered convention but it would be a convention the idea that these delegates, these people who have voted for president biden and harris those are pledged to them but not bound to them until they have that r rollcal roll call vt meet electronic r roll call vote in early august. that will probably change in some form now. the other thing i notice is very quickly we were starting to get

statements like vulnerable democrats him as a tammy baldwin is a democratic senator in wisconsin that is a battleground state and immediately endorsement present biden is done here. things were not going to look good representing districts down ballot. now we have what's going on on the republican side of the l this is really significant you're starting to have people like a lease step phonic the republican conference at richard hudson from we knew this was going to happen they are starting to say it looked at the president could not run for reelection and he ought to step down. how is he fit to serve? we have inquiries this week into the shooting of former president trump for the maybe inquiries into this mess with the help of the president might beat. mike: chad, i covered former nancy pelosi in day in day out

for. you've covered over several decades what about her role is trying to convince president biden it was time for a change? basically trying to protect her democratic members? >> it is something she was really worried about. it was obvious just not from pelosi but others who had a handedness that they had to address what was going to happen down ballot. the idea it was a star start wia gentle push but surgery more of the wave in the third to be a tidal wave that may be giving way to a tsunami we are probably going to have some of this, last week had it not been for the shooting a week ago saturday that chuck schumer went to rehoboth, did not announce this and met with president biden. that statement and the fact he met came out seconds before the shooting. any conversation about this was put off about a week we just got the statement he says joe biden

has not only been a great president and great legislative leader but a truly amazing human being. joe, today shows you are a great patriot and a great american. democrats saw a note of site ad this was the amazing things for weeks now and capitol hill since that debate there is a meeting at that democratic senatorial campaign committee a week ago thursday. nobody really wanted to say much. they said well, it is his decision and things like this. but we did not get the sense from inhibition state anybody they were full bore behind joe biden are doing it with the caveat. a caveat. that is her two weeks ago we had this conference call among house democrats many of them were saying very frank things and throw him under the bus. in the words of don bier he was fepefeeble and they liked him be cannot put two sentences together information from that link out and the members had dial it back because it was

suckling h as quickly as they thought it would go. >> understand its intense focus on the race for the white house. they cover day in and day out a third of the sun is up for reelection with a tough map effort democrats in the end tire house of representatives is on the ballot. what about the balance of a power up or look at former president trump returning to the white house potentially, most of the voters decide. what about perhaps the argument from senior democrats which i have heard about being on trunk presidency what about that? et cetera something they were very concerned about losing all three of the house, the senate, the white house. holding the senate is a tough battle to start with that's would be very challenging for the democrats no matter what but that's why people like brown and tester coming out this time to step aside, mr. president house housethought that was within ra.

certainly because it was a narrow majority but also because they did not think the republicans in the house were in utter turmoil at times they had trouble passing defense bills they burn through to speakers select the multiple people as speakers because they tried all sorts of resolution all the time democrats would appoint to the if we cannot beat that we are not doing anything right at all. i think that is where this was a salvaging process. does this salvage things? that is the question people do not just know. does it help and keep in mind the democrats have been tarred by this for a while now pretty fed republicans -- but i remember this early on when they start to talk about the border crisis. they pointed vice president as the borders are they criticized developed a library of information against her saying she's not doing very good with

the border. that is one of the primary fortified issues on the ballot this fall. if republicans can turn that around it that you thought it was bad with biting it's really not going to be much better with the border czar vice president harris that is something democrats are very vulnerable and republicans can use against them. one of the things can be very, very important is who is she going to pick if she is in fact the one as a running mate? is it going to be a moderate? somebody like andy beshear? someone had put me earlier today maymay be subject to him right n former congr congressman who loo jd vance from northeast ohio. and would match up very well with him on the stage there. is that his mentor house and senate democrats wait and more at the torch is in fact passed seamlessly to vice president harris. i'm not saying that's going to be a done deal either here or that something to look for if they have more of a say in who

that person is. they want some of her the midwest if it's going to be a woman should have to have a man? you went to minorities on the ticket? there's a million different ways to spin this. mike: chad pergram, i is going o be busy week thanks very much. mike: was go back to my colleague kevin corke in rehoboth beach, delaware. traveling with the present he is recovering from covid-19 and your reaction to president biden making it clear he supports his vice president as an encouraging donors to give to her. >> that is a smart decision for a couple of reasons. first of all, by encouraging donors to give to his vice president it is intended to re- ingratiate the campaign and broadly democrats with the big money. you heard on that number of occasions the big money is drying up. ultimately people are going to

sort of post motor in this whole campaign. i'm going to tell you right now once the donors started i want to say bailing, i think the decision was really made. it's not that the present did not want to stick it out for it is not that he did not have some support. think the donors ultimately made the final call here if you don't have the dollars you can't compete. by encouraging people to give to kamala harris ineffective say it's safe to get back in the water if you really support democratic politics this is now your chance to feel free to put those dollars back in the game. another thing i want to point out to you and you and i've spoken at length over the last several years about how when the now vice president was a candidate for president it did not go very well she dropped out before the first primary. she did not knock down any delegates along the way. and yet she managed to make her way onto this ticket. to keep this in mind, there are

pockets within the party and elsewhere that really do support the idea of having another woman lead the ticket to run for the presidency officers of the former secretary of state hilary clinton and now we will see it again with kamala harris. i'm saying that understanding she has his endorsement. who knows how it all plays out but that is my production moving forward. there is one more thing i think people will be talking about next week. no matter what happens with the dollars today it is really the long game here. win or lose in november that democrats have to keep open the lines of communication and keep their hands in the pockets of the people who fund their mission and that means give today, give often and give well be that kamala harris or someone else. mike: kevin corke during a beautiful job thanks very much. >> event. mike: on george mcauley who is our man on the convention floor drink lasix republican

convention bill hemmer fox news anchor. bill, your reaction to this massive breaking news? >> hey mike, good afternoon to you on what was otherwise a beautiful sunday afternoon here on the east coast. i've been in touch with a prominent democrat for the last two months. and just v jespersen context ate moment, i said to this individual had you gained this out right now? sense of it does not go out we've got time i remember that's relevant to the conversation n now, let me turn the tv down i'll give you a bit more. the time i said how do you do that? you've got to go to kamala

harris obviously for this person suggested not necessarily i said why would that be? they said what we could do is go to chicago which by the way starts four weeks from tomorrow. we could go to chicago and have an open convention. it would be more like the democratic process that our party would accept it and that is the way we would play it. but essentially late june gives us some time, that was the quote. ever the past couple of weeks this person has said the white house has been stupid. the spin has been dumb in they're down ticket democrats are targeted mems of the house and senate maybe some governors as well. and then this past thursday i was in touch with this individual he predicted biting will be out by monday. obviously that date came 24 hours earlier for the quote was he now knows he will lose.

there is no political sport and no money which goes with the reporting we have had throughout the last 24 hours. and i thought shannon bream had a terrific interview today with one of the delegates in the biden team she was very honest and upfront about money drying up and that's a problem. in politics you got the money, you've got the time. lyndon johnson dropped out i think it was late march of 1968 march 28. he made his announcement it was unexpected with a speech given from the oval office and at the end of the address he announced he could not seek nor accept the nomination to be the next democratic president. i think the contact is very important for when johnson made that decision and that is this the vietnam war was raging. it was late january, early february when that launched in

vietnam. there are dozens of marines who were killed. and at the same time those marines killed likely several hundred north vietnamese army soldiers. toward the end of february i think that is the date if memory serves when walter cronkite went on cbs and essentially said the u.s. cannot win this war. a month later is when lbj made his decision from the oval office. do not know how joe biden does this habit is it from rehoboth or the oval office will have to wait and see on that for our viewers right now they have to start getting used to some really politically technical terms such as an delegates and superdelegates, pledged delegates, free agents, all the stuff is going to come into play in chicago. jeff greenfield wrote a great piece and political over the

weekend. short of outline the possibilities that biden stays in her biden dropped and i encourage everyone to check that out. this essentially 3896 pledged delegates. once a biden drops out they become free agents. that is where the drama happens in chicago. in addition to that there are 700 superdelegates these are the party leaders senators and governors and state party chairs. base and all the reporting so far they will not get to vote or they will not be able to vote on the first round they will have to hold their vote until the second part will have to see how it all plays out a lot of stuff is not been determined by the rules committee will determine how that convention is rent is four weeks from tomorrow i heard you on with chad a moment ago chad and i were talking on friday morning at the conclusion of the rnc in milwaukee that is when chad got wind of a brown from ohio as a possible vp pick on behalf of kamala harris and

what would that be if that indeed plays out brown is from ohio. junior advances from ohio so you are talking upper midwest states. listen, i don't think ohio contested trumpets had that state twice now by eight points in 2016, again in 2020. program will be one of this pixie could go into michigan, wisconsin pennsylvania where it seems as of today that is where the election will be determined. so standby for more, mike it is all developing now. i think we have to stand back and wait for joe biden's announcement when that happens i do not know unless you've got more information to me right now piglets have not seen that bill hemmer thank you so much for your time and analysis busy week ahead for you and dana on america's newsroom very grateful for your time today. >> think if i get more i'll call you back. >> thank you. mike: were to put on the screen for the viewers are president biden said about backing vice

president harris as his replacement. he said quote today which offer my full support and endorsement for kamala harris to be the nominee of our party this year democrats, it is time to come together and beat trump. let's do this. i should note former president trump speaking to cnn says he things vice president harris will be easier to defeat them president biden. we'll see how it all plays out herelet's go back to my colleage kevin corke light and rehoboth beach, jell-o your reaction to the news of the past few minutes? iit is been quickly evolving. >> yes it has. i just wanted to share if i might, mike, i saw a poster and former president trump come up on "truth social" i'll just read part of that crooked joe but it was not fit to run for president certainly not fit to serve and never was he goes on to say it later in this particular post and not look at what he's done to our country millions of people coming across the border,

he says this move will remedy the damage he has done very quickly, make america great again. you are getting a range of reaction. we are also watching the producers sarah and i are looking to see what kind of reaction we get from international leaders to this latest decision by president biden do not run for reelection but we talked at great length about what that might mean not just for the remainder of his one term in office but what it might mean for his party are broadly moving forward. i can share going to been following text back and forth with democratic operatives i've known for many, many years the consensus seems to be this, kamala harris has every opportunity and every right to lead this party moving forward after all she is the vice president but i will caution and say this i have also heard this idea of opening up the convention is good and healthy for the party that is not to say she won't get the nomination, i think she will but it is to say

it is healthy to have a conversation to crystallize not just with the party is today but what it intends to be moving forward. maybe a little bit of girl power if you pardon the expression in the november election for the democrats maybe it's an all female all woman ticket those also proposed to me by one of my colleagues here who i used to work with many, many years ago she said that might be a way to really push this ticket over the finish line and over to victory acknowledging by the way as she did i wil would say what she sad here she said it is a tough road and i think that it's a fair assessment because as you and i both know we have covered the vice president for some time she does not necessarily pole terribly well but that can all change with a very strong convention and maybe a little bit of a boost from some of the party leadership. mike: will follow every step of the way kevin corke many thanks i like to bring in fox anchor of

the historian executive editor martha maccallum did a really job along with the bret baier of our rnc convention coverage your reaction to this earthquake in american politics? >> it is great to be with you. it is an earthquake indeed. i think your thoughts go back to lyndon johnson pulling out of the race in march of 1968. it was earlier in the cycle but equally dramatic moment. i think when you look at the statement from former president biden it comes obviously with a heavy heart from the current present excuse me current president joe biden i thought it was interesting that it was on his personal stationary not white house stationery. at that point there was no question about staying present i think is going to be an issue in the days and weeks perhaps to come about whether or not he can continue in the office are that issue gets bypassed.

you think about the symbols he has had from june 27 does disastrous debate i think there is an interesting convergence after this extraordinary week of rnc convention i think objective observers looked at it and said they had a great week a very strong week. is it insurmountable? no but as i said in the convention coverage the reason you're seeing the scramble on the democrat side is not that they are so overly concerned about joe biden certainly that is part of it but it is that they want to win. they are looking for a win and they know they need to scramble in order to get want to put together a ticket that will energize. they want to have a huge convention to in a few weeks. and now is the test, can they pull that off? and the pull up the energy and enthusiasm thing about the numbers of people who did not want biden or trump for that matter at that point, to be on the ticket. now they have this opportunity. the trump site is going to look at all this very carefully see

if there's a shift but they have so much work to do in the meantime. mike: udo here in washington they like to play the blame game it occurs to me while we are seeing some relieve democratic c statements about the president's decision, at some point do you think democrats take a closer look at the biden family? the biden inner circle saying how could you let it get to this point? >> i do, i do. i think the circle got tighter and tighter in recent weeks. you have to ask questions they present themselves in terms of judgment and his own honesty with himself. there were a lot of reports in the past month and a half it was a deteriorating situation in the wall street journal -based talked about how he was slipping in meetings. it is a sad story really. it's a story i think anyone who rises to power has to think

about their exit has to think about a gracious exit from the sage that moment has passed i think of a big effort to rehabilitate his legacy and it will probably recover in time but right now it is in a bad place. being a bridge to the future which is what he said he wanted to be in the 2020 campaign that was the moment he could've turned it over that time couldn't put his faith in kamala harris then even given how lousy her polling wasn't would have we given her an earlier opportunity to build her reputation to reconnect with the people of the country. so this is a scramble and is truly chaotic at this point. mike: what about the authorized leaks to the media about pelosi pressuring the president, saint get donna on the phone with the talked about the poll numbers i'm seeing senate majority leader chuck schumer, i came up pretty clearly he was being very

direct with the president and now i've got schumer's" joe biden has not been a great president, a great legislative leaves are truly amazing human being has decision of course was not easy but he once again put his country, his party and our future first. it seems to me about pelosi and schumer are also worried about the balance of power as it relates to capitol hill. >> absolutely does a leaks point of the fact the president became very stubborn very dug in on this issue. he said himself he was asked in the stephanopoulos interview what if nancy pelosi and chuck schumer specifically came tunes it is time to go leaned in and whispered is not going to happen. well, it did happen. i don't think either one of the buzzer to put you to a public forum i think it got to the point they felt they had too. there are so many story lines here it is you know spring great

watching you break this news for us this afternoon. there are so many layers to this in terms of why he did not get out sooner in terms of whether or not this orchestration could be handled better. now they literally ar are in it that in the initial statement was fuzzy about whether or not he was endorsing kamala harris that is also a weird moment is not a full throated endorsement of her and that initial statement. there's a lot to uncover here. mike: executive editor anchor of the story did a great job on our convention coverage martha maccallum grateful for your time today, thanks so much for. >> will see later tonight, thank you mike. mike: let the pivot go to mar-a-lago where my colleague is alive with the reaction from the trump camp. take it away. >> good afternoon, mike we know he landed here in mar-a-lago last night. we saw a motorcade going towards

his house around 10:55 a.m. this morning we are not only monitoring his responses are on the ground in florida but, as you mention untruths social i do want to read you what he posted about 15 minutes ago. he says crooked joe biden was not fit to run for president is certainly not fit to serve and he never was he only attained the position of president by lies, fake news not leaving his basement all those around him including his dr. and media knew he was sent capable of being president. i'd now come look at what he is sent to our country with the millions of people coming across our border totally unchecked in unvented. many from prisons, mental institutions and record number of terrorists. who will suffer greatly because of his presidency we will remedy the damage she has done very quickly, make america great again and all caps of course this rhetoric we are heard over and over again from him now, take a look at twitter his son

donald trump jr did tweet about 15 minutes ago as well commenting about kamala harris saying she owns the entire left-wing policy record of joe biden and the only difference is she's even more liberal less competent than she wrote. of course donald trump, former president, his son we are monitoring his team. we are in communication hoping to get a little bit more information there. here on the ground up mar-a-lago in a folder president donald trump, which of the motor case that passes at 10:55 a.m. this morning that he is here in florida. we are going to be looking around to see if anyone, the public comes here this is where they gathered just after the assassination attempt with flags and prayer. this area outside of mar-a-lago seems to be a unity area for the party especially those here in florida. of course in west palm beach many classify this as trump country we do expect to see some

people and of course we will get their reactions you can come to us from there went any information we have. monitoring on social media and on the ground. mike: will be back to you for live breaking news thank you very much danamarie mcnicholl it escort a foxy senate anchor shannon bream who had a great show earlier today you should be showing her show right now we had massive breaking news, shannon your reaction? >> it might, we talked about this money on "fox news sunday" with the biden delegate was also a huge a fundraiser for the national campaign he said listen i got to t tell you the truth we have got people who write six and seven figure checks the ball stopped that is just the reality of it these people are very successful in their own right and many of them are businessmen and women they only want to bet on something they know is going to move forward. they had really come to the conclusion they did not think president biden was going to be able to do that part you know, having covered many white houses

and presidential campaigns he could not do without a whole lot of money the reality it was all kinds of fundraisers have been taken off the calendar people were backing away. it was really tough. she also was a very full throated and she thanks the party will make a huge mistake if they try to skip over vice president harris as we now know and you have been reporting who has president biden's endorsement she said based on this a party and the stories we have told and the people we have tried to appeal to in the voter coalitions he put together, skipping over her would send a very dangerous message to the coalition and she is a delegate. she's i'm cautioning against that she does think if the vice president of people coalesce behind her the money will come. she was on the call friday with a number of major donors and the vice president it was her since they would coalesce in the money will start flowing again if it is the vice president. mike: shanna, president biden has been in american politics for more than half of a century.

and yet basically when it looked like he could lose some people he had worked with for decades began bailing on him including former house speaker nancy pelosi, senate majority leader chuck schumer. obviously they are concerned about the balance of power and trying to make sure it's not a bloodbath on capitol hill, right? what you are so right that's got to be really painful for him. remember, after the debate in the first interview t he did wih abc he said listen, these congressional leaders i have private conversations with them they are telling me too stay on because remember stephanopoulos pushed him and what if they came to you? when those a big name start doing that we knew it started to happen privately when a former speaker pelosi spoke to him in recent days and expressed real worry was going to be a serious problem down about with congressman he admitted at the election were today i think we would lose they were very worried about what would happen

with any chance you flip the house they are certainly worried about was in the senate as well. i think all of those top leaders and conversations that may be president obama was working behind the scenes, all of those things are very hurtful to the bidens. but that they sent recent pollig which is another thing he said if i am shown polling says they can't win that could be persuasive to make the cbs polling showing him down five points a nationally to president trump down three points in the swing states that must've started to break through i would note in that polling as well vice president harris was still trailing president trump it was a closer margin she was actually within the margin of error when it came to facing up head-to-head with president trump. mike: we have president trump's new running mate jd vance calling for president biden to step down now. expecting it more of that from republicans this week and in the weeks ahead. xes come i think he will because there have been a number of

conversations about listen, this man is not fit to carry out the ticket, if you're simply worried about him winning or losing that your primary focus is one thing. if you are saying he is not able then you have to have a conversation whether he can do another six months as commander-in-chief with foreign-policy hotspots on fire around the world. with major challenges here at home as well. if your confidence him is crumbled and if you're willing to say to primary caucus voters by the millions we don't respect your choice for going to press him out and do something new, and you also go to the american people some consideration of whether he's capable of doing another six months? >> also striking to me those interviews with george stephanopoulos, lester holt and others were designed to study the ship after a disastrous debate performance him but then you had the president struggling to remember has defense secretary's name, and that did not seem to calm anyone's nerves. >> yes, and think about this.

you and i have covered many campaigns over the years events in all kinds of things. but this debate how it came together so quickly and so early you've got to think president biden at some point may second-guess whether that was a smart move. while we have all covered and had concerns and questions about his health, his acuity, how he is doing voters have told us in polls they had real concerns across the political spectrum had he not had such a rough debate in june he would not have been out doing that immediate circuit during these other things that really put pressure on him. it was such an early move and yet it just barely gives democrats enough time to say we can pressure him out and now we can either have a mini primate we can endorse the vice president, we can before but because of the early debate performance he proposed that now seems it has led to enough pressure to push them out the door. mike: shanna, of course the president is recovering a rehoboth beach, delaware from

covid-19 i talked to several prominent democrats who just said the guy cannot catch a break, culvert on top of it all. >> exactly right were glad it sounds like his doctor said he is improving but it really took him out of the race and out of the conversation at a time he needed to be out there weathers on the campaign trail had to cancel and reschedule some things he's going to do in texas and other places that would have given him a chance to continue making his argument i got the strength physically and mentally to continue on. it's always bad timing for anyone to get covid but certainly in the middle of trying to save his political career to have been sidelined at the beach and again appearing weak and frail as his leaving las vegas right after the diagnosis to just put it in a bad place optically seemed like he finally realized there was no way to keep fighting forward for his own candidacy. mike: fox news anchor at shannon bream who knows where we will

beat next sunday in american politics we know you will be all over it, shannon thanks very much. let's go back to my colleague kevin corke up the road a rehoboth beach, deller covering the president being there. sounds like the president was determined to stay and then had a change of heart earlier today. >> yes change of heart or the old political shove. clearly he did not want to get out of this race but sometimes the choice is not yours even when you are the president of the party feels as if your candidacy guarantees them or makes it more likely they will lose the election in november and it seems interesting when you consider just a few hours ago, by the hour you in our time at the growing number of democrats who are suggesting the president ought to get out of the race. now he is stone his endorsement behind his vice president kamala harris wright like live the next several hours will continue to see a growing list of democrats for their support behind her

washington's seventh is already done them. we expect to hear a lot more on that in the hours ahead. but, the something else i will point out that would likely dominate the news for at least part of the early part of next week, and maybe even beyond. you butyou heard our colleague,n mentioned now things begin to turn just a bit what might the republicans do in response? i do not mean respect to the vice president i mean with respect to the president himself. the speaker at mike johnson out the statement saying, i'm quoting now if joe biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president he must resign the office immediately. and so you have heard people talk about the whispers of the 25th amendments. that will likely percolate even more in the days ahead. now, what that means for the democrats is, does that mean we move off immediately and maybe elevate kamala harris and then

it's president in its former president in november giving her in the leadership. or do you simply say let's let the guy finish out his term and let's focus on the battle at hand which of course is november. if you are a republic on capitol hill these are real serious questions they will have to consider in the hours ahead. mike: we are entering a massive week in american politics as it is you got the secret service director expect on capitol hill tomorrow. the fbi director on wednesday talking about the attempted assassination against former president trump. i had coming to town smith president biden to address congress. your thoughts? >> it's a crazy week. really thankful you are on the desk for us today. i suspect he'll be quite busy as will i in the days ahead. mike: all right kevin corke up the road thank you so much. now it was going to my colleague alexis mcadams adam battleground

at michigan former president trump was it yesterday along with his running mate jd advance alexis good afternoon. >> hey mike, what a crazy news cycle the former president was nearly assassinated a week ago and now he is reacting on his "truth social" to this breaking news. yesterday in grand rapids, michigan he stood on that stage for the first rally with is now vp pick jd vance they talked about hey, they did not know the democratic nominee is going to be but said confident no matter who it is whether it is kamala harris or president joe biden they're going to beat them so i'm going to look up back at some of those moments that hope not too long ago in grand rapids, michigan trump saying this, i would say were going to find out shortly for the nominees going to be i do not know who is going to beat let's do a pole and he looked to the crowd and asked everybody deal me too run against kamala harris gently to running as joe biden people food for both. people in the line that wrapped around the arena not far behind in grand rapids, michigan the battleground state said they are confident no matter who he picked for his vp trump and no

matter who he runs against they begin in certain areas in the rust belt they will be able to turn the states read including going to virginia where we now jd vance is going to be coming here and his rally on monday but is going to ohio and virginia they're really going after the states to try to flip this area. wheat reached out to the trunk campaign asking for reaction at this time for their still trying to get all that together. as we reached out and she saw the former president took to his own social media site to bash joe biden saying that only was he incompetent he was never able to run and should drop out he should not be running and continuing if he is not going to be the nominee. we'll have to see how this all plays out will talk to some voters hereto in this battleground state to see what they think. i do not think many people talked on the ground the campaign trail will be surprised by it and dropped out when you heard all those names flowing in on a daily basis very important names in the democratic party and seeing some of those opposites come out. from some celebrities have raised so much money for him people thought after the poor

performance on the debate staged a kind of put joe biden in the spotlight in a negative way that he is going to drop out any day. mike: alexis not surprising former president trump less retail our colleague he was not going to refer to joe biden by name during his speech. let it slip once or twice but clearly the trump campaign is been thinking about the potential of this happening and facing someone else whe weathery vice president harris or one of these governors. >> that is right he did not talk too much about joe biden neither did jd vance they mention once or twice by name maybe it was a slip, maybe it was on purpose he just talked about whoever was in the white house i was not going while they were not looking out for the average american pie that is where this campaign is focused now. the parts of pennsylvania, michigan, ohio, parts of virginia which they are trying to flip and even minnesota they want to talk to those people to feel like they've been left behind by the establishment in washington that do not feel joe biden when he was in office

really put their needs verse when it comes to inflation, comes to the border that's with a hammer at home on the stage it was a different tone after the former president was nearly assassinated a week ago he kept more on that unity message and looking forward for what he can do for the american people. definitely big breaking news what a new cycle here i think we're just a local restaurant trying to take a moment we thought we had a break you could hear the news people talking about that inside the restaurant saint did you hear president joe biden is not running for reelection? one guy shrugged and said not surprised alexis mcadams. live in battleground michigan. many thanks. recapping the breaking news this afternoon. president joe biden has decided he will not continue on as the democratic nominee for president opening up the possibility o