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the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" lewis: hello. i am lewis vaughan jones. you are watching "the context" on bbc news. >> now i want to handed over to the president of ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. ladies and gentlemen, president putin. >> we see more democrats and celebrities and big donors expressing concerns. >> aging is an inevitable process everyone has to face, and unfortunately for joe biden it is unfolding on a global stage. lewis: welcome to the program.

president biden tonight heads to the swing state of michigan to try to boost his reelection campaign. he is still facing calls to drop out out of the residential race after more mistakes at a news conference last night. we will hear from our correspondt at the rally. talks on a cease-fire in the work in gaza are understood to have come to an end without an agreement. three u.s. states will have automated vending machines selling ammunition. and we meet the team hoping to map the wreck of the titanic in more detail than ever before. we start, of course, with u.s. president joe biden. right now he is in the air in a plane heading to michigan, where he will a campaign rally, hoping to shore up support. and he needs it after this, his appearance at the end of the nato summit. a couple of slip-ups have led to more calls for him to step aside in the presidential rac biden is 81 years old and facing

questions over his age and ability to serve another term. let's look at those slip-ups. first, when he called president zelenskyy president putin. pres. biden: and now i want to hand it over to the president of ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. ladies and gentlemen, president putin. president putin? he is going to beat president putin. president zelenskyy. i'm so focused on beating putin, that worry about it. pres. zelenskyy: i am better. lewis: then within the first minutes of the press conference itself, biden called his vice president harris vice president trump. >> what concerns do you have about vice president harris's ability to beat donald trump? pres. biden: look, i would not have pick vice president trump

to be vice president if she wasn't qualified to be president. number one. the consideration is that i think i'm the most qualified person to run for president. i beat him once, and i will beat him again could lewis: let's bring in brian stelter, author and media commentator thanks for coming on the program. these two slip-ups. what is your assessment? brian: this will haunt president biden as long as years in office, or as long as he is campaigning for reelection. and it contributes to discontinue defection from his own democratic party. we are up to about 20 elected officials, members of congress who have called for him to step aside. one in the past hour or so confronted biden directly on a zoom call that was organized for biden to hear from house lawmakers. this crisis is not going away. i think that two-week period of hell for biden between now and

the press conference, we will look at that is one distinct period of time whether crisis erupted. now we are heading into a more prolonged a chapter where biden vows tuesday in the race, but the concern does not abate. lewis: and you are an expert in media and narrative, aren't you, and those slip-ups, you could argue if they had been made other times throughout the last couple years would have gone largely unnoticed if someone else made them. we all make slip-ups. and they wouldn't have had anywhere near the significance for now that the narrative is set, it is difficult to change it. brian: and that is not the media's fault. there is a lot of media chrism especially from bin voters who are frustrated that the media is not talking more about donald trump. that will change in the next few days when trump's republican national convention begins in wisconsin. for the time being, this crisis is biden's creation.

it is the result of what appears to be a president who is diminished over time, who is more frail over time. and yes, the salience is now raised all the way to the top. people are watching for every moment, because we have to accept the reality that being american presint is in part a performance. no matter what grasp you have a policy, no matter how much you have mastered the world stage, it is also a performance. at this point watching biden, many people see different things. you might focus on the stumbles or you might not, but the people that he needs to convince to vote for him in november are the people that are paying attention to his stumbles and are worried about his fitness for office. lewis: what about the process of stepping aside? do you see it happening, the complication of it? brian: it is incredible that so many democratic political veterans and strategists like james carville and donors like george clooney are all calling

for this to happen. of course if it does happen, biden is going to deny it right up until the moment it happens. what we will continue to watch for are vice president harris and how visible she is, how she is being portrayed. we will watch for further defections from the democratic party caucus, from lawmakers, because the truth is there are a lot more lawmars in private who are redivided that are willing to act -- who are worried about biden that are willing to admit it in public that will continue for weeks to come. lewis: fascinating. brian, stay right there. i want to get your thoughts on something we will talk about right now, going into the world of the hypothetical, what happens if president biden does end his campaign, vice president kamala harris is seen as the top candidate. we will look at one of the more unusual sides of her popularity for some people. "the washington post" is reporting she's being embraced online bike progressive content

creators on her awkward public moments, saying they show her as relatable. let's look at one of those memes that went viral. vice pres. harris: everything is in context. my mother would give us a hard time and say "i don't know what is wrong with you young people. you think you just fell out of a coconut tree? [laughter] you exist within the context of all in which you live in came before you." lewis: that probably does need context. taylor lorenz will give it to us from "the washington post." brian is still with us. before we get to the broader issue of kamala harris, taylor, talk us through what is going on with clips like that online. taylor: basically she has been turned into a meme. people find her wacky, nonsensical quotes and missives really relatable and funny. she has this raucous laugh that

people love. and she just seems like everyone says your favorite aunt that is a little bit zany and easily more relatable and funny than biden right now. lewis: i can see that, and i can see popularity online, but how much does this transfer? is this a niche corner or the internet, or is there something wider? taylor: no, it's not a niche corner. it started almost ironically. you had a lot of big forr bernie-supporting leftist meme accounts joking about her, but now everyone is saying they are fully coconut pilled and they love her. especially among gen z you are seeing a lot of fancams. there is examined that the party might actually put someone that they can actually rally behind. when you talk to young voters, especially these young content creators that have audiences of millions, they don't want to get behind biden. he has never resonated with them, they felt like they were compromise and for him in 2020

--compromising for him in 2020, and the possibility of someone like kamala is exciting. lewis: brian, have you been coconut-pilled or kn anyone who has? [laughter] brian: i'm amazed to watch the shift in the online conversation about the vice president the past couple weeks, because it is true, for the past three-plus years, she has been underestimated, sometimes belly cast, widely criticized -- badly cast, widely criticized, and by right-wing media outright demonized. but there has been a shift in the conversations about kamala harris, more positive conversation underway, as people take stock of the possibility that she could become president or at least the nominee for president. we are in this incredible land scape where republicans are calling for biden to be removed by the 25th of them in and to have kamala harris become president. that might seem like a very unlikely scenario, but we are on the cusp of a possibility of the first woman president, woman of color. she is 59, she is not a young

person, but compared to biden and trump she is a breath of fresh air. look at these polls. these polls are terrible. abc poll showing 85% of americans say biden is too old for a second term. 85%. with that in mind, someone like kamala harris would seem like a welcome change of pace, and that is partly why she is going viral online. lewis: taylor, away from the memes, as what brian was referring to tre talking about this growing realization of potential people entertaining different scenarios, what is your thoughts on kamala harris as the candidate taking on donald trump? taylor: i think she will be able to leverage a lot of young people and turn out the vote, especially among gen z, who resonated with her. a lot of progressives who have famously not always gotten on board with more centrist candidates have shown they are willing to support her. i think that is meaningful. i think she will be subject to bill in like brian mentioned

because -- relentless attacks, like brian mentioned, because she is a woman, a woman of color, she is from california, which they love to demonized she will have a challenging battle, it is not a sure thing, but it seems like if you judge by the internet she has a lot better shot than biden right now. lewis: appellee fascinating to get both your thoughts. taylor lorenz, thank you so much. brian stelter, thanks as always. thank you both, really interesting stuff. just to let you know, as i mentioned, joe biden is in the air, due to land for that campaign rally and when he does, we will cross over to the u.s. for that. around the world, across the u.k., this is bbc news.

lewis: this is bbc news. we will head to ukraine now, being one of its most difficult weeks since the start of the full-scale russian invasion two and a half years ago.

more than 40 people were killed and missile attacks across the country, also at the children's hospital. president zelenskyy appealed to western lies not to restrict weapons they donate which stops them being to play against targets inside russia. james waterhouse has more. james: on monday, in a matter of hours, missiles overwhelmed ukraine's normally well defended capital. and it is what they had which made is one of the worst aerial assault in this war. this is kyiv's children's hospital, where some of the patients were being treated for cancer. it was a site which drew worldwide attention and western condemnation. russia denied targeting civilian areas, but evidence to the contrary is mounting. this was an attack at which

wasn't confined to one place, or one hospital. cities across central and eastern ukraine were targeted. 14 people lost their lives here, and it took three days to find them from under the rubble. lives exposed by blown away walls. the country is paying a mounting human cost. five doctors in a kyiv clinic died in one of the strikes this week. as nato leaders gathered in washington, president zelenskyy couldn't contain his emotion. pres. zelenskyy: it is so difficult to lose children. and of course you see the people, you see parents, their children are dying or dead. you want to kill putin at this moment. james: in the absence of that he felt progress, highlighting

russian -- absence of battlefield progress, highlighting russian atrocities is kyiv's most potent weapon. followed our financial aid and much-needed air defense systems. but ukraine only got a fraction of what it was after. in the center of the capital, thousands of flags ma ukraine -- thousands of flags mark ukraine's fallen. it has long wanted nato membership, and after use of promises, no one has said when, because of russia's ongoing that takes us to the heart of ukraine's unknowns. can stand more tax on its infrastructure? are the current levels of military aid enough to carry it to victory? all questions brought to the fore by missile strikes which shocked the world. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv . lewis: 16 students are reported to have died after a in central nigeria collapsed and many more

are trapped in the rubble. rescue operations are ongoing as witnesses hear shouts for help. parents are said to her joined the search for the children -- parents are said to have joined the search for the children. it is not clear what caused the collapse, but residents sayed came after three days of heavy rains. as we mentioned earlier, president biden will be hoping to rally support behind him at a campaign event i michigan in just a few hours' time. let's go to tender public -- let's go to nada tawfik, our correspondent who is there for us. the president in the air, is he there? tell us whats happening. nada: joe biden is going to be speaking here in just a few short hours, and of course this is all part of his effort to get out to key battleground states for the so-called blue wall.

last week he went to pennsylvania, wisconsin, and today he is here yet again in michigan. it is a state he won by 150,000 votes in 2020 after donald trump reok the state from democrats in 2016, the first time democrats lost in the state since the 1980's, and by less than 10,000 votes. this time around, enthusiasm is key for joe biden among some key groups in the state. of course, detroit, one of the largest cities with black voters, a large arab-american population. joe biden said himself in a press conference last night that he needs to get out there and reassure voters that he does have the stamina and the mental abilities to run and to win to serve for another four years. but all of this coming as more democrats are coming out, using

a phrase "pass the torch," telling joe biden it is time to step aside. i can say as we came into this school ground -- school in michigan where the rally will be held, there was an elderly gentleman holding a sign saying "pass the torch." he says he won't vote for donald trump, but after five decades of voting for democrats, he can't bring himself to vote for joe biden either. he thinks he is not fit to serve, and has called instead for democrats to get behind an open convention, to have candidates be able to vie to build up excitement to take on donald trump. lewis: just as you were talking, getting politico reporting that u.s. democratic representative called for joe biden to end his reelection bid, confronted the president darkly during a

virtual meeting on friday and telling him it was time for someone else to lead. i don't know whether the details of this rally are public or reportable, but i was wondering, do we knew what -- do we know what the format is? will the president be answering questions? will he be meeting voters? or is this a much more formal scripted event? nada: i think we can expect a very formal scripted event. the room is set up like a typical rally, with joe biden at a podium on stage, likely to be reading from a teleprompter, with the crowd below him. but we can expect some of his most ardent supporters be here. i did have a chance to speak with other voters around detroit, and i tnk what is really interesting is that while there are some voters who do have affection for joe biden, ultimately for many of them, they would be ok if somebody else was at the top of the ticket. for them the key is making sure

to divvy donald trump, and especially -- defeated donald trump, and especially when i spoke to younger democrats, they were very concerned about his ability to beat former president trump. that is certainly at the top of mind of voters, of the biden campaign, to see how these next few days will shake out. from here on out every event joe biden will be at will be highly scrutinized, so that is something he is keenly aware of as he takes the party later today. lewis: nada, thanks so much for that. we will keep in touch with you and speak to you a bit later as the president arrives there. here in the u.k., a man has been jailed for life and must serve least 15 years for plotting to kidnap, rape, and murder tv presenter holly willoughby. the judge described his crimes as depraved and vile, while the jury were told his actions had a catastrophic impact on her. charlotte gallico's report has

details you may find distressing. arlotte: the moment gavin plumb was arrested. he's an obsessive loner. >> you are under arrest. holly willoughby. charlotte: he plotted to turn his depraved fantasies into reality. >> caller number four. charlotte: the target of his obsession, one of the u.k.'s best known tv personalities. just hours earlier, holly willoughby had presented what would be her last episode of "this morning." >> see you tomorrow. charlotte: later that day police told her of plumb's arrest over his plans to kidnap, rape, and murder her. >> two sets of handcuffs -- charlotte: he had assembled a kidnap kit, bought chloroform, and researched holly's movements. the judge said plumb's plans

were sadistic, brutal, and degrading. he was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years in prison. >> intended to harm her husband and children, attempted to recruit several people to help you, discussed in hideous and revolting detail the prolonged sexual violence you intended to inflict on ms. willoughby once you have ducted her and had her under your control. charlotte: holly willoughby -- the prosecution said the offenses changed her life personally and professionally. >> he is not a fantasist, he is at calculating sexual predator who has spent his adult life seeking to inflict violence on women. it cannot be right that men like gavin plumb are able to join online forums where they freely vent their hatred towards women and girls and plot to cause them harm. charlotte: this isn't the first time plumb has targeted women and teenage girls. he has convictions for attempted

kidnapping and false imprisonment. maria was his first victim. he tried to kidnap her from a train. >> when i look at men, i do that quick judgment -- what level of danger are they? charlotte: that is all men? when you see a man, you think, is this person dangerous to me? >> yes. charlotte: how do you feel about gavin plumb now when you think about gavin plumb? >> he is nothing in life, and it makes him in a way more dangerous, a person who has nothing to lose. arlotte: holly is one of plumb's victims fu she was saved by the actions of police here and in the u.s. who uncovered his plan. plumb will now spend years in prison, away from the women and girls he is a danger to. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. lewis: turning to the middle east, talks being held should negotiate a cease-fire in the war in gaza are understood to have come to an end without agreement. our gaza correspondentas more from istanbul. reporter: sad news for the

people in gaza who were watching the news over the cease-fire talks for the last 3, 4 weeks between cairo and doha, and the unfortunate news for them today that the talks has ended. the americans were involved, the qatari prime minister meet with the israeli head of mossad and with the egyptian intelligence chiefs. very big names trying to get this deal going forward and done with. we had in the last two or three hours from the senior official, some stages he was involved in the talks itself. he said that hamas was willing to give more concessions and they were softening their position and they were very flexible in order to do the deal. but he himself quoted hamas

saying it was mr. netanyahu and israel which are not willing to accept the cease-fire. we understand there was about three, four main obstacles, one of them is the people who are displaced from the north and the south and the issue of cease-fire, which i think hamas officially dropped this line and said we can accept that we can't accept to do without a permanent cease-fire. the other issue, which was serious and discussed in cairo today and yesterday, is the philadelphia corridor, the border between gaza and egypt, which israel always accused hamas of using underground tunnel to smuggle weapons int gaza. israel want to make sure that any deal would not allow hamas to do so. there was a lot of scenarios discussed in cairo, according to

senior egyptian official. lewis: our thanks to rushdi for that with the very latest. stay with us. i'm lewis vaughan jones. this is bbc announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... woman: two retiring executives turn their focus to greyhounds, giving these former race dogs a real chance to win. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way you give back. life well planned. announcer: funding was also provided by,