Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm me and

Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news. We'll begin with President Biden's defiance in the face of mounting calls

from Democratic donors and House and Senate members for him to step down

as more and more talk of getting behind Vice President Kamala Harris

to run against Trump is emerging from the punditry and the party.

Joining us is Rick Pearlstein, the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The Invisible Bridge,

the fall of Nixon, the rise of Reagan, Nixon land, the rise of a president and the

fraction of America, and before the storm, Barry Goldwater and the unmaking of the

American consensus. He's currently a contributing editor and board member of In These Times Magazine.

And his latest book is Reagan Land, America's right turn, 1976 to 1980.

And he's also a contributor to the American prospect, where his latest article is,

Say It Ain't So, Joe, with democracy itself on the ballot, a statesman with character

would know when to let go of power, which we will discuss. Then we'll look into why

the White House press corps seems to have missed signs of Biden's frailty on display in the recent

disastrous debate with Trump, due in part to how Biden's press spokespeople

kept shutting down any mention of the president's age. Joining us is Andrew Feinberg, a reporter

covering the White House and Congress for the Independent, where his latest article is,

Biden defiant on key campaign day as pressure to withdraw keeps building.

Then finally we'll speak with David Schultz, a professor of political science at Hamline University

and the University of Minnesota School of Law. He is the author of 30 books and various articles

on American politics, ethics, election law, and the media, most recently

presidential swing states, why only 10 matter, election law and democratic theory, and American

...