President Biden defends his fitness for office during a high-stakes press conference. A United Nations report reveals that the world’s population is expected to peak this century. And while Project 2025 is gaining traction, one group has already been talking about it at length.
Here’s what you need to know today.
During a crucial press conference, Biden’s gaffes overshadowed his policy positions
President Joe Biden spent nearly an hour answering questions from reporters and sharing policy ideas shaped by half a century in office during a news conference closing a three-day NATO summit in Washington, D.C.
It certainly wasn’t a disastrous performance on par with his debate performance two weeks ago, but it also wasn’t the standout performance that would once and for all erase doubts about his fitness for office. Within minutes of the conference ending, several Democrats joined in calling for Biden to drop his reelection bid.
No autocue, Biden vigorously defended his suitability for office when he responded to questions about his age and calls to step aside. “I think I’m the most qualified person to be president,” he said. Referring to former President Donald Trump, Biden said, “I beat him once, and I’ll beat him again.”
However, Biden’s comments on gun violence, taxes, the war in Ukraine and China’s economic influence on Europe came second to the style and clarity of his speech.
This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox.
A notable gaffe occurred minutes after he gave his first answer to a reporter, when he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.” After the speech, NBC News’ Peter Alexander said: said there was an “audible gasp” of Biden advisers and reporters in the room, while one of the president’s top advisers “just bowed his head.”
That followed a similar misstep hours earlier, when Biden introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.”
Biden aides said they believed the president was demonstrating a level of policymaking that former President Donald Trump could never match. But the feedback wasn’t all optimistic.
Read the whole story here.
More coverage of Joe Biden:
- At least three Democrats in the House of Representatives After the press conference, Biden called on him to withdraw from the presidential race.
- Biden insiders say “nobody” sees a path to victory“He will never recover from this,” a campaign worker said.
- A Wisconsin radio network said that parts of a Biden interview omitted at the request of his campaign.
Key points from the UN population report
The world’s population is growing, but it won’t stay that way forever, and it will start shrinking sooner than we thought. That’s the gist of a new report from the United Nations. Released about every two years, the report collects census and other data from countries around the world and uses that information to figure out where the human population is headed.
NBC News science reporter Denise Chow provides an overview of what we learned from the latest report:
🤰🏼 Fertility is declining faster than expected. We knew that people were having fewer children, but it was new to see surprisingly sharp declines in fertility in places like China. In 1990, women worldwide had an average of 3.3 children, now that number has fallen to less than 2.3.
📈 The world population is expected to peak at just over 10 billion people in the mid-2080s. About 60 countries and territories, including Russia, China, Italy and Japan, have already reached their population. 1 in 4 people in the world lives in a country where that population has already been reached.
🍎 In nine out of ten countries, life expectancy has recovered after the pandemic. Global life expectancy in 2023 was 73.2 years, up from a pandemic low of 70.9 in 2021 and higher than 72.4 before the pandemic. Global life expectancy is expected to reach 81.7 years in 2100.
👴🏻 The world is getting older. Projections show that by 2080, people over 65 will outnumber children under 18. By 2023, there will be almost 3 times as many children as people over 65.
There’s a ton of data in this report, so the NBC News data/graphics team created three charts and two maps to tell the story of all the information in the report. Check them out here.
Social Security recipients may get smaller cost of living increases
Price growth is slowing across the economy. While consumers have long anticipated this trend, the timing could leave seniors and other Social Security recipients shortchanged when they hear their annual cost-of-living increases. The annual COLA change is typically announced in October, but to calculate a figure, the Social Security Administration uses data for July, August and September of the year.
If you use this method, your Social Security benefits may lag behind overall inflation. This is why.
Tough questions and allegations about evidence on day 2 of ‘Rust’ trial
The second day of actor Alec Baldwin’s trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cameraman on the set of the film “Rust” was marked by tense exchanges and allegations that a forensic examiner had concealed new evidence related to the shooting.
Baldwin’s team has tried to bolster his case that he was doing what he was told to do as an actor on the day Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot in 2021. Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger. Prosecutors in New Mexico brought in the gun’s manufacturer and a representative of the seller, both of whom testified that the weapon was not capable of firing on its own.
The defense also accused prosecutors of “hiding” the ball after a box of ammunition was turned over following the trial of “Rust” gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. View more highlights of the process.
Young content creators drive Project 2025’s message
Project 2025 has received a lot of attention in recent weeks, with celebrities and politicians calling attention to the political platform. Biden has told people to “Google Project 2025,” while Trump has distanced himself from the project, saying he knows nothing about it. (In fact, many of Trump’s key allies have been directly involved. More about this here.)
What exactly is Project 2025? In short, the proposed platform is a 900-page playbook of conservative policies, like severely restricting access to abortion, halting all climate change initiatives, abolishing the Department of Education, and more. Supporters of the plan have praised it as a guide to less government oversight, and others have criticized it as an authoritarian takeover of America.
Although Project 2025 has only recently gained momentum, young content creators on social media are already leading the way, many of whom have taken apart pieces of the plan and whether they like it or notThat involvement could play a role in what could be a close election.
There may be only one American who knows exactly how 16-year-old Quincy Wilson feels as a boy sprinting on the biggest stage in track and field in Paris. Her name is Esther Stroy Harper, who was just 15 when she ran the 400 meters for the U.S. in Mexico City in 1968.
Wilson was selected to the U.S. track and field team as a potential relay candidate for the 4×400 meters, becoming the youngest man ever to be selected to the team after placing sixth in the 400 meters at the Olympic qualifying trials in Oregon last month.
So what is Stroy Harper’s advice to Wilson From her position at 70? It’s simple: ignore everyone but your coach and don’t get distracted. “Stick to your plan, listen to your coach and run the race you know you can run,” she said.
Politics in brief
Trump’s hush money case: Trump has asked a state court judge to overturn his conviction in New Yorkreferring to the Supreme Court’s recent immunity decision, which establishes when a former president should be protected from prosecution.
Do you want more political news? Sign up for From the Politics Desk and receive exclusive reports and analysis in your inbox every weekday evening. Sign up here.
Staff choice: He pretends to be a rich man on screen, but he struggles to make ends meet
We probably don’t write enough about people like Doug Sharp. In the midst of a strong economy, the part-time actor has difficulty finding full-time work and making ends meet. That’s why business reporter Rob Wile spoke with him for a new series we’ve launched, Checkbook Chronicles, in which we focus on people’s financial challenges in an effort to see the economy through their eyes. — Jason Abbruzzese, assistant editor-in-chief
In case you missed it
- Shelley Duvall, best known for her role in “The Shining”, died at the age of 75.
- The US and Germany foiled an alleged Russian plot to assassinate the CEO of a major German arms manufacturer that supplies weapons to Ukraine, sources said.
- One person has died in Vermont after flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl ravaged the state.
- The DVD rental service Redbox is set to close after 22 years in the business.
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Short on time but still want to follow a healthy diet? The editors at NBC Select tried popular prepared meal delivery services And meal packages to find out which ones are worth ordering.
Sign up for The Selection newsletter for practical product reviews, expert shopping tips and a roundup of each week’s best deals and sales.
Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was written for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.