Today in one sentence: Trump claims he has nothing to do with Project 2025 – the plan developed by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation to transform the American government – despite the fact that at least 140 people from his administration were involved in putting together the 900-page playbook, including six Cabinet members and four of his ambassadors; Trump will meet with Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister and autocrat, at Mar-a-Lago; the Senate Judiciary Committee will conduct a review of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling; inflation eased to 3% in June; at least 16 House Democrats and one Democratic senator have publicly called Biden to drop out of the 2024 race "for the good of the country"; there is growing concern among many Democrats that Biden will not only lose to Trump, but perform so poorly that he drags down the party’s ticket and threatens their ability to reclaim the House majority and hold onto the Senate; the Biden campaign has reportedly started testing Kamala Harris’s strength against Trump in a head-to-head survey of voters; 67% of Americans say Biden should end his reelection campaign “given his performance in the debate"; and 49% of Americans would prefer Kamala Harris to Trump (46%) if she were to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee.

1/ Trump claims he has nothing to do with Project 2025 – the plan developed by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation to transform the American government – despite the fact that at least 140 people from his administration were involved in putting together the 900-page playbook, including six Cabinet members and four of his ambassadors. The first 20 pages of the document were written by his first deputy chief of staff, Rick Dearborn; more than half of the authors, editors, and contributors to the playbook were Trump administration staffer; dozens more Project 2025 advisers staffed Trump’s government, including Mark Meadows and Stephen Miller. In total, nearly 240 people have ties to both Trump and Project 2025. Nevertheless, Trump claimed: “I have no idea who is behind it.” Meanwhile, a group of self-described “gay furry hackers” took credit for hacking into the Heritage Foundation, gaining access to the names, passwords, email addresses, and “other juicy info” from “every user” of the database, including Heritage President Kevin Roberts. Following the breach, Heritage Executive Director Mike Howell threatened the gay furry hacktivists via text message: “Are you aware that you won’t be able to wear a furry tiger costume when you’re getting pounded in the ass in the federal prison I put you in next year? Please share widely.” A member of the group who identified themselves as “vio” responded: “meow :3” (CNN / The New Republic)

  • A Guide to Project 2025, the Right’s Terrifying Plan to Remake America. (Rolling Stone)

2/ Trump will meet with Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister and autocrat, at Mar-a-Lago. Last week, Orbán met with Putin in Moscow. While Trump and Putin had professed a fondness for one another during his first term, Orbán has since sought close ties to Trump, expressing a belief that a new Trump presidency was the “only serious chance” for an end to the war in Ukraine. Trump, meanwhile, has continued to repeatedly claim he’ll end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours” if he’s elected president again – a claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s United Nations ambassador have disputed. (Time / ABC News / New York Times / Politico / Bloomberg / The Guardian)

3/ The Senate Judiciary Committee will conduct a review of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, arguing that “Congress cannot turn a blind eye to it.” The meeting, however, won’t happen until September. Nevertheless, Dick Durbin said the hearing will consider “the immediate legal and policy ramifications” of the Supreme Court’s decision to grant Trump immunity for “official acts” he took as president. (NBC News / HuffPost / The New Republic)

4/ Inflation eased to 3% in June, down from 3.3% in May, and down from the 9.1% peak in June 2022. “Core” inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, climbed 0.1% from May to June – the slowest monthly growth since January 2021. Gasoline prices, meanwhile, fell 3.8% and used vehicles 1.5%. The June inflation report bolsters the case for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its mid-September meeting. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / Axios / New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News)

5/ At least 16 House Democrats and one Democratic senator have publicly called Biden to drop out of the 2024 race “for the good of the country.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has also privately signaled to donors that he’s open to the idea of replacing Biden if it proves to be the most politically advantageous for Democrats. One Democratic senator said the Biden campaign needs to provide “convincing evidence that they can turn this thing around” and have a viable path to victory. In addition, more than two dozen current and former Democratic officials, donors, and allies have privately blamed Biden’s inner circle of advisers and family for shielding him from public view in what they described as a choreographed daily operation designed to prevent Biden from being in unscripted settings for extended periods of time. “There’s this general sense of just, unbelievable holding your breath every time he does an event, every time he’s with people,” one top Democrat close to Biden’s inner circle of advisers said. They added that some of those advisers have privately acknowledged: “This is going to get worse.” (New York Times / Associated Press / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / NBC News / CNN)

  • The Democrats calling on Biden to drop out of the 2024 election. (Washington Post)

6/ There is growing concern among many Democrats that Biden will not only lose to Trump, but perform so poorly that he drags down the party’s ticket and threatens their ability to reclaim the House majority and hold onto the Senate. “He needs to drop out,” one Biden campaign official said. “He will never recover from this.” A second official working to elect him added: “No one involved in the effort thinks he has a path.” Nevertheless, the Biden campaign argued that Biden can win in 2024 by focusing on the “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. (NBC News / Washington Post / ABC News)

7/ The Biden campaign has reportedly started testing Kamala Harris’s strength against Trump in a head-to-head survey of voters. While it’s unclear what the campaign plans to do with the results, in a memo to staffers, officials acknowledged “real” movement away from Biden among voters since the debate, but suggested that it doesn’t constitute “a sea-change in the state of the race.” Separately, a group of longtime Biden allies and advisers in both the administration and the campaign are working on ways to persuade him to end his reelection campaign. The group said they have to make the case that he cannot win against Trump and that another candidate, like Kamala Harris, could beat the presumptive Republican nominee. Further, they have to assure Biden that the process to choose another candidate would be orderly, should he step aside. The White House, however, denied the report as “unequivocally, this is not true.” (New York Times / Bloomberg / New York Times / ABC News)

poll/ 67% of Americans say Biden should end his reelection campaign “given his performance in the debate.” Among Democrats, 56% say Biden should step aside and “let someone else run.” Among those who say they’ll vote for Biden in November, 81% say he is too old for another term. Overall, 85% say Biden is too old for a second term and 60% say the same of Trump. (Washington Post)

poll/ 49% of Americans would prefer Kamala Harris to Trump (46%) if she were to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee. If the election were today, voters prefer Biden (46%) to Trump (47%). (ABC News)

⏭️ Notably Next: Biden will answer questions from the press during a solo, unscripted NATO news conference. At least a half-dozen House Democrats are reportedly prepared to publicly break with Biden if he has another “bad night.” The news conference is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday. (Politico / New York Times / The Guardian / NPR)

✏️ Notables.

  1. C’mon, Man. “Does Joe Biden really understand the stakes?” (The Atlantic)

  2. What Will Biden’s Enablers Say if He Loses the Election? “The president is currently surrounded by yes-men. How will they defend their actions in the event of the unthinkable?” (The New Republic)

  3. Democrats turn to their deputy leader. “Even if Kamala Harris remains Joe Biden’s running mate and does not become the nominee, Democrats are realizing they need to improve her image.” (The Atlantic)

  4. The Problem With Coronating Kamala Harris. The No. 2 spot has never been a guarantee of a promotion. (The Atlantic)

  5. Trump’s Lead Just Got Scarier—but This Dem Still Sees a Path for Biden. “With President Biden adamantly insisting he isn’t stepping aside, top ally and former White House chief of staff Ron Klain makes an expansive case for how Biden can still beat Donald Trump this fall.” (The New Republic)

  6. Donald Trump’s New Strategy: Act Normal. “With the opposition in disarray, Trump and his campaign have begun exhibiting unusual restraint in hopes of expanding his support.” (The Nation)

  7. Trump rips Clooney over op-ed urging Biden to drop reelection bid. “Trump went after George Clooney on Wednesday evening after the actor wrote an op-ed pushing for President Biden to leave the White House race.” (The Hill)

  8. Conservatives See a Conspiracy Around Joe Biden’s Stumbles. “The right has become obsessed with the media after the president’s bad debate.” (Politico)

  9. Republicans: No Fair Nominating Somebody Else! “Pushing Biden to quit is another deep-state coup against Trump.” (New York Magazine)

  10. Trump is planning for a landslide win. “And his campaign is all but praying Joe Biden doesn’t drop out.” (The Atlantic)

  11. The Democrats Are Slow-Walking Into Fascism. “Is doubling down on a candidate who is almost certainly going to lose really the best the left can do?” (The Nation)

  12. Donald Trump is unfit to lead. “Mr. Trump has shown a character unworthy of the responsibilities of the presidency. He has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people. Instead of a cogent vision for the country’s future, Mr. Trump is animated by a thirst for political power: to use the levers of government to advance his interests, satisfy his impulses and exact retribution against those who he thinks have wronged him. He is, quite simply, unfit to lead.” (New York Times / Politico / The Hill)

  • 📅 The WTFJHT Calendar: Now until then.

  • 🛠️ July 15-18: WTFJHT Infrastructure Week (limited publishing)
    📺 July 15: Biden interview with Lester Holt on NBC.
    🐘 July 15: Republican National Convention.
    🇮🇱 July 24: Netanyahu addresses joint session of Congress.
    🫏 Aug. 19: Democratic convention.
    ⛔️ Sept. 2: Labor Day – No WTFJHT.
    📺 Sept. 10: Biden-Trump debate.
    ⚖️ Sept. 18: Trump is sentenced.
    📆 Oct. 6: Last day to register to vote in some states.
    ⛔️ Oct. 14: Indigenous Peoples’ Day – No WTFJHT.
    🗳️ Nov. 5: Presidential Election.

Last year today: Day 903: "Racism bad."
Two years ago today: Day 538: "Out of control."
Five years ago today: Day 903: Collateral damage.
Six years ago today: Day 538: Tremendous relationships.