ANOTHER Democrat publicly calls for Biden, 81, to drop out and reveals his replacement... as White House erupts in chaos over Parkinson's expert visits

Democratic Rep. Adam Smith has publicly called on President Joe Biden to step aside from the presidential race, and believes Kamala Harris is a 'stronger candidate'.

'I think it's become clear that he's (Biden) not the best person to carry the Democratic message' he told CNN's Jake Tapper.

Smith was on a private call over the weekend with colleagues who said Biden needed to drop out.

But now he has become the highest-ranking member of his party to go public with his calls for the embattled president, 81, to be replaced.

Smith then released a statement through is Congressional website. Read it in full below:

Biden should end his candidacy for a second term as President and release his delegates to the Democratic National Convention to enable the party to nominate a new candidate for President. This must happen as soon as possible to give the new ticket the maximum amount of time to make its case to the American people.

Any candidate for the highest office in our nation has a strong burden to bear. That candidate must be able to clearly, articulately, and strongly make his or her case to the American people. It is clear that President Biden is no longer able to meet this burden.

Donald Trump and MAGA extremism pose an existential threat to our nation, and we need to be in the strongest possible position to win in this election.

If President Biden runs, I will back him one hundred percent and without reservation. Elections are, after all, a choice. The President would still be, by a wide margin, the best candidate in the current field. He has done an outstanding job as President and our country will always owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for the job he has done. But no candidate is owed another term in office based solely on past performance. Every new term must be earned with the clear understanding of what that candidate will be capable of doing in the term to come.

If the President continues his campaign, it would be a mistake. He should step aside now so that we can find a new candidate that will put us in the strongest possible position to beat Donald Trump in November.

President Joe Biden, 81, pulled a Trump trick on Monday, dialing into a sympathetic TV show to defend himself amid calls to step aside and to dare critics to run against him at his party's convention next month.

He laughed off suggestions that he be tested to explain his stumbling debate performance and insisted he was not going to drop out of the election.

Instead he listed his administration's achievements and painted his critics as an out-of-touch elite as he fights for his political life.

And he chuckled when Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski asked whether he had been tested for pre-Parkinson's or other diseases that might explain why he had been unable to finish sentence in his debate showdown with Donald Trump.

'I had before. I was feeling so badly before the debate,' he said. 'When I came back, they tested me before. I thought maybe I had COVID. Maybe there was something wrong ... I had an infection or something.

Biden, 81, dials into TV show to defend himself

Biden, 81, pulled a Trump trick on Monday, dialing into a sympathetic TV show to defend himself amid calls to step aside and to dare critics to run against him at his party's convention next month.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is standing with President Biden even as elected Democrats line up to raise public doubts about whether he can win.

‘Yes I made clear the day after the debate publicly that I support President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket. My position has not changed,’ Jeffries said, Punchbowl News reported.

That comes after pundits following Biden’s disastrous debate performance called for top party leaders including Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi to urge Biden to withdraw from the race.

Biden has been rallying allies and getting statements of support from influential members of the Congressional Black Caucus including Rep. James C. Clyburn of South Carolina. On Monday Biden issued a letter pointing to his overwhelming primary win.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Trump reveals the real reason he thinks Biden won't drop out

Donald Trump thinks President Joe Biden won't step aside in November and that First Lady Jill Biden is having too much of a 'good time' in the White House to want to leave.

Donald Trump thinks President Joe Biden won't step aside in November because he has too much of an ego to end his reelection bid and that First Lady Jill Biden is having too much of a 'good time' in the White House to want to leave.

Amid rising calls from lawmakers, donors, strategists and members within the Democratic Party for Biden to withdraw from the race, the president has doubled-down that he won't drop out.

Now the former president is weighing-in on the future of his competitor's campaign and claiming he won't cave to the pressure to withdraw.

He told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday:

It looks to me like he may very well stay in. He's got an ego, and he doesn't want to quit. He doesn't want to do that… nobody wants to give that up in that way. He's going to feel badly about himself for a long time.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

The movement disorder doctor who visited the White House eight times in eight months is the neurologist who assesses President Joe Biden at his annual physicals.

White House Physician Kevin O'Connor claimed in a memo on Monday that Biden has not seen a neurologist, including Dr. Kevin Cannard, outside of his regularly scheduled physical exams.

Dr. O'Connor wrote:

Seeing patients at the White House is something Dr. Cannard has been doing for a dozen years.

Cannard is a specialist at Walter Reed Medical Center focused on movement disorders like Parkinson's disease, which some experts speculate could be a condition that explains Biden's shuffling and stuttered gait.

White House visitor logs revealed that Cannard visited the White House eight times in eight months from summer 2023 to spring 2024.

How many times Parkinson's expert visited Biden in EIGHT MONTHS

Amid the implosion of Joe Biden's campaign and worries over his public mental decline, it's now revealed a Parkinson's disease expert has been making frequent visits to the White House.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump said he will reveal his vice president pick at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin next week – or right beforehand.

The veepstakes were highly watched before the debate on June 27 but have since been overshadowed by calls from Democrats for Joe Biden to step aside. Trump said weeks ago that he already made up his mind on who will run with him on the GOP ticket in November.

Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday, Trump said:

I'd love to do it during the convention... Probably a little before the convention, but not much. It could even be during the convention that we're doing. I'd love to do it during the convention. I think would be a very interesting build up and important for the convention. Would make it even more exciting if we did it in Milwaukee.

Trump said the most important thing is choosing someone that would make a good president.

Those reportedly in the final consideration for Trump's VP are Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. marco Rubio (R-Fla.). There are a handful of others speculated to be on the short list.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

President Joe Biden is joining a virtual meeting with members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus on Monday evening.

He will discuss on the call the 2024 election and his future as the Democratic nominee.

According to the Biden-Harris reelection campaign:

President Biden will deliver remarks and answer questions from CBC members.

It comes as many claim Biden's sway with black voters could be his ticket to remaining a viable candidate in November amid calls within the Democratic Party for him to step aside.

CBC Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) released a statement on Monday backing Biden.

Progressive Squad leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez broke her silence on whether Joe Biden should run again in 2024.

After Biden's disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27, questions have swirled over the 81-year-old's physical and mental health - and whether he should withdraw from the race.

So far, only a small cohort of Democrat lawmakers have called on the president to withdraw from the race while many more have thrown their support behind Biden.

The Squad leader confirmed Monday she is on board with the president's leadership.

'I have spoken with [Biden] extensively,' AOC revealed. 'The matter is closed. Joe Biden is our nominee.'

AOC breaks her silence on whether she backs Joe Biden

Progressive Squad leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez broke her silence on whether Joe Biden should run again in 2024.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said Monday President Biden will do what’s ‘right for the country,’ without specifying exactly what that is.

‘Joe Biden has given nobody any reason to doubt that he’s going to put country first,’ said Kaine, who will be on the ballot himself in November.

‘This is Joe Biden. He does what’s right for the country. He’s going to do what’s right for the country,’ he told reporters amid push and pull for the president to step back amid low poll numbers and a disaster debate performance.

Asked by DailyMail.com if his state was in play and why, he responded, ‘I feel very, very good about what I’m seeing in the polls in Virginia, but obviously this changes it. We’ll check it out. It’s my 11th race in Virginia. I’ve won every one of them.

On a day when more elected leaders came out to urge Biden to stay or go, Kaine held back. ‘I’m not going to tell Joe Biden what the right decision for him is.’

But the former DNC chair and Hillary Clinton running mate didn’t rule out the mechanics being in place to find a new nominee if one is needed. ‘There’s a lot of time between now and the convention,’ he said.

By Emily Goodin, senior U.S. political reporter in Columbus, Georgia

Jill Biden, speaking to veterans and military families in Georgia, called Donald Trump 'evil.

'He's evil,' the first lady said, debuting a new line on the campaign trail.

'He didn't want to be seen with injured veterans because it didn't look good for him. It's disgraceful. But it's not surprising,' she said.

She repeated the story of how Donald Trump called soldiers 'losers' and 'suckers' – a story which Trump denies.

Jill Biden on Monday launched Veteran uhfd4jmcde6s and Military Families for Biden, campaigning in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

Jill Biden suggests she is NOT behind Joe's decision to stay in race

Jill Biden suggested she is not behind President Joe Biden's determination to stay in the 2024 presidential race as the couple goes on the offensive to keep the Democratic party in line.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet on Monday called for a ‘conversation’ about whether President Biden could win reelection – and asked pointed questions about whether he could harm Democrats down-ballot.

‘We need candidates at every level of this campaign who are campaigning with the vigor that it’s going to require to beat Donald Trump,’ Bennet told DailyMail.com in the Senate as lawmakers openly mused whether the party was better off with or without Biden as their standard bearer.

‘The way he’s going to be able to convince voters that this was a one off, that it was a bad night, is to be able to go out there and to campaign and to take on Donald Trump to defend the values that we all care about and that he cares about,’ he told reporters, referencing Biden’s disastrous debate performance.

‘We’ll have to see. I want him to succeed,’ said Bennet, who previously chaired his party's Senate campaign arm, while declining to state his view flat out. But he didn’t rule out the practicality of replacing him.

‘First of all I’m sure we could figure it out if we had to figure it out. That’s no one’s first choice … We have a moral obligation to the country to establish that we can win the presidency, that we can win the House, and that we can win the Senate. We have to do that. And we’re here today to have this conversation – or this week.’

A major Democratic donor has pulled his support from President Joe Biden and said it would be a ‘disaster’ if he stays in the race.

Stewart Bainum Jr., the chairman of Choice Hotels, told CNBC on Monday that it is time for the 81-year-old president to ‘pass the baton’.

He confirmed that he will help the Democratic nominee ‘whoever that is’ after the convention, but won’t do it before.

Bainum, who is estimated to have an $85million net worth, joins wealthy backers who are skeptical of Biden’s chances of beating Donald Trump in November, following his disastrous debate performance 10 days ago.

He held a fundraiser for Biden in Maryland last year, and he and wife Sandy have already donated $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund.

He told CNBC.

It’s now best for the country and the world for him to pass the baton. It’s going to be a disaster for the country for him to stay in the race.

We’ll help the nominee- whoever that is- after the convention. We won’t do it before the convention.

We want to know who the nominee is. We think there should be an open convention and the delegates can decide.’