Favorite emerges in race to be Trump’s running mate as Biden prepares for the most pivotal press conference of his career

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President Joe Biden is preparing for the most important news conference of his career this afternoon as he faces growing calls to withdraw.

A gaffe could spell the end for the 81-year-old presidential campaign as he answers questions from reporters at the White House.

Meanwhile, a new favorite has emerged in the betting odds for Donald Trump’s running mate.

Follow all the developments below on DailyMail.com’s US politics blog, with reporting from our reporters in Washington DC and elsewhere in the country.

New favorite in betting odds to become Trump’s running mate

Donald Trump is expected to announce his running mate next week at the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee.

There has been speculation for months about who will make the GOP ticket.

He has narrowed down his list of candidates to just a handful of party leaders.

But the odds in Las Vegas show one man has the edge.

Senator Marco Rubio was the slight favorite at +225 at BetOnline on Tuesday.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Ohio Senator JD Vance were each at +250.

But on Wednesday Burgum took the lead with odds of +150, while Vance was second choice with odds of +285.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump during a campaign event at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Trump injected reality TV-level drama into his Miami rally, repeatedly teasing but not announcing Rubio as his running mate, in an effort to draw maximum attention to his vice presidential selection. Photograph: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Biden’s strange response when asked about George Clooney’s stunning call to step back: “AFL-CIO. Go, go, go!”

President Joe Biden faced a barrage of questions about George Clooney’s stunning op-ed calling on him to resign during his meeting with new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday.

Biden’s response, when called upon in Congress to resign, was to say, “AFL-CIO. Go, go, go!” His reaction suggests he has more confidence in the powerful labor union, which released a statement saying it stood “strongly in solidarity” with him on July 3 following his debate debacle.

The cacophony in the White House came as reporters got their first chance to ask Biden about the Hollywood star’s call to drop out of the race — just weeks after helping him raise nearly $30 million at an LA fundraiser.

He will undoubtedly face even more questions on the issue when he holds what the White House has dubbed a “major press conference” during the NATO summit he has hosted in Washington on Thursday.

“Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024,” Clooney said wrote in his shocking op-ed in the New York Times.

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ABC’s brutal ultimatum to George Stephanopoulos after his scathing verdict on Joe Biden — as network plunged into ‘full-blown crisis’

George Stephanopoulos was reportedly threatened with a deferment if he did not clarify his position on Joe Biden’s ability to serve another four years.

The ABC host gave his unvarnished opinion on the president’s performance in a brief interview after he was ambushed on Tuesday.

The former adviser to Bill Clinton was asked on a street in Manhattan whether Biden should resign and replied: “I don’t think he can serve another four years.”

Biden’s interview with the former White House spokesman on Friday followed a disastrous debate performance on June 27.

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