President Biden To Meet Union Leaders As Doubts Persist Over Candidacy

11:00 ET 16:00 BST: US President Joe Biden will "drop by" a meeting of national union leaders at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C. Considering persistent doubts over the viability of his re-election bid, maintaining the full-throated support of organised labour is likely critical to his campaign.

• During a Monday call to MSNBC, to get ahead of a potential revolt of Democrat lawmakers, Biden cast a binary between "average voters" who he claimed supported his candidacy and "elites" and punditswho opposed it.
• As it stands, Biden still has union support. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement on July 3: "The stakes of the 2024 presidential election couldn’t be higher and no one understands this better than working people... President Biden and Vice President Harris have always had workers’ backs—and we will have theirs."
• AP notes: "A person who has been involved in past executive council meetings described them as largely informal and unscripted, a sign that Biden will not be able to rely on a prepared text as he seeks to solidify support among a group of union leaders who are both loyal to his administration and pragmatic."
• Biden was delivered a major blow this morning when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), arguably the most powerful Congressional Democrat, declined to endorse Biden's candidacy, saying, “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,” - a significant remark considering Biden has repeatedly declared he is running.