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President Joe Biden was defiant during a rare news conference ... fighting back at critics who are calling for him to drop out of the race.

POTUS is trying to show voters he's still got the mental chops to beat Donald Trump and carry out the duties of president for another term ... and while he made a few trademark flubs -- like saying "Vice President Trump" in referring to Kamala Harris -- he was confident in his ability to win another election, and pushed back on narratives about his mental fitness.

Biden called his debate disaster a "stupid mistake" ... saying he was off his game because he traveled all over creation in the weeks before ... including from Italy to L.A. to go to the fundraiser with George Clooney. He said he won't make that mistake again.

President Biden couldn't possibly have a worse start to the NATO event -- he just screwed the pooch while introducing Ukraine's President ... in a moment where his mental acuity is under the microscope.

POTUS was introducing President Zelensky in Washington, D.C. when he flubbed and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin." Folks in the room had already started applauding, and continued right through the screw-up, which gave Biden time to recover.

President Biden quickly said, "President Putin? He's gonna beat Putin! President Zelensky!"

Sen. Joe Manchin says George Clooney pulling support for President Biden's reelection bid is a huge deal ... and he's strongly suggesting Clooney could trigger a change.

The Senator from West Virginia was on the Hill Thursday, when a photog asked about George's damning Biden op-ed in The New York Times ... something he says is critical, because of the source.

Manchin, a Democrat, called George's letter "very telling" and "very serious."

President Biden's campaign funding might slow to a trickle if he stays in the race ... at least according to a 6-figure donor who says democratic supporters are analyzing poll numbers and reacting.

Whitney Tilson's an author and investment expert who gives at least $100k a year to the Dems, but Thursday on "TMZ Live" he told us more and more donkey party donors are revolting -- over the president staying in the race -- the best way possible ... by closing their checkbooks.

Tilson explains donors aren't panicking because of the polls, but instead, they're making cold, calculated decisions based on concrete data -- numbers that show there's a low probability Biden's gonna win in November.

ABC brass did NOT threaten to take "Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos off the air if he didn't apologize for taking a dig at President Biden's political future ... TMZ has learned.

Our network sources tell us George's ABC bosses never once threatened he would be stripped of airtime for telling a man on an NYC sidewalk he didn't think Biden could serve another term.

There is a report out claiming ABC threatened to bench the 'GMA' anchor if he didn't apologize for the Biden remark. Our network sources tell us George's conversations with network honchos never reached the point of threats about airtime.

Joe Biden's got at least one cheerleader in Joy Behar ... who took a swipe at George Clooney for joining the chorus of stars urging the President to bow out of the 2024 race.

Speaking on "The View," Joy vented, "George Clooney wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times claiming that after he saw Biden's condition at the recent fundraiser, he doesn't think he's up for the gig. George Clooney? Couldn't he tell him that in person, for God's sake?"

Behar didn't hold back ... calling out GC for not mentioning in his op-ed any of Biden's solid achievements, like his economic track record.

Barack Obama was notified beforehand George Clooney's shocking op-ed was going to be published in the New York Times, encouraging Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, according to a new report.

Sources told Politico ... Clooney phoned the ex-prez to let him know the piece was going to appear in the NYT -- and Obama didn't try to stop it.

In fact, Obama reportedly didn't take a position at all, meaning he wasn't for or against it.

Donald Trump says he's no fan of George Clooney's politics or movies – but he's totally down with the Hollywood actor's TV work.

Trump took to Truth Social Wednesday night and initially blasted Clooney for his New York Times op-ed in which he encouraged Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

According to Clooney, Joe -- the presumptive Democratic nominee -- can't beat Trump because his mental acuity has plunged and he needs to step aside to save democracy.

The gloves are off between George Clooney and President Biden -- folks involved with the campaign are firing back at Clooney over the Hollywood fundraiser the actor co-hosted ... saying he was anything but accommodating to POTUS.

As you know, Clooney fired the first shot with his NYT op-ed Wednesday, saying Biden can't win the election and called for him to drop out of the race. In the letter, Clooney referenced last month's record-breaking fundraiser, saying ... "The Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe 'big F-ing deal' Biden of 2010. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

Now ... a source connected to the Biden campaign, who is deeply familiar with the planning that went into the Hollywood fundraiser, is dismissing Clooney's critique and pointing the finger squarely at him.

D.L. Hughley is going scorched earth on George Clooney for calling on President Biden to drop out of the presidential race ... and he says Democrats are missing the big picture.

The comedian joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and ripped into George and his fellow Dems for asking for Biden to make way for a different candidate to run against Donald Trump.

D.L. says the whole tone of George's NYT op-ed letter calling on Biden to step down is "insulting" ... and he finds it alarming Clooney never mentioned Project 2025, a series of proposals D.L. warns will do serious damage to Americans, especially minorities.

10:35 AM PT -- Michael Douglas is seconding the motion put forward by George Clooney ... he was on "The View" Wednesday when he said George is making a "valid point."

MD added, he's "deeply, deeply concerned" -- not so much about "today or tomorrow, but a year down the line ... I worry." He also called out Biden's team for not preparing him better for the debate.

Worth noting, during the convo, Whoopi Goldberg makes it clear she's still riding with Biden ... for now.

Barron Trump made a surprise appearance at his father's campaign rally in Florida Tuesday night, and he quickly became the crowd favorite ... even briefly overshadowing The Donald.

18-year-old Barron was sitting in the front row near the stage where Donald was giving a speech to the packed audience at his Doral golf course in Miami as he seeks a second term as president of the United States.

Donald  -- standing at a podium with a mic -- introduced Barron and told him to stand up, which he did.

6:28 PM PT -- George Stephanopoulos tells TMZ in a statement from his rep, "Earlier today, I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn't have." An ABC spokesperson tells TMZ, "George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News."

George Stephanopoulos just made a stunning comment on the streets of New York ... telling a pedestrian he doesn't think President Joe Biden can serve another term.

The 'GMA' anchor was out and about Tuesday afternoon on 5th Avenue, wearing workout clothes, when the pedestrian approached him and asked, "Do you think Biden should step down? You've talked to him more than anybody else has lately." George's response -- "I DON'T THINK HE CAN SERVE 4 MORE YEARS."

United States Marshals guarding Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's Washington D.C. residence shot a suspected carjacker ... and the feds say the suspect was packing heat.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds say the shooting went down early Friday morning around 1:15 AM when the alleged suspect, 18-year-old Kentrell Flowers, approached one of the Marshals parked in an unmarked government vehicle and pointed a handgun at him through the front driver-side window in an attempted carjacking.

The docs say the Marshal drew his gun and fired four shots through the window at the suspect, with bullets hitting Flowers in the mouth. A second Marshal rushed over from another car and fired his gun too and one of the Marshals gave Flowers first aid.

President Joe Biden said the only one who could change his mind on running for re-election is The Lord Almighty ... well multiple Lords Almighty have spoken ... with the help of Jon Stewart, and the news isn't good.

"The Daily Show" host hilariously spoofed Biden's Biblical challenge with Gods of all shapes and sizes. There's the traditional God with the white beard, then there's Jesus, then Black Jesus and the most hilarious ... Ozempic Buddha!

They're message is pretty clear -- quoting from their New York Times Best Seller, The Bible -- "To everything there is a season ... turn, turn, turn."

The Democratic National Committee is taking shots at Donald Trump for working with Fyre Festival honcho Billy McFarland, saying convicted felons flock together.

Here's the deal ... Rolling Stone reports Billy is helping connect Trump with different rappers to boost his campaign and "court Black voters."

Billy, of course, is famous for his failed Fyre Fest a couple years back in the Bahamas -- a disaster that landed him behind bars for wire fraud and sparked a couple documentaries about the festival.