🧱 Axios PM: Walls close in

Plus: WNBA's jackpot | Thursday, July 18, 2024

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Jul 18, 2024 Good afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 567 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.     1 big thing: Walls close in on Biden   Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images   Just about every powerful Democrat who isn't President Biden or Vice President Harris has expressed serious reservations about Biden's candidacy — making an end to that candidacy seem more likely by the day. Former President Obama has told allies that Biden's path to victory is small and he should consider dropping out, The Washington Post reported. Rep. Nancy Pelosi privately told Biden she's pessimistic about his chances, and she challenged him when he claimed to have seen polling that showed otherwise. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also told Biden to consider ending his campaign. 💥 That's pretty much everyone Biden listens to in politics, outside his family and the increasingly tight circle of his closest advisers. Privately, Biden is resigned to mounting pressure, bad polls and untenable scrutiny, making it impossible to continue his campaign, as Jim VandeHei and I reported earlier today. Several top Democrats tell Axios they now expect Biden to drop out, perhaps as soon as this weekend. 🛑 Yes, but: A senior Biden aide told us: "In recent days, the president has become more committed to staying in the race." At a counter-programming event outside the GOP convention in Milwaukee, deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters that Biden "is not wavering on anything. The president has made his decision." Go deeper: Top Dems now believe Biden will exit     2. 🏀 WNBA set to land huge media deal   Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever drives to the basket against the Dallas Wings yesterday. Photo: Cooper Neill/Getty Images 💰 The WNBA is circling a media deal that's expected to bring in around $200 million per year for the next 12 years — three times more than its current deal, Axios Pro's Tim Baysinger reports. That's just the revenue from three partners: Disney, Amazon and Comcast. But the league may cut one or two additional side deals for about another $60 million per year. 📺 By the numbers: 15 WNBA games this season have averaged at least 1 million viewers. Before this season, the league hasn't had a game average 1 million viewers since the opening night of 2008. 13 of the 15 were Indiana Fever games. Go deeper ... Check out Axios Pro Media Deals     A message from PhRMA Middlemen make money, not medicines     Over half of every dollar spent on medicines goes to middlemen, like PBMs, insurers and big pharmacies, along with others. They control what medicines you can get and what you pay at the pharmacy. Middlemen are driving medicine costs, and you don't know the half of it.     3. Catch me up   Former President Trump receives a standing ovation as he arrives yesterday for the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention. Photo: Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images 🎤 Former President Trump is scheduled to speak at 10 p.m. ET tonight to formally accept the GOP's nomination for president. How to watch ... Speaker lineup. 📱 The man who tried to assassinate Trump had photos on his phone of Trump, Biden and other officials, including Attorney General Merrick Garland. He had searched for the dates of the Democratic convention in addition to Trump's public appearances, AP reports. 🇺🇦 Ukraine is hoping to deploy a fleet of AI-powered drones to counteract Russian signal-jamming and make more efficient use of other weapons, Reuters reports. 🗳️ If Biden does drop out, it's highly unlikely anyone could seriously challenge Harris to take his spot at the top of the ticket. Go deeper. 🕯️Comedian and actor Bob Newhart has died at age 94. Go deeper.     4. 📸 1,000 words   Photo: Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images Above: Part of the rocket for NASA's Artemis II mission is wheeled down the road Tuesday at an assembly facility in New Orleans. 🚀 This rocket will launch the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years. It's part of NASA's effort to establish a human presence on the Moon, which would become a waypoint on the journey to Mars. The launch is planned for next year. The Artemis II rocket core stage is wheeled out at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Photo: Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images     A message from PhRMA Middlemen make money, not medicines     Over half of every dollar spent on medicines goes to middlemen, like PBMs, insurers and big pharmacies, along with others. They control what medicines you can get and what you pay at the pharmacy. Middlemen are driving medicine costs, and you don't know the half of it.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Advertise with us. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. 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