GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

Amna Nawaz is away.

On the "News Hour" tonight: President Biden pushes back on congressional Democrats calling for him to step aside, telling them it's time for the speculation to end.

France faces potential political paralysis, as no party wins a majority in a second round of elections.

And nearly a year after Hawaii's deadly and devastating wildfires, many Maui residents face persistent health issues ALIKA MAUNAKEA, University of Hawaii: We already knew populations that experience health disparities would be more vulnerable to these disasters.

And the trauma that follows just further widens inequities.

(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

President Biden is facing growing calls from a handful of House Democrats to step aside as the party's presidential nominee.

Earlier today, in a rare cable news program call-in, the president addressed his critics and maintained that he was still the best person for the job.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: I am getting so frustrated by the elites.

Now, I'm not talking about you guys, but about the elites in the party, who -- they know so much more.

But if any of these guys don't think I should run, run against me.

Go ahead.

Announce for president.

Challenge me at the convention.

GEOFF BENNETT: Our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins, and our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, join us now.

So, Laura, President Biden is unwavering.

He says he's not exiting this race.

Give us a sense of what more he's saying and the White House strategy here to calm nervous Democrats.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: President Biden's message right now, Geoff, is that he's not going anywhere.

And he sent a letter to congressional Democrats today in which he said -- quote -- "The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now.

It's time for it to end.

Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Donald Trump and hurts us."

And what President Biden is saying publicly is also what campaign aides are saying privately to donors, to Democratic lawmakers, to Democratic Party officials across the board.

And that's essentially that he was the only one that has shown that he has beaten Donald Trump in the past, that the debate was one bad night, that that isn't the way he is across the board, and that he is strong enough to run this campaign.

Campaign officials have been making calls to individual donors, to lawmakers.

President Biden himself was on a call today with donors in which he also said that they can't waste any more time being distracted, that this needs to end.

He's going to speak tonight virtually with Congressional Black Caucus lawmakers.

And the campaign is pointing to a recent Bloomberg poll essentially saying that, look, that poll shows that President Biden is up in states like Wisconsin and Michigan and that their internal polling shows similar, and that, ultimately, they say the debate hasn't had an impact on where the state of the race is.

Now, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced a number of tough questions today in the press briefing.

She was asked about the president's mental and physical fitness to do the job, to carry out the job.

And she said that he has been seen three times over the course of his presidency by a neurologist.

She was asked about visits over the course of eight months in the last year by a Parkinson's specialist.

And she essentially said that the president is -- has never been treated for Parkinson's, is not currently being treated for Parkinson's, and that he's not taking any Parkinson's medication.

So that is their full-court press against the backlash to the debate right now.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Lisa, are the efforts that Laura outlined, the Friday ABC interview, the president's barnstorming yesterday in Pennsylvania, his call into "Morning Joe" today, is any of this changing the minds of those House Democrats?

LISA DESJARDINS: No, it is not.

They see these events as on friendly terms and not really as challenging as the debate.

They want to see him kind of extend himself more.

They want to be able to get a better picture of exactly how he operates in challenging situations.

Let me go over where things stand here.

Now, we know of nine House members who have called either publicly or among leadership for President Biden to step aside.

And among those in that top row are four ranking members of committees, including Adam Smith of the House Armed Services Committee.

But there was more news today from the Senate.

Speaking to senators themselves and to senior staff, chiefs of staff over there, I can say that there are right now very few Democratic senators who believe Biden should stay in as nominee.

However, there is a lot of conversation and debate in a senatorial way of what to do about it.

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, who had wanted a White House meeting today initially, is now approaching this in a more nuanced way.

His colleagues felt that was not the best approach.

So, instead, they're sort of drawing together, speaking to the White House more in private about their concerns.

Those are things that I think help the president, that they're not being so openly confrontational.

But as opposed to the White House polls that Laura's hearing about, I'm hearing from Democrats about internal polls saying things are not looking good in New Mexico, not in Minnesota, not in Virginia.

They're concerned about those things.

They're not just concerned about losing the White House here, Geoff, but also about the House and Senate, the idea of a Republican takeover of all of government with the favorable Supreme Court.

One senator who is not prone to throwing bombs or having flourishes told me this astounding quote.

That senator said they all campaign, and in this case, everyone can see when a campaign is sort of falling behind, is just kind of in a death spiral.

GEOFF BENNETT: Laura, there is another candidate in this race who has not gotten much attention over these last two weeks, and that's Donald Trump.

He is trying to distance himself from this Project 2025, which you have told us about before, just as Democrats are doing more to try to link him to it.

This is a controversial governance plan if he is elected.

Tell us more about what's happening here.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's right.

Former President Donald Trump is essentially saying that he knows nothing about Project 2025, that he doesn't know who's behind it.

But, Geoff, multiple authors of Project 2025 worked in Donald Trump's White House, and they're expected to potentially work in a second Donald Trump White House if he were to win reelection.

This specifically, Project 2025, the blueprint about giving the presidency more power in a Republican White House, as well as gutting federal agencies, restricting abortion across the board, those are things that Biden's campaign really believes that is going to help President Biden strike that contrast.

They see that it's -- that voters are actually starting to take stock of it, that voters are paying more attention to this blueprint, that they do see it as being connected to former President Donald Trump, and so ultimately, you're going to see more from President Biden's campaign playing ads about this, as well as they think it's going to be the way to keep voters on President Biden's side, even in the aftermath of this debate.

GEOFF BENNETT: That is Laura Barron-Lopez and Lisa Desjardins.

Our thanks to you both.

We're going to get two perspectives now, two different perspectives from Democratic members of Congress, first from Congressman Adam Smith.

He's the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, who today called on President Biden to abandon his reelection efforts.

Congressman Smith joins us now.

Thanks for being with us.

So you say that President Biden should exit the race.

Why?

Does it have to do with his electoral chances or, in your view, his ability to do the job as president?

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): There's two - - the two most compelling reasons.

Number one, I don't believe the president is an effective messenger at this point.

And that's the shame of it.

We have a great message.

I think the president's done a good job the last four years.

When you look at where the economy was when he came in, he's managed that in a way that has put us in a better position than any other country in the world coming out of COVID.

He passed the infrastructure bill.

He passed the Inflation Reduction Act.

He has pulled together this coalition that has helped us stop Putin from taking over Ukraine.

But what we saw in the debate and what we have seen since then and also in some instances before that, he is not an effective messenger for that.

And he has health care concerns.

You saw that at the White House press conference today, where there were not clear answers given.

So I just think at, this point, there are other people that could deliver that message better.

And the stakes are so high.

And, yes, we are distracted.

But I know the White House has said, well, members need to stop talking about this.

We're not the ones bringing it up.

We were not there at the White House press - - press event today.

The media brought it up.

Our constituents have brought it up.

It's what people are talking about.

Yes, it is a distraction from talking about our message, from talking about Donald Trump.

But given President Biden's performance in the debate, what has happened since then, we can't do that.

I want the most effective messenger possible because the stakes could not be higher.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, in a letter that the president wrote to congressional Democrats today, he said: "The question of how to move forward has been well aired for over a week now and it's time for it to end."

So the question I have for you is, at this point, what are you planning to do?

The president says he's not stepping aside.

REP. ADAM SMITH: Yes, I'm planning to deliver the message.

And, look, I agree with you.

I think the president has dug in, and I think that's incredibly unfortunate.

But I just can't let that go.

It's too important, and that debate performance and what has happened since then made it too clear about his inability to be an effective messenger for this party.

And, look, I pointed this out earlier, but, four years ago, when President Biden ran, he didn't get off to a very good start in the primary campaigns.

He lost in Iowa, he lost in New Hampshire, he lost in Nevada, and then Bernie Sanders emerged as the top candidate.

And these same people who Biden is now dismissing as elites, which, by the way, are the Democratic Party, were worried about that.

So they threw their support behind Joe Biden and helped get other candidates out of the race.

You know, it's what the Democratic Party has done.

It's not personal.

It's not about Joe Biden.

It's about what's best for the party and best for the country.

This time, it is clear to me that what's best for the party and best for the country is to have a different candidate.

And I just -- I feel so strongly about that.

What's the honest answer to that question when people say, well, what did you think about the president's debate performance?

What do you think about the president's health?

What do you think about this interview where he didn't say it correctly?

That's what we're peppered with day in and day out, instead of being able to talk about the message that we want to talk about.

And that is not... REP. ADAM SMITH: ... fault.

GEOFF BENNETT: Forgive me.

If not President Biden as the nominee, then who?

Is it Vice President Kamala Harris or someone else?

REP. ADAM SMITH: Yes, my personal feeling, I think it should be Vice President Harris.

I think the last two years, in particular, she's been an outstanding messenger for this party, particularly on the most salient issue of those two years.

And that's reproductive health care for women.

She has been very strong in that regard.

And I -- that's who I would pick.

But, look, we have a couple dozen different, really effective, talented, experienced candidates all across the board.

The convention can make a different choice.

And I want to make one other point clear.

The president's not the nominee yet.

He's the presumptive nominee.

If we go through the convention and he's the nominee, look, I will support him.

He's clearly the best choice.

Elections are a choice.

He's a better choice than who's in the field.

I'm just worried that those limitations mean that he's not going to be good enough to beat Donald Trump.

GEOFF BENNETT: The president won 14 million votes in the primary.

It's often Democrats who accuse Republicans of trying to disenfranchise voters.

What's the argument for effectively throwing away the votes of 14 million people who have said, Joe Biden is our guy?

REP. ADAM SMITH: Two things about that.

Number one, Kamala Harris was running with him, OK?

Part of the reason that I will also pick Kamala Harris is because of that.

And it was set up.

If the president can't do the job of running this campaign, Kamala's right there, and she got those votes too, First of all.

Second of all, what if that debate had happened in November of last year, OK?

You can make a pretty powerful argument that, since all of those people voted, there has been a significant shift in the president's ability to run this campaign.

And that's why we have the option, the opportunity to pick a different choice.

And, look, I'm not trying to pressure the president into doing anything.

What I sincerely hope is that he and his advisers will do the same thing that all Democrats did four years ago and sit down and say, what's the best path forward?

It's not primarily about Joe Biden.

It's about the country.

It's about the party.

It's about the issues.

Look at it and ask yourself honestly, do we have a better chance to win in November with Joe Biden at the top of the ticket or Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket?

I think the question answers itself at this point.

And I think that is what I'm hoping that the way - - and I have spoken to them, by the way.

I didn't just do this out of the blue.

I spoke to them the day after the debate and several times since.

So, I just -- I want the right choice to be made for the sake of the country.

GEOFF BENNETT: What do you say to Democrats who view this entire thing as unhelpful, that if President Biden stays in the race, as he says he will, he will emerge from this damaged, one, by his own debate performance, but, two, by this open skepticism from Democrats like yourself, that there's more harm than good done by this, that he emerges, that the ticket emerges from this devalued?

REP. ADAM SMITH: I say two things about that.

First of all, this is out there.

We're not the ones bringing it up.

I have said this over and over again.

I said it earlier, OK?

It is out there.

It is being brought up.

The plan of let's just not address it and hope it goes away isn't working well.

And it's not because of us.

The people are asking about it.

These are the calls that are coming into my office.

We're not the ones who are bringing it up.

And, second, that is how strongly I feel about this issue.

Look, I had concerns.

I mean, the president was old when he got elected the first time.

He was older when he ran the second time.

And I had concerns.

He had alluded to the fact that he was a bridge.

He was going to run for one term.

And so I thought, yes, we should probably get a different candidate.

And, OK, he decided not to do that.

And I bought into that and said, OK, he's the nominee.

Let's try to support him as much as possible.

And I did.

Again, it is how strongly I feel about it.

The debate performance wasn't just a bad night.

It was catastrophic in the performance.

And it hasn't gotten a lot better since then.

So I hear you, OK?

It probably has a slight negative up front, but if it gets us the positive of a stronger nominee, I just feel so strongly about the fact that we have to try.

GEOFF BENNETT: That is Congressman Adam Smith of Washington.

Thank you so much for sharing your insights with us.

And now, for a different take, we turn to Congresswoman Madeleine Dean from the critical swing state of Pennsylvania.

She hit the campaign trail with the president over the weekend.

And she joins us now.

Congresswoman, thanks so much for being with us, and welcome to the "News Hour."

REP. MADELEINE DEAN: Pleased to be with you.

Thanks for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: I want to get you to respond to what we heard from your colleague Adam Smith, that President Biden is an ineffective messenger who should not have a place at the top of the ticket in this election.

REP. MADELEINE DEAN: Well, let me begin by saying how much I admire and respect Ranking Member Smith.

He has been such a critical guide to our caucus on Armed Services and so many other top issues.

So I just have complete respect for what he said, the way he's thought it through, and the communication he has done directly with the White House.

I just happen to be in a different place.

What I am is that I am unapologetically supportive of the president, his record, his decency, and his integrity.

And I, like Adam Smith, am very clear-eyed about the challenges in front of us.

So what I have been doing is talking to our leadership, talking to the administration, talking to the campaign itself.

But more importantly than all of that, I have been talking to my constituents.

So I'd be happy to tell you what my constituents say.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, before we get to that, in that same letter that the president wrote to congressional Democrats that I referenced earlier, he said that "Democrats have the record, the vision, and the fundamental Commitment to America's freedoms and our democracy to win."

In your view, does President Biden have the capacity to make that argument in a way that resonates with voters and win the election?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN: He's made that argument very, very effectively.

He's the only person who did defeat Donald Trump.

He did that four years ago.

So he has the right to say that, and he has the record to back it up.

GEOFF BENNETT: What do you say to Democrats who support President Biden, who like President Biden, but who think that he lost a step and that the debate revealed some real vulnerabilities that imperil his chances of winning the White House come November, and that, given the stakes, the existential stakes that so many Democrats see in this election, that now is the time to change course?

The convention's a month away.

Now's the time to do it.

REP. MADELEINE DEAN: Well, I will say to you that I have constituents who are calling me, texting me, writing me on both sides of this, some who say that President Biden must step aside, that the existential threat that is Donald Trump in a presidency we have seen in the past, which will only be catastrophically worse in the future, they believe he should step aside.

And I understand their arguments.

I also have those who have said, no, he's the guy who did beat Donald Trump.

We don't know that anybody else can.

And so I am counting on listening to my constituents and literally conveying this information directly to the administration and to the campaign, as well as to our leadership.

I will tell you, I think you know, I traveled with the president yesterday in Pennsylvania to a fantastic church in Mount Airy with a service that lifted us all right out of our seats.

And the president was well-spirited.

He worked from a notebook.

I know the teleprompter argument goes on.

He worked nicely from a notebook.

We also were together in front of folks who were organizers on the campaign side and labor, where the president spoke without any notes, and he was terrific.

He was just fine.

I was there to say, I'm a Pennsylvanian.

I'm lucky to serve my constituents.

And I'm lucky to stand on the record of all the dollars, investments we have brought into Pennsylvania as a result of the last three-and-a-half years, the legislation that we put forward, billions of dollars in private sector investment, more than that in public sector investment, a half-a-million new job start-ups, a half-a-million new small business start-ups.

So there's a great record there, but I want to be very realistic.

I am clear-eyed about the challenges ahead of us and more clear-eyed about that we must defeat Donald Trump.

And so I say to Democrats, independents, Republicans who agree that our republic is on the line.

Americans need to listen, see Joe Biden out there more,see him face-to-face with the American people and make their decision.

We have to defeat Donald Trump.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, Pennsylvania, as you well know, is a critical must-win state for President Biden.

And right now, four recent national polls have Donald Trump leading in Pennsylvania.

One poll, the Bloomberg poll, has him up by some seven points.

Do you believe that President Biden can win Pennsylvania in this election, and what's it going to take?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN: Well, that's exactly what I say when I'm saying clear-eyed.

I think all the data must be before us, before Pennsylvania's state party.

I have spoken to Governor Shapiro about that.

We have to take into consideration the very numbers you're talking about.

GEOFF BENNETT: How much longer can this go on, this circular firing squad among Democrats, all of this public hand-wringing about whether or not President Biden should remain at the top of the ticket?

How much longer can this go on?

And how much damage do you think this has done to him and to the ticket of President Biden and Vice President Harris?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN: How much longer it can go on, I don't have an answer for you.

I do know that we're at such a critical phase, and the election is 118 or 19 days away.

That will go by very, very quickly.

But I have a real confidence in this party.

I have a real confidence in Democrats.

As you know, we just got back in Washington.

We're voting in about 10 minutes.

It's an evening vote session.

And we will be in caucus tomorrow.

So I don't see, -- and I have to admit I didn't watch news all day, but I don't see exactly a circular firing squad.

I talked to my colleagues over the course of the last 10 days.

And to a person, they have been extraordinarily thoughtful, worried, clear-eyed, but extraordinarily thoughtful.

And I think we will see that tomorrow in caucus.

GEOFF BENNETT: There are fewer than 10 House Democrats who've come out publicly to say that President Biden should withdraw from the race.

Privately, how many Democrats would you say hold that same view?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN: I don't have that number at all.

GEOFF BENNETT: All right, that is Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania.

Thanks so much for joining us this evening, on an evening where you have votes.

We appreciate your time.

REP. MADELEINE DEAN: My pleasure.

Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: In the day's other headlines: Ukrainian officials say at least 31 people are dead and more than 150 others were injured after a barrage of Russian missiles hit several cities.

One strike partially destroyed a major children's hospital in the capital city of Kyiv.

Stephanie Sy has the story.

STEPHANIE SY: Brick by brick, medical staff and volunteers formed human chains to clear the wreckage of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said it was one of the worst attacks on Ukraine's capital yet.

VITALI KLITSCHKO, Mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine (through translator): There are people under the rubble.

There may be children among them.

STEPHANIE SY: With the oncology department left in ruins, cancer patients slowly moved towards safety, their I.V.

bags rolling with them.

Air raid alarms forced patients from their hospital beds and down to the basement.

Inna Bereznytska rushed her daughter to shelter after the first explosion.

INNA BEREZNYTSKA, Kyiv, Ukraine, Resident (through translator): I could not think that such a thing could happen, that there could be attacks on the hospital with sick children.

It is difficult to describe in words.

STEPHANIE SY: The strikes hit multiple other buildings in Kyiv, including apartments.

Russia claims they only targeted military sites, but more than 40 missiles damaged civilian infrastructure in five different Ukrainian cities.

In President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, strikes killed at least 11 people and injured nearly 50.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President (through translator): Beyond any doubt, we are going to rebuild everything.

Everybody that was injured will get all the help they need, and we pledge to work on bringing Russia to justice for this terror.

STEPHANIE SY: The United Nations Security Council will meet tomorrow to address the hospital attack, but action is unlikely and Russia holds the rotating chair this month.

At upcoming NATO meetings, Zelenskyy will appeal for more Patriot missiles to fend off attacks like this.

At the White House today, spokesman John Kirby said more help is on the way.

JOHN KIRBY, NSC Coordinator For Strategic Communications: To strengthen Ukraine's air defenses and to help Ukraine protect its cities and its grid, the United States and several of our allies will have several big announcements at this week's summit.

STEPHANIE SY: A strong signal of support and expectations that the alliance will pledge more aid.

But Ukraine is not expected to be offered NATO membership at this week's summit.

For the PBS "News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

GEOFF BENNETT: Also today, Hurricane Beryl has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but not before landing a direct hit on the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 1 storm.

Heavy rains and powerful winds knocked out power to more than two million Texas homes and businesses.

Harris County officials have reported at least two deaths in the greater Houston area.

First responders rescued stranded residents, including this man, who had been stuck on the roof of his truck in rushing waters.

Houston's mayor and emergency response officials urged residents to stay at home.

JOHN WHITMIRE (D), Mayor of Houston, Texas: Help us help you by staying in place.

Sheltering in place, you will assist the community, because we need our resources addressing the most severe situations.

GEOFF BENNETT: Texas officials say power outages can't be fixed until the winds die down, and the National Hurricane Center has warned of more flash flooding as Beryl pushes inland.

Family members of Boeing plane crash victims say they are outraged today after the Justice Department said the plane maker had agreed to a plea deal to avoid a criminal trial.

That's in connection to two 737 MAX jetliner crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.

An attorney for several victims' families said that -- quote -- "Through crafty lawyering between Boeing and DOJ, the deadly consequences of Boeing's crime are being hidden."

A federal judge still has to approve the deal that requires Boeing to pay a $243.6 million fine after paying the same amount in a 2021 settlement.

A judge in New Mexico has ruled that Alec Baldwin's role as a co-producer of the film "Rust" is not relevant to his trial over a fatal onset shooting back in 2021.

The decision is a win for his defense team, as it limits the evidence that can be used against him.

Baldwin attended court today for the pretrial hearing.

The actor faces a single felony count of involuntary manslaughter after a gun he was holding went off during rehearsals, killing the film's cinematographer.

Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison if he's convicted.

He's pleaded not guilty.

Jury selection is set to start tomorrow.

Hamas leaders said today that new Israeli military escalations in Gaza could have -- quote -- "disastrous repercussions" on cease-fire negotiations.

It comes as CIA Director Bill Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk are in Cairo meeting with their regional counterparts.

Days earlier, the parties appeared to bridge gaps in talks when Hamas gave initial approval to a phased cease-fire deal.

A State Department spokesperson said work on reaching an agreement continues.

MATTHEW MILLER, State Department Spokesman: As we said last week when we received response from Hamas, we found reasons to be hopeful in that response.

But, that said, we don't yet have a deal and we're not taking anything in granted unless and until we get a deal.

So, we continue to work to try to achieve a cease-fire that would secure the release of hostages, would allow us to surge humanitarian assistance in and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

GEOFF BENNETT: Meantime, Israel released video today of troops fighting on the ground in Gaza.

The IDF has recently ordered evacuations for thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City.

It says militants have regrouped there after a prolonged battle early in the war.

Michael Bloomberg and his charity Bloomberg Philanthropies are giving one billion dollars to Johns Hopkins University.

The money will cover tuition for most of the school's medical students.

Those from families making less than $300,000 a year will get free tuition.

Students from families who earn less than $175,000 a year will also have their living expenses covered.

The gift will also increase financial aid for students at the university's nursing, public health and other graduate schools.

Michael Bloomberg himself graduated from Johns Hopkins back in 1964.

And on Wall Street today, markets ended mixed to start the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average flipped about 30 points, so it barely changed.

The Nasdaq crept to another record close, adding 50 points.

And the S&P 500 ended just a bit higher on the day.

Still to come on the "News Hour": Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest political headlines; and the health effects of Maui's devastating wildfires one year later.

Today, France awoke to the final tally of the second round in its parliamentary election, with results that no polls predicted.

The country's right-wing political party was expected to take control of Parliament.

Instead, a left-wing coalition won the largest number of seats, but not enough to govern, leaving the country in unprecedented deadlock.

Here's Nick Schifrin.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Last night, supporters of the far right and far left clashed in the streets, perhaps a preview of the country's coming political pugilism.

For those opposed to the far right, the results sparked rejoicing and relief that the right wing had been blocked.

France's usually splintered center and left coordinated in the second round to weaken far right candidates they described as a threat to the republic.

The winner was the new left-wing coalition the New Popular Front, whose most powerful faction is led by one of France's most divisive figures, Jean-Luc Melenchon.

JEAN-LUC MELENCHON, Founder, La France Insoumise (through translator): The president has the power, the duty to call on the New Popular Front to govern.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But that demand is expected to go unheeded by France's now weakened president.

Emmanuel Macron and his pro-business centrist coalition finished second after losing a quarter of its seats.

As for the far right, its supporters expected jubilation.

Their planned party proved muted, and the champagne would only be sipped; 12 million French voted for the National Rally, but, today, they are disappointed, foiled by what there would-be prime minister, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, called an alliance of the dishonorable.

JORDAN BARDELLA, Leader, National Rally Party (through translator): I can understand today the frustration of millions of French people to see that change was called for, but that, once again, Emmanuel Macron made the choice to throw France into the arms of the far left.

NICK SCHIFRIN: For an embattled President Biden, the takeaway today was more personal.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: There will be no red wave.

The polls were wrong in France.

There's also right -- there's no right wave or tide here in America either.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And yet National Rally leader Marine Le Pen appears to have erased the stigma of her father, party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, a well-known antisemite convicted of racist speech.

The majority of voters rejected Marine Le Pen's vision of tighter borders and less immigration, but they also did not embrace any single alternative, leaving the country more divided than ever.

To discuss the election and its results and how it might impact support for Ukraine, NATO and the European Union, we turn to Tara Varma.

She's a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Tara Varma, thanks very much.

Welcome to the "News Hour."

In some ways, we have seen France do this before, the so-called Republican Front.

The left and the center coalesced together against the far right.

How did it happen this time and why did it work?

TARA VARMA, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution: It worked again this time because, between the first round of the snap elections that were held on June 30 and the second round, which were held on July 7, what we saw were a flurry of extreme right far right candidates who were, in the best-case scenario, absolutely incompetent, in the worst-case scenario, absolutely racist, antisemitic, homophobic.

And so we saw really the level of incompetence, and people then ultimately decided not to vote for them.

And the Republican Front organized themselves because I think there was a sense that the French people did look into the abyss and didn't want to cede basically their country to the far right.

NICK SCHIFRIN: At the same time, as I just reported, some 12 million French voters did vote for Le Pen's party.

In general, has she erased the stigma of her father?

Is her momentum at this point irreversible?

TARA VARMA: So that's what she says.

She says that the tide has risen, that they didn't win this time, but it's inevitable that they will ultimately win, whether it's in the upcoming 2027 presidential election or maybe in another snap election that Emmanuel Macron could call again in a year's time.

What is certain is that they had 89 members of Parliament 10 days ago.

They have now 143, and that's from eight only in 2017.

So their rise is quite massive and clearly consistent and steady.

And it is true that they did win the highest share of the popular vote yesterday.

And so I think they will continue playing on the sense of anger and frustration that we have seen basically build up since yesterday.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Post-World War II France has never had a coalition.

The leaders of a would-be coalition, there's no love lost between them.

What will the coalition talks or the hypothetical coalition talks going forward look like?

TARA VARMA: So this is the biggest question that we have right now.

France has not had coalition governments for over 60 years now, but, actually, there are provisions in the Constitution of the Fifth Republic for this to be possible.

And they did provision for the capacity to have a coalition government.

What is also true is that newer generations of politicians have never lived through them.

So they will have to find an innovative and creative way to think about institutions very differently the days to come.

NICK SCHIFRIN: There is a deadline, July 18.

What if there's no coalition by then?

TARA VARMA: Macron is in a capacity to say that he's going to form a technocratic government, caretaker government that will basically take the country up to at least the end of the summer.

It is not impossible before July 18 that several parties or several coalitions come up with a prime minister and a government.

What seems to be happening in the hours as we speak is that Macron will probably turn to the right to see if they can form a coalition their own with Macron's party, leaving the left behind.

I think this is what he would want to do as much as possible.

NICK SCHIFRIN: What do you believe all of this, the impact of it on what U.S. priorities are when it comes to France, which, of course, is support for Ukraine, strengthening the European Union, and also a good transatlantic relationship?

TARA VARMA: I think there's definitely a sense of relief coming out of Washington, but also of other European capitals.

What we're most probably going to see now is actually a largely continuity in Macron's foreign policy priorities.

And so that means continued cooperation with the U.S. ally, continued investment in NATO, continued investment in the European Union, and continued support for Ukraine to ultimately join the European Union.

Apart from the far left, all the other left-wing parties support these policies.

NICK SCHIFRIN: As I mentioned earlier, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the head of the most popular faction of the new left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front, is a divisive figure.

He's repeatedly accused Israel of genocide.

He himself has been accused of antisemitism.

His critics say that he pushes an unaffordable agenda.

How influential will he be?

TARA VARMA: So, he has actually decided that he was going to be the first one to speak yesterday at 8:00 p.m., Paris time, just after the results came in.

And he kind of decided that he was the most representative electoral person to claim that victory, which was also very divisive.

But I think, if there is a majority of heads of parties from the left who agree on sidelining him and presenting actually newer faces, revelations actually of this campaign from the left, I think if we see these new faces emerge, then actually there will be a true path for this left-wing coalition.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Tara Varma, thank you very much.

TARA VARMA: Thank you so much.

GEOFF BENNETT: President Biden comes out in a show of force against pressure to step down from the top of the Democratic ticket, as Donald Trump tries to distance himself from a conservative plan to radically reshape the federal government.

Let's turn to our Politics Monday duo.

It's Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR.

It's great to see you both on this Monday.

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Good to be here.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, Tam, President Biden, he hit the campaign trail over the weekend.

You were with him.

He called into MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning.

He's got a solo press conference pegged to the NATO summit on Thursday.

Take us inside this Biden strategy to do far more in unscripted situations to prove his fitness.

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: That's exactly what he's doing.

At the campaign headquarters, where he spoke to supporters, he did not speak from notes.

At one point, somebody shouted something about Dark Brandon, which is like the laser eyes meme version of Joe Biden.

And he's like, yes, Dark Brandon is coming back.

And you're going to hear a lot more about Donald Trump in the weeks ahead.

He is clearly moving past the part of his rhetoric where he says, well, I'm not as young as I used to be and I have slowed down.

And he's on to the, hey, guys, we need to move on part of the campaign.

And he really is also sort of pivoting a little bit to say, this is the elites.

The elites want me out, regular voters don't.

And I was with him all day yesterday.

The feedback he was getting -- obviously, presidents are in a bubble and he was taken to places where he would be very well received.

But at that church, the pastor literally led the congregants in a call in response to say, "I love you, President Biden."

He stayed and shook hands and took selfies and held the camera himself to take selfies, all of this in three different locations, one of which was 90 degrees outside.

And I saw someone taken away on a stretcher while he was still out there shaking hands and taking pictures.

That is -- he was running like a man with something to prove.

And he has to prove something to a lot of people in his party and convince them that he's not just saying he's not going away, but that he's really not going away and they need to move on, not him.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

Amy, resilience is a real hallmark of President Biden's political brand.

So is being underestimated.

And that came through in something he said in his conversation MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: I don't care what those big names think.

They were wrong in 2020.

They were wrong in 2022 about the red wave.

They're wrong in 2024.

GEOFF BENNETT: So he says they have been wrong before; they're wrong now.

Does public polling support his position?

AMY WALTER: Well, I want to talk about two things.

One is this idea, which he sort of alludes to in that clip, about the elites and them being wrong and being against him.

The elites are the reason that he is the nominee.

GEOFF BENNETT: In what way?

AMY WALTER: Voters in polls, Democrats, have been saying for over a year, we'd like a different choice.

We want different candidates.

The Democratic Party had a choice.

They could have opened it up.

They could have said, we're going to have debates, asking the president to be engaged in those debates.

More important, the elites, especially the people who would be candidates, those governors and senators who we hear a lot about now as potential replacements, decided not to run.

They didn't want to take that risk.

So he is where he is in some part because many of those people did not jump in and challenge him and ask him to get into a debate or ask him to have to run a vigorous primary campaign.

All that said, he is correct that the polls have underestimated him in the 2020 primary, that the polling suggested that the Democrats were going to do much worse in 2022.

The big difference between where those polls are now and where we are now is, one, in 2020 the polling actually overestimated how well Biden was going to do in the general election.

And the second is that the issue right now -- and you raised this in your interviews with the members of Congress -- is not so much, can he be a good messenger?

Right?

That's one challenge.

But the next is convincing the public that he can actually do the job, that he is up to the physical and mental challenge of being in that job for another four years.

That wasn't on display.

And, finally, what was on display in 2020 and in 2022, what was the center of everything was Donald Trump.

And he's not the center of everything right now.

Joe Biden is.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, let's talk more about that, Tam, because, yes, there are Democrats who have concerns about President Biden's age.

And there are other Democrats who are flabbergasted by all of this, because they say, look, this election is not just an election between two people.

It's an election really between two vastly different world views... TAMARA KEITH: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... and two different visions for this country's future, one of which is escaping scrutiny right now because of all the attention President Biden.

Donald Trump has been trying to distance himself from this controversial governance plan known as Project 2025.

He says he knows nothing about it, doesn't know anything about the people behind it, even though several people linked to the project used to work for his administration and some of them have worked for his campaign.

Give us a sense of what's happening, right?

TAMARA KEITH: Right.

And some of them were in key positions in his administration.

These are not just randos off the street.

These are people who are crafting a plan that could potentially, some of it, end up being enacted.

Some of it overlaps with the Republican platform that just came out.

And so Trump realizing that this document also contains a lot of ideas that are quite scary to undecided voters or even moderate Republicans, some ideas that are just downright unpopular if polled among the public, Trump of course is trying to distance himself from it.

He, as someone who governed, had a very fluid attachment to policy ideas.

He is someone who would, if someone was persuasive enough, he would accept the idea and say, that should be our policy.

And he often moved all over the place.

But -- so, in some ways, it's hard to know whether him distancing himself from this now really means that it would never happen in his administration, when many of the people who he likely would hire or be taking advice from were involved in developing it.

And these are long-term goals of very conservative far right Republicans.

GEOFF BENNETT: What's the polling show about Donald Trump?

We have talked before about how he has a very solid floor of support, given all the Trump die-hards.

AMY WALTER: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: But he has a fairly low ceiling of support, or at least he has had a fairly low ceiling of support.

Has he been able to grow that at all?

AMY WALTER: Well, what we're seeing from just the immediate polls right now is that what was a small Donald Trump lead of somewhere nationally about a little over a point has now grown to basically three points.

So it's not significant.

But you know when that races in this era are decided by one and two points, being able to even gain that much is super, super important.

And I think what we're hearing from members, folks that I talk to in these swing states, what they're really worried about is that their own voters are depressed and they don't come out to vote, and undecided voters, while they may not be breaking right now for Donald Trump, they can't guarantee that won't happen as we get closer to the election.

GEOFF BENNETT: How do Democrats find their way out of this, in the 30 seconds we have left, Tam?

(LAUGHTER) TAMARA KEITH: Oh, my.

GEOFF BENNETT: Solve it for us in 30 seconds.

TAMARA KEITH: Well, I think it probably doesn't happen this week, but it might begin next week with the Republican Convention, when former President Trump will be the center of attention once again.

Or maybe even this week, if he announces his vice presidential pick, Democrats could easily pivot to pointing out that his former vice president does not support him, in part because his life was threatened on January 6.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter, thanks to you both, as always.

We appreciate it.

AMY WALTER: You're welcome.

GEOFF BENNETT: It has been almost a year since the nation's deadliest wildfires devastated the island community of Maui.

While much of the debris has been removed, many residents are still dealing with worrisome health issues that experts say are connected to the fires.

William Brangham has this report.

It's part of our series Race Matters.

NANCY GARRETT, Fire Survivor: All that area, it was a nightmare.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: While some greenery is returning to the valley behind Nancy Garrett's (ph) home in Kula, Maui she will never forget when this was all ablaze.

NANCY GARRETT: It burned right up here to my hedge.

It was a wall of fire, I'm telling you what.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The fires in this rural inland area started the same day as those that consumed the town of Lahaina 25 miles to the west; 101 people died there, and over 2,000 homes and other buildings were lost.

While most of Lahaina's inferno was contained within days, the rough terrain here in Kula made it harder for firefighters and residents to control it.

NANCY GARRETT: And all day long, that's all I did.

I'd see flare-up, flare-up.

It was constantly.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You were fighting the fire on your own property yourself?

NANCY GARRETT: Oh, yes.

Oh, God yes, I did that for weeks right outside my back door here.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Garrett moved here 48 years ago and now worries she can't afford to fix the fire damage on her roof and fence.

She also believes the smoke she breathed in last year and remaining ash are harming her health.

NANCY GARRETT: I cough every day.

And I'm not a cougher.

And it depends on what kind of day it is.

If it's windy and dry, I don't even want to be out here, but I am breathing it in.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Garrett is not alone.

Thousands of people on Maui now live in or near areas that were burned.

In a recent study of residents impacted by the fires, almost half reported declines in their health.

Almost 40 percent of those examined had compromised lung function, and people who'd been directly exposed to smoke, ash or debris reported worse symptoms.

ALIKA MAUNAKEA, University of Hawaii: People are still struggling with respiratory conditions post-wildfires, and then those who are more vulnerable already to respiratory health conditions, such as those with asthma, tend to have exacerbated symptoms and need the care.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The University of Hawaii's Alika Maunakea is an epigeneticist, someone who studies how our behavior and environment affects our genes.

He co-authored the study.

He says the fires not only made people sick, but they have very little access to care.

Before the fires, Maui had the worst shortage of primary care providers in the state and a 40 percent doctor shortage overall.

LORRAINE YOUNG, Fire Victim: There was no clinic on island on this side.

Like, we lost the clinic that I had and the clinic my mom had.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The Lahaina fire burned Lorraine Young's (ph) family home.

Today, this barren lot is all that's left, but it also damaged and destroyed medical clinics.

We first met Young's family last September.

They were crowded in a temporary hotel provided by the Red Cross.

Her 83-year-old mother, Victoria, was still processing the loss.

VICTORIA JACINTO, Fire Victim: I close my eyes and I'm there cooking, cleaning, but no more.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: They have now found more permanent housing, but Lorraine and her siblings have to drive across Maui for their mother's medical appointments.

ALIKA MAUNAKEA: Limited access to care, of course, was a huge issue, coupled with housing and unemployment and food insecurity that just compounded these conditions that we're starting to see from our health screenings.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: On top of that, Maunakea says many survivors, like Alex and Sandra Olivas (ph), are contending with both physical and mental health challenges.

ALEX OLIVAS, Fire Victim (through translator): I think that now we're more impacted than before, because we can see the repercussions of what happened.

I wasn't sick, but now I'm feeling a little sick, actually a lot more sick.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The Olivas and their four children are among the nearly 2,000 Maui residents still living in temporary accommodations covered by FEMA.

Since the fires, Alex and Sandra have had trouble breathing and must now use inhalers.

Alex was diagnosed with diabetes last month and is also now battling high blood pressure.

ALEX OLIVAS (through translator): I had a lot, a lot of anxiety.

I couldn't sleep for months.

SANDRA OLIVAS, Fire Victim (through translator): I also get depressed sometimes, but I have to be strong for my kids.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You do believe absolutely that this is because of the fire?

SANDRA OLIVAS (through translator): Yes, because, before the fires I had my home.

We had our life, and now we don't.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: According to the study, over half the survivors show signs of depression compared to just a third before the tragedy.

Rates of anxiety and other mental health issues also spiked and have remained high.

While the Olivas can get by speaking English, they say it's near impossible to receive care in their native Spanish.

ALEX OLIVAS (through translator): We have struggled a lot with that, with the language.

And when we go to the doctor, there's actually no one to translate.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Maui's Latino community faces other unique challenges.

ALIKA MAUNAKEA: About 38 percent of Hispanic respondents reported they had no insurance coverage, and that's six times higher than the state average.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: When Maui's tourism cratered after the fires, many of their jobs disappeared, taking their incomes and their health insurance.

ALIKA MAUNAKEA: We already knew that populations that experience health disparities would be more vulnerable to these disasters, and the trauma that follows just further widens inequities.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: One factor Maunakea's study says can make a difference in how people rebound, social connections.

Maui residents who reported high levels of social support had better mental health.

When we were first here, we saw local Hawaiians banding together to provide food, clothes and other supplies.

WOMAN: Have a good day.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Local schools have also stepped up to provide that same support.

TONATA LOLESIO, Principal, Sacred Hearts School: We have been able to provide services for the children to help them have some sense of normalcy in their situation.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Tonata Lolesio is the principal of Sacred Hearts School.

It's a 162-year-old Catholic pre-K-12 school in Lahaina that burned.

More than half its students and faculty were displaced by the fires, but the school continued with makeshift classrooms at a nearby church.

TONATA LOLESIO: This last day of this school year was just -- was very special.

We hugged.

We cried.

It felt as though we made it.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But she's relieved they have found a new temporary campus with four walls and air conditioning for the upcoming year.

TONATA LOLESIO: We still have a long way to go, but having this new school was really a ray of hope for us, because we're moving forward together as a school ohana.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: A show of resilience and a slow return to normalcy for a community that is still scarred by fire.

For the PBS "News Hour," I'm William Brangham.

GEOFF BENNETT: And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

For all of us here at the "PBS News Hour," thanks for spending part of your evening with us.

Have a good night.