Here's what it looks like inside Biden's Detroit rally ahead of the president's prepared remarks.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from Michigan

Outside Joe Biden's campaign rally in Michigan, press and attendees are greeted by the sight of an older gentleman holding a white banner reading, “Pass the Torch JOE” as they drive in.

Tom Moran, a 69-year-old from Livingston County, Michigan, says he can’t vote for Joe Biden - he doesn’t feel the president is up to the job after watching his debate performance.

And he tells me that if Biden can’t get his support as a 50-year Democratic voter, then there’s no way he can win the key state of Michigan.

He’s also concerned the president could drag down other so-called "down-ballot" candidates - such as Representative Elissa Slotkin who is seeking her state’s open Senate seat.

So what does Moran want to see happen? The bus driver says he wants to see an open convention, “real TV” where the best Democrats make their case.

“Make it exciting, get new ideas. People would watch," he says.

"That’s how you beat Trump."

Image source, Getty Images

Cori Bush, a progressive Democratic House member from St Louis, Missouri, says that "100% of the phone calls" into her office are "asking me to ask the President to step out of the race".

"And so I'm making it clear: if you have an opinion on it, please call our office and let us know," she added.

Her remarks were made at a pro-union event this afternoon.

Bush, who is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), did not comment on whether she herself believes Joe Biden should step down.

Many of the 60 members of the influential CBC have continued to back Biden after his disastrous June debate performance.

Sarah Smith
North America editor, reporting from Michigan

Nervous Democrats are urging Joe Biden and his campaign to show them a path to presidential victory in November - and any such plan will likely have to include a win in the state of Michigan, where Biden is holding a rally tonight.

I’ve sat down with six friends in the city of Lansing who all work in a nearby General Motors plant as members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.

Though all six very much want a Democrat to win the White House and think it's essential to defeat Republican Donald Trump, they are almost evenly split on whether they think Biden should step aside.

Willie Lowe thinks it's "debatable” whether Biden has the stamina for another four years as president, but would rather take a risk on Biden than have Trump in office again.

Jean Duchemin, the president of UAW Local 1753, is very anxious that Biden could be heading toward defeat in November and wants the Democratic Party to replace him.

I met Jean during the UAW strike last year, when Biden - backed by many unions - became the first modern American president to visit a picket line. The UAW endorsed Biden's campaign back in January, but Jean doesn't feel the same way.

Biden's mistake during a Nato presentation on Thursday - when he called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky by Russian President Vladimir Putin's name - made Jean nervous as polls show the race between Biden and Trump is close.

"It's terrifying that Biden’s falling apart now," he says.

Another one of the group, Mike Payton, says he would prefer a fresh, younger candidate but is confident Democrats will still turn out to vote for Biden if his name remains on the ballot.

Ed Cole, however, says he thinks Biden remains the party’s best option.

“I think Joe Biden can still do it," he says.

They all agreed they'd be delighted to see their own Democratic Governor Gretchen Witmer run for president - though she has indicated she's not interested, at least for now.

Image source, Getty Images

At a small gathering with voters in Northville, Michigan, outside Detroit, Joe Biden spoke with voters this afternoon.

He was playful with the crowd, referencing press reports about his mental abilities, and touting his administration's accomplishments, particularly support of unions.

"I've been around 270 years," Biden joked.

The event tees up a Detroit rally scheduled to begin 6:00 pm EST (23:00 BST).

Biden also said voters' alternative, former President Donald Trump, is not a better choice than he is.

"Hopefully with a little bit of age comes a little bit of wisdom," he said.

"I've never been more optimistic about America than I have been today. I promise, you I'm ok."

Stick with us, we've got reporters on the ground in Michigan, and we'll bring you the latest.

Nielsen ratings said today that 22.5 million tuned into the president's first press conference of the year.

That's more people than watched this year's Oscars and makes up some 44% of the audience that watched Biden debate Donald Trump in late June.

Despite a couple of gaffes, Biden stood firm in the defiant hour-long news conference last night - held at the end of the Nato summit - where he dismissed the concerns about his campaign.

Image source, Getty Images

Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, will not be attending Joe Biden's rally in her home state this Friday evening, the Associated Press reports.

Her absence is notable given that Michigan is a key swing state, and the outcome there could determine which candidate comes out on top in November's election.

Biden won the state by a little over 154,000 votes in 2020. In 2016, Donald Trump unexpectedly won it by just under 11,000 votes.

Whitmer's absence is also of note given her popularity in Michigan, as well as her position as a rising star within the Democratic Party.

She has often been floated by pundits as a possible replacement for Biden should he step aside.

In an interview with CNN this week, Whitmer expressed support for the president, but added that she doesn't think "it would hurt" for him to take a cognitive test.

Her expected absence comes as another Democratic governor, Ned Lamont of Connecticut, implied that he would like to see Biden leave the race.

Other notable Michigan Democrats will also not be in attendance tonight, AP reports, including Senator Gary Peters and House Representative Elissa Slotkin.

Madeline Halpert and Brajesh Upadhyay
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Headlines scream for Joe Biden to quit. Donors threaten to withhold campaign funds, and a growing list of Democrats call time on the president's career.

But for all the stories dominated by the latest politician, fundraiser or left-wing actor to voice their displeasure, a longer list of Democrats are sticking by him.

At least 80 Democratic politicians have publicly backed the 81-year-old, and more are joining them as he insists he is going nowhere.

To many, his political record, his principles and his 2020 victory over Donald Trump mean more than the damage of a rambling performance in any debate or public appearance, or health fears during a new four-year term.

Biden's first solo news conference of the year on Thursday, though filled with gaffes and drifting statements, sparked several more expressions of public support.

Read more about the Democrats who support the president here.

Joe Biden is going to remain "laser-focused on delivering for working families" and building on the "historic progress" made by his administration, his press secretary has told reporters.

Speaking on Air Force One as Biden is flying to Detroit for a political rally, Karine Jean-Pierre highlighted comments by Nato allies cautioning against "underestimating" him.

She also made the case that positive economic data emerging this week over inflation and jobs as good signs for the Biden campaign.

"As he said yesterday, he's going to keep fighting to take on corporate greed and bring prices down," Jean-Pierre adds.

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Longtime Democratic donor Whitney Tilson emerged after the debate as a prominent voice making the case for Biden to go.

Speaking to the BBC on Friday, he said he was increasingly confident that the president would decide to step aside – a move he thinks would energise voters and “completely change the narrative”.

“It would underscore, one, that Joe Biden, unlike Donald Trump, puts his country first,” the investment analyst and author said.

“And two, it would underscore that the Democratic Party, unlike the Republican Party, is not a cult of personality and that the leadership was able to have an adult conversation with Joe Biden and help him see that this was what he needed to do.”

“Can you imagine anything like that happening in the Republican Party?” he added.

Tilson, who has been exchanging messages with other donors and members of Democratic circles since the debate, said Democrats still had “plenty of time” to determine a replacement, adding that he would want to see the candidate selected in an open process.

“Whoever the nominee is has to earn it,” he said. “Nobody should be anointed.”

Donald Trump has taken to his social media network, Truth Social, to call for Joe Biden to take a cognitive ability test alongside him.

Trump said he and Biden would be a team "for the first time" and take the test for the "good of the country".

"And from now on, all Presidential candidates should be mandated to take a Cognitive Test and Aptitude Test, regardless of their age," he adds

In an earlier post, he accuses his critics of blaming Biden's problems on him being "disrespectful" at the debate in June.

Trump adds that he "tried being as nice as possible considering that this is the man who has systematically destroyed our Country".

Read more on cognitive tests here.

Image source, Getty Images

Mike Levin, a Democratic House representative from California, is the latest lawmaker to call for President Joe Biden to step down as the party's nominee heading into the presidential election.

In a statement on Friday, Levin says: "Like so many of you, I was naturally concerned about President Biden's performance in the recent debate."

He adds: "Making this statement is not easy. I have deep respect for President Biden’s five-plus decades of public service and incredible appreciation for the work we’ve done together these last three-and-a-half years."

"But I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch," Levin says.

With this statement, Levin becomes the 19th Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on Biden to step aside.

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Biden has long enjoyed the support of some of Hollywood's biggest names, from Robert De Niro to Christina Aguilera.

And although George Clooney caused a major splash with a damning New York Times opinion piece published this week - I Love Joe Biden But We Need a New Nominee - relatively few fellow A-lister have publicly broken ranks.

Julia Roberts, who co-hosted a star-studded Democratic fundraiser alongside Clooney, in June, has, so far, only shown support for the president. The same applies to comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who was also at the event in Los Angeles that brought in a single-night record $30m (£23m) in fundraising dollars.

It was similar to the glitz and glam of a separate record-breaking fundraiser at New York's Radio City Musical Hall in March, attended by Queen Latifah and Lizzo.

Other celebrities, like Barbra Streisand, have shown their support more directly.

Earlier this month, Streisand wrote on social media: "Biden shows up every day to work for a strong economy with climate resilience and lower costs. Trump spouts gibberish at his rallies about electric boats and sharks and showers that can’t wash his hair and then plays golf."

The head of a youth climate advocacy group has called on President Joe Biden to stand down as the Democratic nominee.

Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, says she feels a "responsibility to be honest" and questions "whether (Biden) can win this November".

Though Shiney Ajay says in a series of posts on social media, external that "Joe Biden has done more to stop the climate crisis than any other President," she believes "the best way to protect that legacy is to pass the torch to a new nominee".

The Sunrise Movement supported Biden's presidential run in 2020 and are considered influential in the US environmental movement.

Shiney-Ajay adds she was "hesitant about saying something initially" in order to avoid weakening Biden's "ability to defeat Donald Trump".

"A Trump win would be an existential threat to our planet and democracy."

But she also says that regardless of who runs against the former president, her organisation will campaign to "persuade young voters to turn out for the Democratic nominee in order to defeat Trump".

With the increasing scrutiny over the age of US President Joe Biden, let's take a look at how old some of the most recent presidents have been when they began their first term in office.

Currently, Biden is 81, and Donald Trump is 78.

Image source, .

Donald Trump appeared on a radio programme a little while ago, where he has expressed the view Vice-President Kamala Harris may be less of a challenging opponent than Joe Biden to face in November.

Speaking on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, the former president said: "And perhaps I'm wrong, but I've been pretty good at this stuff over the years. I think in many ways, she may be easier than Biden."

But he also said his campaign is not thinking "too much in terms of anyone else until he gets out. If he gets out".

Trump was also asked about actor and Democratic fundraiser George Clooney, describing the Hollywood star's recent call for Biden to drop out as "very disloyal".

Image source, Getty Images

President Joe Biden is meeting with three groups of House Democrats on Friday over concerns about his candidacy, Politico reports.

The meetings come as a growing number of Democrats in the House call for him to step aside as their standard-bearer.

The meetings will involve dozens of Democratic lawmakers worried about Biden's electability in November.

According to the news outlet, two of the meetings will be with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the centrist New Democrat Coalition, which is the largest Democratic caucus in the House.

The third meeting will be with the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, several US news outlets reported.

The Hispanic caucus threw its support behind Biden earlier this week, though some members appear to be lukewarm about his candidacy.

Meanwhile, the chair of the Asian Pacific American Caucus, representative Judy Chu, had told Politico after Biden's recent prime-time interview with ABC that she will "be watching closely" to see how he acts, "especially in spontaneous situations".

Image source, Getty Images

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been among one of Joe Biden's most high-profile allies.

He has repeatedly expressed his support for Biden in the face of a torrent of Democratic discontent.

Amid the myriad calls for Biden to withdraw, Newsom's name has surfaced as a potential replacement.

In a clip of an interview with Robert Costa, external, a correspondent at CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, Newsom was asked how he responds to private text messages asking him to seek the nomination.

Newsom said his response to the messages is "delete, delete, delete, delete. Thank you, delete.

"I'm all in no daylight," he said.

Holly Honderich

Image source, Getty Images

As Joe Biden fights for his political life, straining to drown out an increasingly loud chorus of Democrats calling for him to step aside, his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, has remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Not entirely. After Biden stumbled into another awkward gaffe during his Nato press conference - referring to "Vice-President Trump" instead of Vice-President Kamala Harris, Trump responded quickly, mocking the president for his mistake.

But for the most part, since Biden's disastrous debate performance in late June set off a political crisis, Trump has sat back and let Democrats argue amongst themselves.

Republican strategists say the relative silence is a sign of some newfound discipline - a change from Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns - and a potentially winning strategy.

“There are a couple of simple rules in politics, but one of the best ones is when your opponent is destroying themselves, get out of the way,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican communications expert who worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential bids.

“And that’s exactly what they’ve done.”

Courtney Subramanian
Reporting from New Orleans and Washington DC

Since the disastrous CNN debate on 27 June, Vice-President Kamala has repeatedly defended her boss, arguing that his record as president shouldn’t be outweighed by 90 minutes on a debate stage. Biden himself has struck a defiant tone and fiercely insisted that he will remain the nominee.

Yet as calls grow louder for the president to step aside, some high-profile Democrats are unifying behind 59-year-old Harris as the natural candidate to replace him.

On Sunday, congressman Adam Schiff of California told NBC's Meet The Press that either Biden had to be able to “win overwhelmingly or he has to pass the torch to someone who can”. Harris, he added, could “very well win overwhelmingly” against Trump.

That’s a proposition that has raised eyebrows among some Democrats, including Biden allies, who see in Harris a vice-president who failed in her bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination before the first ballot was even cast and who has struggled with an uneven record and low approval ratings throughout her time in the White House.

Against that, senior Democratic lawmakers like Schiff and South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn have been floating Ms Harris as the obvious successor should Biden ultimately bow to party pressure.

• Read more of my BBC InDepth piece here.