Happy Fourth of July Eve! Sixteen-time champ Joey Chesnut won't be at tomorrow's 2024 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest after signing an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods. Instead, the GOAT will kick up the America dial and compete against soldiers at Fort Bliss.

You won’t receive an issue of The Elective on Friday. News will be scant, so we’re taking the day off. And (unlike 24-hour cable news) we’ll never waste your time yapping about nothing.

PRESIDENCY

⚖️ Court agrees to partial presidential immunity

Forget “Mr. President.” The original plan was to call George Washington “His Highness, the President of the United States, and Protector of the Rights of the Same.” “His Exalted Highness” was another option. If you believe some in the media, those names may make a comeback soon.

The decision: In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court granted all presidents (not just ones who single-handedly keep the self-tanning business alive) some immunity from criminal prosecution. Courts will need to decide which of three categories an alleged crime falls into before proceeding.

• Official acts: Presidents have “absolute” immunity for things that are clearly part of the job.

• Maybe-sorta official acts: For edge cases, presidents have “presumptive” immunity. For these, prosecutors would basically need to prove the case won’t break the government.

• Unofficial acts: They get zilch for things unrelated to the job of being president.

People who like this decision say it changes almost nothing. President Trump can still be prosecuted. This ruling also prevents conservative prosecutors from, say, charging President Biden with crimes stemming from his policies.

• The court's opinion states verbatim that “The president is not above the law." It explained that the president shouldn't be motivated to change his policies over fear of criminal prosecution.

People who don’t like this say it's an assault on democracy. They worry future presidents will assassinate their political opponents.

• One justice's dissent disagreed with the majority, saying, "In every use of official power the President is now a king above the law."

• Another believes this gives too much power to courts that will decide which actions are immune.

• President Biden came out against the decision. He said it "almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president may do." He also seemed to have borrowed President Trump's self-tanner for the speech.

Regardless of where you may fall on this, it was a big win for Trump. His main legal tactic in his various cases has been "delay." And that's what he just got more of.

Fallout: Trump’s sentencing for his felony convictions in New York was initially set for next week. It’s been pushed back to September 18 to give space for arguments on possible immunity. The same will be true for his other cases. Do his attorneys think he qualifies for immunity? “Absolutely.” Does he really? TBD.

2024

🔵 Playing political whack-a-mole

Pour one out for President Biden’s campaign staff. We’ve all had bad weeks at the office, but yikes. The strong support Democratic politicians have shown for Biden’s campaign since the debate fiasco is beginning to crack. Presumably, so are his poor staffers.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi questioned whether Biden's debate performance was "an episode" or "a condition."

• Rep. Jim Clyburn, whose endorsement likely saved Biden’s 2020 primary campaign, said he supports Biden but that he’d also support Kamala Harris “if he were to step aside.”

• One member of Congress, one former member, and one former Cabinet secretary have now called for Biden to step aside.

Polling: Some leaked post-debate polls tell a grim story. They show the president losing every swing state plus Virginia and New Mexico. And things aren’t looking good in Minnesota, Colorado, or Maine.

• To really twist the knife, they have other Dems — including Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Gretchen Whitmer — stronger against Trump.

Fighting back: President Biden will sit down for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in hopes of reassuring Democrats that he’s still got it. He’ll also meet with Democratic governors today.

Future: If Biden hangs in there, he won’t have to wait til the Democratic Convention in mid-August to be officially nominated. The current plan is to do it via Zoom a few weeks earlier. And DNC rules chief James Roosevelt (yes, he’s FDR’s grandson) isn’t backing down on that.

• If he doesn’t stick it out? Kamala Harris has one big advantage over other wannabes. She’s the only one who can legally take over the existing Biden/Harris campaign infrastructure — and the thicc bank account that comes with it.

And here’s a quick look at some other news:

• 💊 PEPFAR, the Bush-era anti-AIDS program credited with saving millions of lives in Africa, could see its budget cut by 6% next fiscal year

• 👷 OSHA, part of the Labor Department, wants new rules forcing employers to take big steps to prevent heat-related injuries to outdoor workers

• ⏲️ President Biden signed an order raising the minimum salary below which employees are eligible for overtime pay to $43,888

POLITICS

🔴 Expect Donald Trump to name his VP choice in the next two weeks He's said he'll pick a running mate before the Republican National Convention, which starts on July 15. Here’s another look at the pros and cons of each major possibility.

• The Trump Organization, owned by the big man but run by Don Jr. and Eric, will develop a luxury Trump Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

• Should Trump win in November, Melania Trump will reportedly split her time between the White House and New York, where young Barron is expected to attend NYU.

⚪ Umm, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. might need a little PR help. Allegations dropped that he may have eaten a spit-roasted dog and sexually assaulted a 23-year-old babysitter (back in ‘98). RFK’s response: “I am not a church boy.”

🔵 Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) will avoid President Biden when he stops in Wisconsin on Friday. She's distanced herself from him post-debate meltdown, saying she's "running her own race." And she must be doing something right. Baldwin’s a vulnerable Democrat in a swing state who leads her Republican opponent by 8%. She’s also the first-ever lesbian elected to the Senate.

🔴 Former “Seinfeld” guest star Rudy Giuliani, perhaps also known for being the ex-mayor of New York and a Trump surrogate, can no longer practice law in New York. He was disbarred for "false statements" about "widespread voter fraud" after the 2020 election.

🔴 Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) lost his primary race to a candidate strangely backed by both Trump and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The margin is tight enough — just 374 votes — that Good will get a recount. But it's too big of a margin for the state to pay for the recount, so Good's campaign will have to shell out the cash.

TRIVIA

Tomorrow, America will come together to eat hot dogs, lose a few fingers, and celebrate our founding. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. About 230 years later, Nicolas Cage stole it. Meanwhile, a bunch of delegates signed the document. How many men signed the Declaration of Independence?

Hint: This is also how old Kamala Harris was when she became vice president.

BRIEFS

• Figma had to pull its AI tool after it created a near-exact knockoff of Apple's weather app

• The U.S. will pay Moderna $176 million to create a bird flu vaccine for humans amid a dairy-driven outbreak

• The Big Mattress© merger of Mattress Firm and Tempur Sealy is no more — the FTC unanimously voted to block the deal

• Google's greenhouse gas emissions jumped 48% in the past five years, as AI juices electricity demand

• Fifty-three people were arrested in Chicago and 14 were charged with felonies in Chicago after a riot following the city's Pride parade

• The FDA approved drug maker Eli Lilly's promising new Alzheimer's treatment that attacks brain plaques

QUOTE

SNACKS

🍉 Eating: Need a snack that's not 1,500 calories worth of ice cream? Eat This has 23 ways to eat a watermelon.

🛍️ Shopping: Got money burning an America-sized hole in your pocket? New York magazine will help you spend it — 123 different ways.

🍿 Watching: Not sure what to watch? Esquire has you covered with "The 25 Best Movies to Watch on the Fourth of July."

ANSWER

While Congress approved the Declaration on July 4, historians now believe that most of the 56 delegates signed it on August 2.