'Breakfast Club' blows up over whether Democrats 'lied' about Biden decline
Charlamagne asked his progressive guest what she thought about Democrats who "all of a sudden have the courage to tell the truth," referencing former Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's party switch and CNN anchor Jake Tapper's book "Original Sin" which detailed how Biden's inner circle covered up his limitations in office.
"Why all of a sudden do they have the courage to speak truth to power when they didn't do that two to three years ago?" he asked on "The Breakfast Club."
"I'm trying to figure out why you think it's 'all of a sudden,'" Rye replied.
"It definitely is all of a sudden. C'mon, Angela Rye!" Charlamagne shot back.
Rye went on to suggest that exposé books are nothing new and Tapper's is just "the latest" examples.
But Charlamagne continued to press his guest, arguing that the scandal over Biden's health likely led to the party's election loss.
"Why tell us after it's too late? Why didn't they say these things two years ago when they could have alerted the American people and the American people could have been like, 'You know what? Something is wrong with him. Maybe y'all shouldn't run a different candidate.' Then we probably wouldn't be in this situation," he insisted.
"I don't know if I believe that," Rye replied. "I think that the lie was sexier to people than the truth and they went with the lie," she added, referring to Trump winning the November election.
"Hold on," Charlamagne pushed back. "So the lie wasn't Joe Biden is okay?"
Charlamagne recounted how Rye blew up at "Breakfast Club" co-host DJ Envy in 2023 after he suggested Biden had dementia.
Rye explained she was offended because her grandmother was suffering from dementia.
"He still doesn't have dementia. He does not have dementia," she said of Biden.
Rye went on to defend Jean-Pierre and suggested she was treated poorly in the White House by colleagues because of her race.
"Now as for what Karine is doing and Jake, invite them on the show and ask them. I don't know. But what I can tell you is Karine had her own experience of being regularly challenged, her brilliance being challenged, by White men who she was supposed to be sharing-," Rye said.
"She had to lie for that White man every - all the time," Charlamagne cut in.
Rye said she wasn't talking about Biden but about "staff people as well" in the White House.
"When you are being challenged by your peers rather than covered because they don't want you in a role, that may jade you just a little bit. You might be a little frustrated by that. So, I mean, I get it," she said.
Jean-Pierre was one of his most outspoken allies who defended his mental and physical fitness for office going back to 2022. She announced in June that she was leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent. She also revealed an upcoming book, "Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines."
Rye is one of several liberal media figures pushing the idea that President Donald Trump and the Republicans are planning to steal the 2026 midterm election.
A spokesperson for Biden did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
11 minutes ago
- Fox News
Kamala Makes A Glitchy Return
Under President Trump, America's Hotter Than A Pistol. Since the distractions aren't working, Democrats are bringing back the Kamala clown car. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit FOX News Radio
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ohio Gov. DeWine says Springfield community is ‘stabilizing' after migrant surge
Ohio Gov. DeWine says Springfield community is 'stabilizing' after migrant surge Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US-China trade talks: Can China reduce its export dependence?
BEIJING (AP) — China's high dependence on exports will likely be a key focus of a new round of U.S.-China trade talks this coming week in Stockholm, but a trade deal would not necessarily help Beijing to rebalance its economy. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he hopes the negotiations can take up this issue, along with China's purchases of oil from Russia and Iran, which undercut American sanctions on those two countries. Hopes rose for a breakthrough in talks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced deals with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines this week. The U.S. wants China to do two things: Reduce what both the U.S. and the European Union see as excess production capacity in many industries, including steel and electric vehicles. And secondly, to take steps to increase spending by Chinese consumers so the economy relies more on domestic demand and less on exports. 'We could also discuss the elephant in the room, which is this great rebalancing that the Chinese need to do,' Bessent told financial news network CNBC. He said China's share of global manufacturing exports at nearly 30%, 'can't get any bigger, and it should probably shrink.' China is tackling the same issues — for domestic reasons The issues are not new, and China has been working to address them for years, more for domestic reasons than to reduce its trade surpluses with the U.S. and other countries. Bessent's predecessor as treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, made industrial policy a focus of a trip to China last year. She blamed government subsidies for flooding the global market with 'artificially cheap Chinese products.' The European Union, whose top leaders met their Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Thursday, has cited subsidies to justify EU tariffs on electric vehicles made in China. In the 1980s, the U.S. pressured Japan to boost consumer spending when American manufacturing was overwhelmed by exports from the likes of Toyota and Sony. Economists have long argued that China likewise needs to transform into a more consumer-driven economy. Consumer spending accounts for less than 40% of China's economy, versus close to 70% in the United States and about 54% in Japan. Chinese leaders have spoken about both factory overcapacity and weak consumer spending as long-term problems and have sought over the past 20 years to find ways to rebalance the economy away from export manufacturing and massive investments in dams, roads, railways and other infrastructure. Fierce price wars have prompted critical reports in official media saying that companies are 'racing to the bottom,' skimping on quality and even safety to reduce costs. With strong government support, they've also expanded overseas, where they can charge higher prices but still undercut local competitors, creating a political backlash. Economists say China needs a consumer-driven economy All that competition and price cutting has left China battling deflation, or falling prices. When companies receive less for their products, they tend to invest less. That can lead to job cuts and lower wages, sapping business activity and spending power — contrary to the long-term goal of increasing the share of consumer spending in driving overall growth. To counter that, the government is spending billions on rebates and subsidies for people who trade in their cars or appliances for new ones. But acknowledging a problem and solving it are two different things. Economists say more fundamental changes are needed to boost consumption and rein in overcapacity. Such changes can only come incrementally over time. Private Chinese companies and foreign-invested companies create the most jobs, but they've suffered from swings in policy and pressures from the trade war, especially since the pandemic. Demographic changes are another challenge as China's population shrinks and ages. Many experts advocate expanding China's social safety net, health insurance, pensions and other support systems, so that people would feel freer to spend rather than save for a medical emergency or retirement. Yan Se, an economist at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, warned at a recent forum that deflation will become a long-term issue if China doesn't step up its welfare benefits. 'Chinese people deserve a better life," he said. Facing external threats, China wants to be more self-reliant One possibility, put forward at the same forum by Liu Qiao, the dean of the business school, would be to change incentives for local government officials, rewarding them for raising consumption or household incomes instead of meeting an economic growth target. He doesn't see that happening nationwide but said it could be tested in a province. 'That would send out a message that China needs a different approach,' he said. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made transforming the country into a technology superpower a top priority. It's a goal that has gained urgency as the U.S. has tightened restrictions on China's access to high-end semiconductors and other advanced knowhow. Output in high-tech manufacturing is growing quickly, adding to potential overcapacity, just as what happened with the government's encouragement of 'green' technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines. Various industries, including EV makers, have pledged to address the issue, but some local governments are striving to keep money-losing enterprises afloat, reluctant to lose tax revenues and jobs, or to fail to meet economic growth targets. Going forward, the government is calling for more coordination of economic development polices in fields such as artificial intelligence so that not every province champions the same industry. But government moves to counter the impact of higher tariffs tend to support sectors already in overcapacity, and the share of consumption in the economy has fallen in recent years. 'A sustained improvement in household consumption will require greater reform ambition,' the World Bank said in its most recent update on China's economy." ___ AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok contributed to this report. Ken Moritsugu, The Associated Press
