Hunter Biden takes on George Clooney and presidential debate in interview
'Fuck him!' the younger Biden said of Clooney, whose remarkable New York Times opinion piece last July called on the Democratic party for which the actor is a financial donor to find a new presidential nominee.
'Fuck him and everybody around him. I don't have to be fucking nice.'
Referring to comments from the well-known film director that Clooney is not a 'movie star', Biden continued: 'I agree with Quentin Tarantino. Fucking George Clooney is not a fucking actor. He is fucking like … I don't know what he is. He's a brand.'
Biden questioned why anyone had to listen to Clooney despite his friendship with Barack Obama, a former Democratic president, and his 'really great place in Lake Como'.
'What do you have to do with fucking anything?' Biden said, speaking rhetorically about Clooney. 'What right do you have to step on a man who's given … his fucking life to the service of this country and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full page ad in the fucking New York Times.'
Hunter Biden shared with the Channel 5 outlet his belief that Clooney was upset at Joe Biden, 82, because the former president had criticized the international criminal court (ICC)'s decision to obtain an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on war crime charges. Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who is married to the actor, was one of the legal experts who recommended that the ICC seek that warrant.
'He was bitching to the White House staff, the senior staff that he was so angry that the president would criticize the arrest warrant,' Hunter Biden said. 'He was very, very angry that my dad did not pay homage to her or something.'
Biden's interview to Channel 5, a popular YouTube channel created by Andrew Callaghan, comes as US House Republicans pursue investigations into his father's presidency. Congressional Republicans have been claiming that the former president's closest advisers covered up a physical and mental decline during his presidency, including his pre-emptive pardons of family members, including Hunter, after Trump threatened to prosecute his opponents as he captured the Oval Office again in November.
Hunter Biden acknowledged that Joe Biden had an 'absolutely horrible' debate against Trump before his father dropped out of the 2024 presidential race exactly a year ago Monday and endorsed vice-president Kamala Harris to succeed him. Hunter Biden said his father had to drop out or see fellow Democrats fight him 'every step of the way'.
Among the reasons for the poor debate performance were that his father – 81 at the time – was 'tired as shit', Hunter Biden said. 'They give him Ambien to be able to sleep. He gets up on the stage and looks like he's a deer in the headlights, and it feeds into every fucking story that anybody wants to tell.'
After Trump's second presidency began in January, the FBI re-opened an investigation into who left cocaine in a White House locker in 2023. Suspicions have fallen on Hunter Biden, whose past struggles with substance abuse have been well documented.
But Hunter Biden denied the cocaine found in the White House was his, asserting he has been clean and sober since June 2019. 'Why would I bring cocaine into the White House and stick it into a cubby outside … the situation room in the West Wing?' he asked.
The 55-year-old's Channel 5 interview comes weeks after his father embarked on a series of interviews, including with the New York Times, aimed at convincing the public that Harris's loss to Trump in 2024 was not his fault.
Asked about his business dealings, which resulted in federal tax evasion charges and illegal handgun possession that were later vacated by his father's pardon, Biden pointed to his work as a board member at the national rail network Amtrak and the US-UN World Food Program.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Britain has no business laughing at Trump's EU trade deal
In a world where Donald Trump's tariffs and trade wars make everyone a loser, are there any winners from his latest deal, sealed by a handshake with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a ballroom at one of the president's Scottish golf courses, of all places? One very clear loser is von der Leyen herself. If body language is anything to go by, she looked like she'd been badly bullied by the Big Orange Man – and, truthfully, so she had. In her own clipped remarks, she admits that a reduction in tariffs to 15 per cent, while 'not to be underestimated', was 'the best we could get'. President Macron has declared the US-EU trade deal a 'dark day' for Europe – and you can understand why. A general tariff level of 15 per cent – better than the 20 per cent proposed by Trump on his infamous 'Liberation Day' in April, and even better than the 30 per cent he was threatening a couple of weeks ago – is still prohibitive. It is certainly way above the 2 to 3 per cent levels that most EU exporters used to face. A trade war has been avoided, but this looks like the kind of deal the Americans have forced on the likes of Vietnam or Indonesia. So it is something of a humiliation for the mighty European Union, a global trade superpower. The feeling in some parts of Europe must be that if von der Leyen had played hard ball like the Chinese, a more evenly balanced and more advantageous relationship could have been reached in the long run. We will never know the truth about that. For European pride and for many of its great industrial concerns, the deal is disappointing, and will be expensive – the Volkswagen group is just one to speak out. But for European consumers, it is surely good news. They will be able to enjoy cheaper imports from the United States; it is American customers who will have to pay more for their French wines and Italian sports cars. Could it be that the EU's trade deal – which Trump has, well, trumpeted as the 'biggest ever', and whose biggest 'win' is the removal of a threat to raise tariffs to 30 per cent later this week – is marginally worse than the one Starmer did with Trump in May? Britain's trade deal lowered tariffs of UK goods imported into the US to 10 per cent, and imposed a lesser, 25 per cent tariff on the UK steel industry, with room for further concessions, while the 50 per cent 'worldwide rate' will remain for the EU. For those now cheering this as a rare Brexit benefit, it is a hollow victory. For the concessions to Britain are so minor, they cannot hope to make up for the ground lost since Brexit – essentially, a GDP loss in excess of 5 per cent. And we're not out of the rough, by any stretch. As Keir Starmer meets the US president for further trade discussions at the Trump Turnberry golf course, he will be acutely conscious of his counterpart's unpredictability. Starmer has milked the modest concessions he managed to wangle, particularly on cars and food standards, but much remains vague and far from nailed-down. The greatest danger is the fuzzy UK commitment to improve the trading environment for the US pharma groups will eventually mean an enormous increase in the drugs bill for the National Health Service, which it can ill-afford. Trump also omitted virtually the whole of the service sector from his UK deal, where the British actually enjoy a surplus, which is great until he decides otherwise. There are no legally binding rules here. The world economy remains highly inter-dependent, and globalisation, while receding, cannot sensibly be ended, as even Elon Musk tries to argue. All barriers to trade harm the country that erects them both directly and, in their depressing effects on world growth, indirectly. Consumers are charged more, on a highly regressive basis, companies are forced to pay more for inputs, and be less cost-effective, and competition and dynamic structural change are deliberately impeded. Whatever the details of the individual deals counties are trying to strike with one another, tariffs make us all poorer in the long run.
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 3-9
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 3-9: Aug. 3: Actor Martin Sheen is 85. Singer Beverly Lee of The Shirelles is 84. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 84. Movie director John Landis is 75. Actor Jo Marie Payton ('Family Matters') is 75. Actor Philip Casnoff ('Oz,' 'Strong Medicine') is 71. Actor John C. McGinley ('Scrubs') is 66. Bassist Lee Rocker (Stray Cats) is 64. Actor Lisa Ann Walter ('Abbott Elementary') is 64. Singer-guitarist James Hetfield of Metallica is 62. Singer Ed Roland of Collective Soul is 62. Actor Isaiah Washington ('Grey's Anatomy,' ″Soul Food') is 62. Keyboardist Dean Sams of Lonestar is 59. Guitarist Stephen Carpenter of Deftones is 55. Musician Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa is 54. Actor Brigid Brannagh ('CSI,' 'Army Wives') is 53. Actor Michael Ealy ('Think Like a Man,' ″Barbershop') is 52. Violinist Jimmy De Martini of Zac Brown Band is 49. Actor Evangeline Lilly ('Lost') is 46. Actor Mamie Gummer ('The Good Wife') is 42. Singer Holly Arnstein of Dream is 40. Actor Georgina Haig ('Once Upon a Time') is 40. Bassist Brent Kutzle of OneRepublic is 40. Rapper D.R.A.M. is 37. Aug. 4: Actor Tina Cole ('My Three Sons') is 82. Actor Billy Bob Thornton is 70. Actor Kym Karath ('The Sound of Music') is 67. Actor Lauren Tom ('Joy Luck Club,' ″Men in Trees') is 66. Producer Michael Gelman ('Live with Kelly and Ryan') is 64. Actor Crystal Chappell ('Guiding Light') is 60. Drummer Rob Cieka of Boo Radleys is 57. Actor Daniel Dae Kim ('Hawaii Five-O,' ″Lost') is 57. Actor Michael Deluise ('Gilmore Girls,' 'NYPD Blue') is 56. Rapper Yo-Yo ('Miss Rap Supreme') is 54. Singer-actor Marques Houston of Immature is 44. Actor-turned-princess Meghan Markle ('Suits') is 44. Actor-director Greta Gerwig is 42. 'American Idol' runner-up Crystal Bowersox is 40. Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse ('The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,' ″Grace Under Fire') are 33. 'American Idol' runner-up Jessica Sanchez is 30. Aug. 5: Actor Loni Anderson is 80. Actor Erika Slezak ('One Life To Live') is 79. Actor-turned-journalist Holly Palance ('Under Fire,' 'The Omen') is 75. Singer Samantha Sang is 74. Guitarist Eddie Ojeda of Twisted Sister is 70. Actor Maureen McCormick ('The Brady Bunch') is 69. Guitarist Pat Smear of Foo Fighters is 66. Country fiddler Mark O'Connor is 64. Actor Mark Strong ('The Imitation Game') is 62. Director James Gunn ('Guardians of the Galaxy') is 59. Actor Jonathan Silverman ('The Single Guy') is 59. Country singer Terri Clark is 57. Actor Stephanie Szostak ('A Million Little Things') is 54. Cellist Eicca Toppinen of Apocalyptica is 50. Drummer Whit Sellers of Old Dominion is 47. Actor Jesse Williams ('Grey's Anatomy') is 45. Actor Albert Tsai ('Dr. Ken') is 21. Actor Devin Trey Campbell ('Single Parents') is 17. Aug. 6: Actor-director Peter Bonerz is 87. Actor Louise Sorel ('Days of Our Lives') is 85. Actor Ray Buktenica ('Rhoda') is 82. Actor Dorian Harewood is 75. Actor Catherine Hicks ('Seventh Heaven') is 74. Singer Pat MacDonald of Timbuk 3 is 73. Actor Stepfanie Kramer ('Hunter') is 69. Actor Faith Prince is 68. Singer Randy DeBarge of DeBarge is 67. Actor Leland Orser ('ER') is 66. Actor Michelle Yeoh ('Everything Everywhere All at Once,' 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon') is 63. Country singers Peggy and Patsy Lynn of The Lynns are 61. Actor Jeremy Ratchford ('Cold Case') is 60. Actor Benito Martinez ('American Crime,' 'The Shield') is 57. Country singer Lisa Stewart is 57. Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan ('The Sixth Sense') is 55. Actor Merrin Dungey ('Summerland,' ″Alias') is 54. Singer Geri Halliwell Horner of Spice Girls is 53. Actor Jason O'Mara ('Life on Mars') is 53. Actor Vera Farmiga ('Up in the Air,' ″The Departed') is 52. Actor Soleil Moon Frye ('Sabrina The Teenage Witch,' ″Punky Brewster') is 49. Actor Melissa George ('Alias,' ″Grey's Anatomy') is 49. Singer Travis 'Travie' McCoy of Gym Class Heroes is 44. Actor Leslie Odom Jr. (stage: 'Hamilton,' TV: 'Smash') is 44. Bassist Eric Roberts of Gym Class Heroes is 41. Aug. 7: Humorist Garrison Keillor is 83. Actor John Glover ('Smallville') is 81. Actor David Rasche ('Sledge Hammer!') is 81. Country singer Rodney Crowell is 75. Actor Caroline Aaron ('The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel') is 73. Actor Wayne Knight ('Seinfeld') is 70. Singer Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden is 67. Actor David Duchovny ('Californication,' ″The X-Files') is 65. Actor Delane Matthews ('Dave's World') is 64. Actor Harold Perrineau ('Lost,' ″Oz') is 62. Jazz pianist Marcus Roberts is 62. Country singer Raul Malo of The Mavericks is 60. Actor David Mann ('Madea' films) is 59. Actor Sydney Penny ('The Thorn Birds,' ″All My Children') is 54. Actor Greg Serano ('Power') is 53. Actor Michael Shannon ('George and Tammy,' 'The Flash') is 51. Actor Charlize Theron is 50. Drummer Barry Kerch of Shinedown is 49. Actor Eric Johnson ('Fifty Shades Darker,' ″Smallville') is 46. Actor Liam James (TV's 'Psych,' film's 'The Way, Way Back') is 29. Aug. 8: Actor Nita Talbot is 95. Actor Dustin Hoffman is 88. Actor Connie Stevens is 87. Country singer Phil Balsley of The Statler Brothers is 86. Actor Larry Wilcox ('CHiPS') is 78. Actor Keith Carradine ('Madam Secretary') is 76. Drummer Anton Fig ('Late Show With David Letterman') is 72. Actor Donny Most ('Happy Days') is 72. Keyboardist Dennis Drew of 10,000 Maniacs is 68. Actor-turned-investment banker Harry Crosby ('Friday the 13th') is 67. News anchor Deborah Norville is 67. Guitarist The Edge of U2 is 64. Drummer Rikki Rockett of Poison is 64. Rapper Kool Moe Dee is 63. Singer Scott Stapp of Creed is 52. Country singer Mark Wills is 52. Actor Kohl Sudduth (TV's 'Jesse Stone' movies) is 51. Guitarist Tom Linton of Jimmy Eat World is 50. Singer J.C. Chasez of 'N Sync is 49. Actor Tawny Cypress ('Heroes') is 49. Singer Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees is 49. Singer Marsha Ambrosius (Floetry) is 48. Actor Lindsay Sloane ('Sabrina the Teenage Witch') is 48. Actor Countess Vaughn ('The Parkers,' ″Moesha') is 47. Actor Michael Urie ('Ugly Betty') is 45. Actor Meagan Good ('Think Like a Man') is 44. Guitarist Eric Howk of Portugal. The Man is 44. Actor Jackie Cruz ('Orange Is the New Black') is 41. Actor Ken Baumann ('The Secret Life of the American Teenager') is 36. Singer Shawn Mendes is 27. Actor Bebe Wood ('The Real O'Neals') is 24. Aug. 9: Jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette is 83. Comedian David Steinberg is 83. Actor Sam Elliott is 81. Singer Barbara Mason is 78. Actor Melanie Griffith is 68. Actor Amanda Bearse ('Married... With Children') is 67. Rapper Kurtis Blow is 66. Former 'Today' co-host Hoda Kotb is 61. Actor Pat Petersen ('Knots Landing') is 59. Actor Gillian Anderson ('The X-Files') is 57. Actor Eric Bana ('Star Trek,' ″The Hulk') is 57. News correspondent Chris Cuomo is 55. Actor Thomas Lennon (″Reno 911!') is 55. Bassist Arion Salazar (Third Eye Blind) is 55. Rapper Mack 10 is 54. Singer Juanes is 53. Actor Liz Vassey ('CSI,' ″All My Children') is 53. Actor Kevin McKidd ('Grey's Anatomy') is 52. Actor Rhona Mitra ('Nip/Tuck,' 'Boston Legal') is 50. Actor Jessica Capshaw ('Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Practice') is 49. Actor Ashley Johnson ('The Help') is 42. Actor Anna Kendrick ('Pitch Perfect,' ″Twilight') is 40.
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Melania Trump's fashion favorites: First lady's most and LEAST expensive wardrobe pieces revealed
Long before she became the First Lady, Melania Trump was known around New York for her timeless style - and it's only evolved since she's stepped into the White House. When she first married Donald Trump, she seemed to have a penchant for silky, colorful dresses as she attended some of Manhattan's most exclusive events, like the short, slinky, bright pink dress she Breast Cancer Research Foundation's hot pink party in 2005. But now, times have changed, and Melania seems to be all business, donning elegant dresses and pantsuits, as well as expensive yet elevated accessories. As the First Lady, 55, she's been known to be a fan of certain designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen and Ralph Lauren. During President Trump's inauguration into his first term in 2017, she donned a powder blue, cashmere dress with a wrap overcoat and matching gloves made by Ralph Lauren. In 2016, she spoke to Elle Magazine about the various challenges of dressing for a campaign, telling the outlet over email that she doesn't find it to be hard at all. 'I don't find it to be challenging,' she said at the time. 'I style myself and choose what to wear based on what I feel good in it.' Now, FEMAIL has rounded up all of Melania's fashion favorites since being in The White House, from most expensive to least expensive. When she first married Donald Trump, she seemed to have a penchant for silky, colorful dresses as she attended some of Manhattan's most exclusive events, like the short, slinky, bright pink dress she Breast Cancer Research Foundation's hot pink party in 2005 MOST EXPENSIVE Hermès Matte Niloticus Crocodile Birkin 25 Black Bag: $50,000 One of, if not the most, expensive pieces in Melania's closet appears to be the Hermès Matte Niloticus Crocodile Birkin 25 in Black. The bag is a rarity, as it's made of one of the brand's most coveted materials: crocodile skin. According to Fashionphile, a high-end consignment boutique, their bags made with crocodile skin typically go for more than three times the traditional leather ones that are for sale. Online, these bags can be priced on secondhand websites for over $100,000. It seems to be a staple in Melania's closet, too, as she has been seen wearing it multiple times over the past few years. She famously sported the purse when she and Trump departed the White House on inauguration day in January 2021, as Joe Biden entered his presidency. Melania paired the bag with a black, knee-length skirt and cropped tweed jacket, along with a pair of black gloves and sky-high black Christian Louboutin heels. It seems to be a staple in Melania's closet, too, as she has been seen wearing it multiple times over the past few years She also wore the bag in 2019, when she and her husband joined then-prime minister Theresa May and her husband Philip for a meeting in London At the time, the couple were headed off to Mar-a-Lago, where they stayed when their days in The White House were over. She also wore the bag in 2019, when she and her husband joined then-prime minister Theresa May and her husband Philip for a meeting in London. She paired it with her favorite Celine trench coat, but it was the bag, which has gold detail on it, that really made a statement. Floral Dolce & Gabbana jacket: $51,500 In 2017, Melania pulled out all the stops as she donned a dramatic coat by Dolce & Gabbana that was covered in silk, 3D floral appliques. Oh, and did we mention that it cost $51,500? According to Business Insider, just purchasing the jacket cost a deposit of $25,750. She wore the colorful jacket while visiting Sicily, Italy, during the 2017 G7 Summit, which convenes leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. She wore the colorful jacket while visiting Sicily, Italy, during the 2017 G7 Summit, which convenes leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States Melania sported the fancy coat, which featured bold red, purple, green, white and blue florals when sightseeing around the city with the other spouses of world leaders. The jacket also featured bedazzled, embroidered flowers on it. She paired the coat with a matching clutch bag that had the same exact florals sewn onto it. At the time, the expensive jacket sparked a lot of controversy, as many pointed out that it was worth more than the monthly salary of many Americans. J. Mendel gown she wore to a 2018 visit to Great Britain: $6,990 During husband Donald Trump's official visit to Britain in 2018, Melania donned a Grecian-style, lemon yellow $6,990 gown by designer to a state dinner at Blenheim Palace. The whimsical gown featured a long, off-the-shoulder cape, and knotted detailing at the waist. It appeared to be made of chiffon, and Melania matched the look with a pair of yellow Manolo Blahnik heels. Per Today, she chose the color yellow in honor of Queen Elizabeth, whose favorite color was reportedly yellow. Of course, she accessorized with her $4 million engagement ring and a pair of sparkling diamond studs in her ears. LEAST EXPENSIVE Controversial 'I really don't care, do u?' jacket from Zara: $39.99 In 2018, Melania made headlines and sparked outrage across the world as she donned a $39 jacket from Zara that read, 'I really don't care, do u?' on its back while on her way to visit children separated from their families at the Mexico border. The jacket was a military-green, army-style jacket, and the crass words were spray painted on the back in white. The first lady's surprise visit to a children's shelter - where a handful of the 55 children it houses had been taken from their parents - was intended to underline her compassion for children, and came after she lobbied Trump to end separations. But instead, it was overshadowed by the former model's choice of jacket. At the time, her husband claimed that the message was really one that was for the 'fake news media.' In 2018, Melania made headlines and sparked outrage across the world as she donned a $39 jacket from Zara that read, 'I really don't care, do u?' on its back while on her way to visit children separated from their families at the Mexico border ''I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO YOU?' written on the back of Melania's jacket, refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares,' he tweeted at the time. However, in her 2024 self-titled memoir, Melania, claimed it that the jacket was meant to protest against 'anonymously sourced reporting.' 'I was determined… not to let the media's false narratives affect my mission to help the children and families at the border,' she wrote. 'In fact, I decided to let them know that their criticism would never stop me from doing what I feel is right. To make the point, I wore a particular jacket as I boarded the plane, a jacket that quickly became famous,' she added. Melania recounts how when the plane door closed, her press secretary's inbox was 'flooded with urgent emails from top-tier media outlets regarding the jacket.' 'It's a message for the media,' I said, 'to let them know I was unconcerned with their opinions of me' [but] she told me I couldn't say that. 'Why not? It is the truth.'' Melania wrote about their exchange. 'I disagreed with her insistence that I couldn't say that,' the First Lady wrote. 'Ignoring my comments, she told a CNN reporter she was friendly with that it was simply a jacket, a fashion choice with no underlying message.' The mom-of-one wrote that the frenzy over the jacket 'overshadowed the importance of the children, the border, and the policy change.' She called it 'just another example of the media's irresponsible behavior.' Converse Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers: $50 Although Melania owns her fair share of designer heels, when it's time to get comfy, she's been proven to be a fan of Converse shoes, which typically range from around $50 to $100, depending on the style. She's been known to wear low-top Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, which typically are priced anywhere from $50 to $60. The First Lady appears to own the sneakers in all different colors, too - white, gray and black. Most recently, she sported a pair of gray Chuck Taylors when she accompanied her husband to Texas to visit devastation from the flash floods. She matched the shoes with a pair of army-green pants and light khaki coat by Dolce and Gabbana. In 2017, she wore her white pair of low-top Converse as she visited those who had been impacted by Hurricane Irma. She paired the shoes with a casual, green button-up shirt and white skinny jeans. FLOTUS hat: $20 In 2017, Melania stepped out in perhaps the least expensive item she's ever worn - a black baseball cap that simply read, 'FLOTUS' on it, short for First Lady of the United States, of course. At the time, she was stepping off of Air Force One with her husband, and paired the hat with a pair of aviator sunglasses and crisp white button down. It's unclear exactly where she bought her hat, but there are now tons of websites that sell extremely similar versions, some for even less than $20. You could even customize your own for $12 on Amazon.
