Former Obama aide reveals why he stayed silent on Joe Biden's health decline: 'Wanted him to win...'
Ex-Obama aide on Biden's health decline
Former
Obama
speechwriter and 'Pod Save America' host Jon Lovett has admitted that he held back concerns about
Joe Biden
's health during the 2024 campaign because he wanted Biden to win re-election.
Speaking on Jon Stewart's 'The Weekly Show' podcast, Lovett said he was worried about the president's physical and cognitive state but chose not to talk about it publicly. 'I remember feeling I want to talk about this as a huge liability. To talk about this is something Joe Biden can overcome, but I'm not going to go so far as to say, 'I think Joe Biden must drop out. He is too old to be president,'' Lovett said.
He added, 'A, because I didn't know exactly what was going on behind the scenes, but B, if Joe Biden is the candidate, I want him to f—king win.'
Lovett admitted he feared that any criticism from the left would be used by Biden's political enemies. 'It was about being honest about Joe Biden's age as a liability while knowing that if he is the nominee, I want to be clear that I thought it was important to make sure we did everything we could to reelect him,' he said.
He explained his reluctance further: 'Having the words we're saying taken out of context and all of a sudden be part of the case against Joe Biden from the right — that would use any person criticising Joe Biden from the left as a weapon against him.'
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Carcelen: Descubre cómo Amazon CFD puede ayudarte a invertir como un pro
Empezar ahora
Subscríbete
Undo
The issue of Biden's health has been drawing more attention, especially following the release of the book Original Sin by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson. The book claims the White House deliberately tried to downplay concerns about Biden's decline.
Lovett himself features in Original Sin, in an anecdote describing a meeting with Biden on April 26, 2024, alongside co-hosts Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer. According to the book, the trio were left 'deeply disturbed' after the meeting, reportedly finding Biden 'rambling' and 'incoherent.'
US President
Donald Trump
has also criticised Biden's physical and mental decline. Last week, Biden, who is 82 years old, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Doctors have described the form of cancer as 'aggressive'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Operation Sindoor inspired by Ahilyabai Holkar: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
Agra (UP): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said India's strong retribution through Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam terror attack was inspired by the principles of self-defence espoused by Maratha ruler Ahilyabai Holkar when protecting the nation. Similarly, he said the BJP-led "double-engine" government was following the path of good governance shown by her and was carrying out development and public welfare works in Uttar Pradesh. The chief minister was addressing a programme held here to mark the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, who ruled the Malwa region in the 18th century. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tan Thanh Dong: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo "Today, when India conducts surgical strikes, the Indian armed forces carry out airstrikes, when after the Pahalgam terror attack, India hits back at Pakistan which nurtures terrorists. "When under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the brave Indian jawans destroyed the air defence system of Pakistan through Operation Sindoor... compelled the enemy to bow, it was inspired by the actions and principles of self-defence that the Lokmata espoused 300 years ago during her reign," Adityanath said.
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Fish thrown at govt official: Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane, others acquitted in 2017 case
A court in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg has acquitted BJP minister Nitesh Rane and 30 others in a 2017 case in which he was accused of throwing fish at a government official as well as abusing and threatening him. As per the prosecution, Rane and around 100 others, on July 6 that year entered the Malvan office of assistant commissioner in the fisheries department Pradeep Vast to discuss issues related to the sector, abused him and then threw mackerel, which hit the latter on the cheek. Rane and others also allegedly threatened to burn fishing boats. Rane and others were booked at the time under Indian Penal Code sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 341 (wrongful restraint), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 141 (unlawful assembly), 143 (being a member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation). Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Rome: Quanto costano le case container? Guarda i prezzi! Case container | Ricerca annunci Scopri di più Undo In its order of May 21, details of which were made available on Sunday, the court of additional sessions judge (Sindhudurg) mentioned that Vast in his testimony did not state that Rane threw mackerel at him. As per his evidence, persons accompanying Rane threw fish at the official, the court said, adding the informant is not sure who caused him hurt in this manner. Live Events There is "no reliable evidence on record" to prove the accused obstructed the informant from discharging his official duties as public servant and caused hurt to him, the court said while observing that witnesses had not supported the prosecution's case with regards to other charges as well. Rane and others were arrested at the time after a video clip of the alleged incident was aired on local news channels. He was granted bail on the same day. Rane has been MLA from Kankavali in Sindhudurg district since 2014. He was inducted into the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet as a minister for the first time in December last year.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Russian missile strike hits Ukrainian training base, 12 dead
Representative image (AP) At least 12 Ukrainian soldiers are reported dead and over 60 others injured in a Russian missile strike which hit a Ukrainian army training unit on Sunday, according to a statement put out by Ukrainian ground forces in a statement. The strike took place at 12:50pm (local time), said the statement, which stressed that there were no troop formations or large gatherings of personnel at the time. It also noted that an investigative commission had been established to determine the circumstances surrounding the attack that resulted in significant personnel losses. This training unit is located within the 1000 km active front line between Moscow and Kyiv, and falls in the range of Russian reconnaissance and drone strike capabilities. Ukrainian forces are facing a manpower crunch and are taking additional measures to prevent large gatherings, as Russian drones densely patrol the skies along the front line in search of targets. 'If it is established that the actions or inaction of officials led to the death or injury of servicemen, those responsible will be held strictly accountable,' the Ukrainian Ground Forces' statement said. On Sunday, Russia's ministry of defense announced it had seized control of the village of Oleksiivka in Ukraine's northern Sumy region. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo A day earlier, Ukrainian officials in Sumy mandated evacuations in 11 additional settlements due to continued Russian advances in the region. Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated on Saturday that Russian troops were concentrating their primary offensive operations on Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Lyman in the Donetsk region, as well as along the Sumy border. The strike comes amidst the looming uncertainty over the participation of Ukrainian diplomats in a new round of peace talks proposed by Turkey starting early next week in Istanbul. Kyiv has asked the Kremlin to provide a memorandum setting out the roadmap to end the over three-year war before the talks begin. Whereas Moscow previously said it would share its memorandum during the talks. In his evening address Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Moscow to stop 'playing with diplomacy' by withholding the document. 'At this point, we don't have any clear information about what the Russians are planning to do in Istanbul,' he said. 'Of course, everyone in the world wants diplomacy to work and a real ceasefire to happen. Everyone wants Russia to stop playing with diplomacy and end the war. Everyone wants serious peace, and Russia must agree to this.'
