Latest news with #DNC
The Hill
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Democrats want an autopsy report on the 2024 election? Here's a free reality check.
As if 2025 has not been brutal enough, the Democratic National Committee has publicly announced it will conduct an ' autopsy ' on its failed 2024 presidential campaign. But cagily, the DNC has decided to limit the discussion, punctiliously avoiding Harris-Walz campaign deficiencies and former President Joe Biden's infirmities. That's like performing John F. Kennedy's autopsy and only examining his feet. Just as athlete's foot didn't kill Kennedy, botched independent expenditures did not sink Kamala Harris. It is laughable that the DNC thinks it can ring-fence any self-examination away from the fundamental problems facing Democrats. But just like the Democratic Party as a whole, the DNC is too dependent on soothing its squabbling factions and defending its sacred shibboleths to conduct any honest assessment. So here is a free autopsy for the Democrats. It all starts with Biden. The over-the-top hagiography spun by the media elites of Biden was always absurd. The fact is, Biden was only the Democrat just palatable enough for most voters in 2020. Tongue-tied for the last four decades and unmoored to principle, Biden's most salient characteristic was his overweening ambition. Then, intoxicated with power, the addled and aged Biden failed to leave when his time was up. That was clearly the Democrats' most glaring issue in 2024. Jake Tapper and the New York/Washington media elites might have been fooled by the White House, but the voters were not. As early as January 2022, just one year after his inauguration, a majority of Democrats did not want Biden to run again, with only 32 percent saying the incumbent president should be on the 2024 ballot. And that poll was not the end of it. Between then and Biden's ignominious departure roughly 30 months later, he faced an unrelenting stream of bad polls and bad news. From 2022 onwards, when YouGov asked voters if Biden should run in 2024, the public fired back an overwhelming 'No!' In their Sept. 19, 2022, benchmark, YouGov found 59 percent of voters rejecting a 2024 Biden run against a mere 19 percent in favor. An overwhelming 64 percent of independents were opposed, as well as majorities in all age and income demographics, men and women. Month after month, majorities said they didn't want Biden to run again. Even when Trump's candidacy became more real and Democratic voters began to rally around Biden, his numbers remained weak. In January 2024, YouGov found voters opposed to Biden running at 58 percent — a number propped up by relatively supportive Democrats. Independents opposed Biden running again by a 55-point margin. The MSNBC gang may have thought Biden was as sharp as ever, but the American public was not deceived. In that same January 2024 poll, 55 percent thought Biden's age 'severely' affected his ability to serve, including 59 percent of independents. Additionally, 73 percent of independents thought Biden was a very weak or somewhat weak leader. So in short, the American public was practically screaming for Biden to quit. The signs were there the whole time. Maybe Democrats could have still won without Biden, had they connected on issues the public cared about. But once again, they ignored voters. Inflation was by far the top issue. In a September 2022 YouGov poll, inflation became the lead issue, with 20 percent of the public and 23 percent of independents naming it their top issue, nearly 10 points ahead of any other. By August 2024, inflation had become even bigger, with 24 percent naming it the top issue (26 percent of independents) and 96 percent of all voters calling it 'very' or 'somewhat' important — far above any other issue. Biden, Harris and the Democrats did nothing but point fingers, and it didn't work. In that same poll, Biden (and by extension, his vice president) had a minus-25 point net approval on his handling of inflation, with independents net-negative by 41 points. Biden, Harris and the D.C. Democrats catered mostly to their own base. Front and center from a policy perspective were abortion and climate change — top issues for Democrats and liberals but not really for anybody else. In issue importance, abortion and climate change ran a mere 1 point behind inflation among Democratic voters, while for liberals climate change was the top issue and abortion tied with inflation. But for independents, abortion and climate change ran 18 points and 19 points behind inflation, respectively. And for Republicans, those issues weren't even on the radar. Inflation is a structural problem for the progressive left. They can't get enough of it. Going back to the days of William Jennings Bryan, easy money has been a hallmark of leftist politics. Bryan was the Bernie Sanders of his day — charismatic, wildly popular with the left and a spectacular loser. For Democrats, all the policy options to fight inflation were closed off by their hardcore liberal base. Prices will fall when you reduce fiscal stimulus and promote efficiency — that translates to lower spending and less regulation. Instead, Biden unleashed an avalanche of spending and a tsunami of rules and regulations. This brings us to the most fundamental problem for the Democratic Party and its various squawking factions: They live in a world of illogic, delusion and denial. The public was telling them what they wanted for more than two years, but Biden, his political and media sycophants, and the D.C. Democrats ignored them. The inability and unwillingness of Team Biden, the Democratic establishment and the New York-Washington media elites to appreciate voters' antipathy toward a Biden reelection is a spectacular failure, bordering on pathological. As long as Democrats only cater to their base — a base not at all in sync with the issue concerns of the majority — they will struggle to win. Building out a better social media infrastructure is pointless if you're selling issues the public won't buy. Having a 'man' strategy won't work if you only talk about abortion, climate change and privilege. For the last nine years, the Democratic Party has been a mass of squabbling factions only unified in their hatred of Trump. They have at most two more elections (2026 and 2028) to run as the 'not Trump' party. If they don't get their act together, the 2029 autopsy might be their last.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Fox News
DNC chair targets GOP's 'big beautiful bill' ahead of midterm elections
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin tells Fox News Digital that the Republicans' "big beautiful bill" will help his party "win elections."
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Health
- Time of India
Tranquilisers, heart disease, COPD: Obama-era report drops bombshells about Hillary Clinton's health woes in 2016
TL;DR: The Hillary Health Angle A newly declassified report reveals Russia had access to secret DNC information about Hillary Clinton's health. The intel claimed Clinton was suffering from psychological and physical ailments—kept hidden from even her own advisors. Obama and Democratic leaders reportedly found her condition 'extraordinarily alarming,' fearing it would damage her election chances. These findings, previously redacted, raise fresh questions about what Russia knew—and why they withheld it during the 2016 race. The backstory This week, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a once-classified House Intelligence Committee report that sheds new light on the 2016 election and what foreign intelligence services—particularly Russia's SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service)—knew about the Democratic Party's inner workings. While much of the 2016 Russia-related discourse focused on the alleged ties between Donald Trump and Moscow, the newly unredacted sections suggest that Russia had obtained damaging information about Hillary Clinton—but chose not to leak it. What the SVR knew According to the report, by September 2016, Russian intelligence had successfully accessed Democratic National Committee (DNC) communications that revealed internal concerns about Hillary Clinton's mental and physical health. The key findings included: Obama-era panic: The report claims that President Obama and senior Democratic leaders were alarmed by Clinton's deteriorating health, calling it 'extraordinarily alarming' and believing it posed a 'serious negative impact' on her campaign. This concern, it states, was kept in 'strictest secrecy,' with even top campaign advisors kept in the dark. Psychological condition: Russian SVR sources allegedly accessed DNC documents describing Clinton as suffering from 'intensified psycho-emotional problems,' including: Uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness A dependency on 'heavy tranquilizers' A mindset 'obsessed with a thirst for power' Physical health ailments: The report cites SVR knowledge that Clinton had: Type 2 diabetes Ischemic heart disease Deep vein thrombosis Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Why didn't Russia leak it? One of the most startling revelations is that Russia chose not to leak the most damaging information it had about Clinton—despite later being accused of favouring Trump. Analysts now suggest the Kremlin may have expected a Clinton victory and refrained from leaking health-related details that could backfire diplomatically. Another possibility: Russia intended to retain that information as post-election leverage. How the report came out The original report was compiled by the House Intelligence Committee during the Trump administration. However, much of it remained classified or heavily redacted during both the Biden and Obama years. Tulsi Gabbard, now serving as DNI under President Trump, authorised its full release, citing transparency and the 'right of the public to know what really happened in 2016.' Why this matters now The revelations add to a growing narrative that the Russia-Trump collusion story was selectively told, with key pieces of context deliberately withheld. At the heart of the controversy lies a question with global implications: If Russia had more damaging information about Clinton than Trump—why did American intelligence, media, and political leadership build an entire election scandal around the latter? The new disclosures also: Undermine the Steele Dossier's credibility, already widely discredited Suggest that foreign adversaries had deeper visibility into Democratic infighting than previously acknowledged Put renewed scrutiny on how Obama-era officials handled intelligence dissemination What Clinton's team has said So far, Hillary Clinton has not issued a statement responding to the newly released material. Her team has previously described health-related rumours as 'baseless right-wing conspiracy theories.' However, the newly cited DNC internal communications appear to show private admissions that contradict public denials. Final takeaway This is no longer just a debate about emails or hacked servers. The declassified House report paints a picture of: A Democratic Party deeply divided and alarmed about its nominee's health A foreign power with access to that panic And a narrative that may have been shaped more by politics than truth FAQ Q: Who released this new information? A: The full report was declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who now serves under President Trump. Q: What agency is said to have obtained this intel? A: Russia's SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service) allegedly intercepted internal DNC communications revealing concerns about Hillary Clinton's health. Q: Is there any independent verification of Clinton's alleged illnesses? A: No medical records have been released to confirm the specific claims listed (e.g., diabetes, COPD), but the report cites internal DNC discussions and SVR intercepts as sources. Q: Why didn't Russia leak this if they were interfering? A: Some analysts now believe Russia expected Clinton to win and withheld the most damaging material for potential post-election leverage. Q: What is the political impact of this revelation? A: It calls into question the narrative that Trump was the sole beneficiary of Russian meddling, and raises concerns about transparency within the Obama and Biden intelligence communities.
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First Post
6 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
Was Hillary Clinton on tranquilisers during the 2016 campaign? What is the truth?
A newly declassified intelligence report, unveiled by Tulsi Gabbard, alleges that Hillary Clinton was using heavy tranquilisers and suffering emotional instability during the 2016 campaign. With claims of withheld Russian intel and internal Democratic concerns over her health, the report brings into question possible cover-ups during the elections read more Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reacts ahead of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. File Image/Reuters Recently declassified intelligence documents presented by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard suggest that Russian operatives had access to sensitive health information about Hillary Clinton that included allegations of psychiatric instability and a daily regimen of heavy tranquilisers. The documents, originally part of a 2020 House Intelligence Committee review into foreign interference during the 2016 campaign, were made public by Gabbard during a high-profile White House briefing on Wednesday. What the declassified report claims about Clinton According to the document released by Gabbard, Russia's foreign intelligence services had obtained what was described as highly sensitive information from Democratic Party sources during the 2016 campaign. Among the most startling revelations were that Clinton, then the Democratic presidential nominee, was allegedly consuming 'heavy tranquilisers' daily and experiencing significant psychological challenges. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The report claims the Russian government was in possession of internal Democratic National Committee (DNC) communications that described Clinton's behaviour in terms of 'psycho-emotional problems, uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression and cheerfulness.' 🧵 New evidence has emerged of the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history. Per President @realDonaldTrump's directive, I have declassified a @HouseIntel oversight majority staff report that exposes how the Obama Administration… — DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 23, 2025 In addition to these claims, the report also pointed to Clinton suffering from a range of chronic physical health conditions at the time. These included Type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, deep vein thrombosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The documents assert that Democratic leadership and then US President Barack Obama were privately disturbed by Clinton's deteriorating condition. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The text of the report notes, 'As of September 2016, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service had Democratic National Committee (DNC) information that President Obama and Party leaders found the state of Secretary Clinton's health to be 'extraordinarily alarming,' and felt it could have 'serious negative impact' on her election prospects.' It further alleges that 'her health information was being kept in 'strictest secrecy' and even close advisors were not being fully informed.' What Putin allegedly decided to do with the info The declassified materials suggest that Russia deliberately chose not to release the compromising information about Clinton during the 2016 election. According to the assessment, Russian President Vladimir Putin believed Clinton's win was all but certain and opted to withhold the information until after the election in order to undermine her presumed presidency. The document says, 'Putin chose not to leak the most damaging and compromising material on Hillary Clinton prior to the election; instead planning to release it after the election to weaken what Moscow viewed would be an inevitable Clinton presidency.' These findings were originally compiled as part of a Republican-led investigation in September 2020. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The probe included interviews with more than 20 intelligence personnel and a review of background materials used in the 2017 Obama-commissioned intelligence assessment on Russia's influence campaign. The current declassification by Gabbard has reopened debate over whether key details were downplayed or mischaracterised in that 2017 report. How Gabbard has been going after Obama & Clinton Gabbard also used the briefing to level broader allegations against the Obama administration. She asserted that then-US President Obama and top national security officials deliberately manipulated the 2017 intelligence community assessment to suggest that Russia favoured Donald Trump, while knowingly excluding or misrepresenting other intelligence findings. Donald Trump, left, looks on as Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, speaks at the National Guard Association of the United States' 146th General Conference, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Detroit. File Image/AP 'There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false,' Gabbard said. 'They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true; it wasn't.' She further accused former CIA Director John Brennan and others of basing key conclusions on unreliable intelligence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Then CIA Director (John) Brennan and the intelligence community mischaracterised intelligence and relied on dubious, substandard sources to create a contrived false narrative that Putin developed a quote, unquote 'clear preference for Trump',' she said. The released document also includes a section referring to a 'campaign email discussing a plan approved by Secretary Clinton to link Putin and Russian hackers to candidate Trump in order to 'distract the American public' from the Clinton email server scandal,' according to Fox News, which first reported the content. How Obama has responded Obama issued a formal statement via his office, dismissing the entire affair as a manufactured political distraction aimed at deflecting attention from other matters, particularly renewed scrutiny around files related to the late Jeffrey Epstein. 'These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,' Obama's office said in the statement. 'Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.' The statement added that the core findings of Russian influence efforts were affirmed in a bipartisan 2020 report by the Senate Intelligence Committee led by then-chairman Marco Rubio. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Multiple critics have accused Gabbard and the Trump White House of conflating the terms 'hacking' and 'influence operations' to create an exaggerated sense of conspiracy, while simultaneously seeking to rehabilitate Trump's image in the eyes of his base. How Trump has reacted Trump, long an outspoken critic of the Russia investigation and of Clinton herself, has embraced the newly publicised report. He has repeatedly characterised past investigations into Russian meddling as a political 'witch hunt' and has used the document to reassert his long-standing claims of innocence. In a video posted to social media, Trump went so far as to depict Obama in a prison jumpsuit. When asked at the White House briefing whether Trump believes Obama should be prosecuted, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt replied, 'The president believes that this matter needs to be thoroughly investigated, and anyone convicted of crimes should be held accountable in this country.' She added, 'As for what accountability looks like, it's in the Department of Justice's hands and we trust them to be successful.' Notably, Trump himself was convicted last year on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records in connection to hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, he received an 'unconditional discharge' from the presiding judge — meaning he remains a convicted felon but faced no penalties or prison time. Some legal analysts have pointed out that any potential prosecution of Obama or former officials would face significant hurdles, including a five-year statute of limitations for federal conspiracy charges and a 2024 US Supreme Court ruling that grants former presidents broad immunity for official acts performed while in office. With inputs from agencies
Fox News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
DAVID MARCUS: Why socialist NYC mayoral candidate's Uganda trip makes surprising sense
DemocratIc Party nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani has been at the center of a political firestorm since his shock victory in the primary last month, and faced with mounting questions about his communist past, he's doing what leftists always do, running away and not answering questions. In this case to the African nation of Uganda where Mamdani was born. The socialist wonderboy's campaign swears that this ten-day excursion in the middle of the general election has nothing to do with politics, Mamdani and his wife are just celebrating their wedding, again, and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you that Zohran may be mayor of soon. The obvious political move being made here is to hide Mamdani, at least until the end of the month, and this isn't the first time. Last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., brought Zohran to Washington DC to meet with Congressional Democrats in what turned into a laughable moment of cloak and dagger, here is how Fox News Digital described it: "Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani were scheduled to host the 8 a.m. breakfast at the National Democratic Club. While the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is located right next door to where Wednesday's breakfast is being held, the DNC said it was not involved with the event. Minutes before the breakfast was scheduled to start, the location was moved to a restaurant a few blocks away." Reports indicate that the windows to the place were blacked out and that Zohran quietly exited out of a backdoor. What clearly happened here was that most Democrats in Congress, very wisely, didn't want a photo op with the most radioactive "Democratic Socialist" on the current political scene. In fact, in New York, political ads tying Democrats to Mamdani are already running. Zany Zohran is hightailing it out of, not just Gotham, but America, without the coveted endorsement of either House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, even both are also from New York City. And that underlines the point, these guys don't want to talk about Mamdani and a future Democrat party dedicated to seizing the means of production and abolitioning prisons, no Democrat who isn't a member of the Squad wants to. Serious Democrats understand that Mamdani is not some generational political talent, or the next Obama, he is a boilerplate archetype that Democrat Socialists use over and over, young, charismatic, edgy, social media savvy, and non-white. Examples of this DSA type abound, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh, Illinois Congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, and of course the trendsetter herself, AOC. The DSA and other George Soros backed operations excel at winning primaries in deep blue areas with young, far left candidates like those above, but what they don't do, ever, is win competitive general elections. The idea is supposed to be that once the Democratic primary is won, no Republican can win, so the socialist skates to victory, almost every wacko district attorney in our major cities came to power exactly this way. And this is the real reason Mamdani ran away to Uganda, just as Kamala Harris was hidden away when she became the presidential nominee last year because she had no defense for the Biden administration, so too, Zohran has no explanation for being a full blown communist ten minutes ago. While the hide behind the couch strategy failed for Harris, she was running against Donald Trump, Zohran is luckier and running against Eric Adams, an unpopular mayor, Andrew Cuomo, a disgraced former governor, and Curtis Sliwa, a legendary New Yorker, but also known best for his beret and love of cats. If all three of Mamdani's rivals remain in the race then the socialist will be able to hide his way to Gracie Mansion and control of America's greatest city, maybe he does one debate, goes on a few lefty podcasts, that will be enough. 10 days in far-flung Uganda, out of the blue, is the beginning of this strategy, even if Mamdani claims the trip is to celebrate his marriage and troll the supposed racists, mostly actually anonymous X accounts, saying he should go back to Africa. If, on the other hand, the three claimants to the right to take on Mamdani can settle it and get behind one candidate by September, then Zohran might actually be forced to run on his record and past statements, something no Democrat Socialist ever wants to do. For now, even when Mamdani gets back from his African Adventure, expect him to remain quiet, because unless and until he is facing one, serious challenger, hiding him in the basement is almost certain to secure him victory.
