Latest news with #MarkHalperin
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Democrats Have A Toxic Anti-Male Problem
Ben discusses how the Democrats' denunciation of masculinity is hurting them with voters. Mark Halperin, editor-in-chief of 2WAY and host of Next Up with Mark Halperin unpacks the dangers of media groupthink and shares what he thinks the media is getting wrong in the political sphere today. Then, FOX News Senior National Correspondent Aishah Hasnie joins with the latest updates on where President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' stands in the Senate. Later, Christine previews her risky flight out of Newark Airport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Morning Joe left flustered after interviewer refuses to let him off the hook over Biden health cover-up
'Morning Joe' host Joe Scarborough was forced to engage in a fierce, three-minute defense of his 2024 claim that then-President Joe Biden was at his 'best ever' after being confronted with it on a podcast Tuesday. The MSNBC star was pressed about the statement by Mark Halperin, as the world reacted to a new book alleging the ex-president's inner circle hid signs of his decline. Halperin, welcoming Scarborough to his show, first forced the host to watch the clip himself. It aired on Morning Joe in March 2024, when Scarborough was getting ready to host then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Before bringing her on, Scarborough engaged in a lengthy, fiery defense of Biden's age and fitness for office. 'He's better than he has ever been, intellectually, analytically,' Scarborough said in a rant before introducing the aide. 'F- you if you can't handle the truth. This version of Biden… is the best Biden ever.' Once the clip played out, Halperin, long the political director for ABC News, posed a pointed question to his guest. 'Looking back at that, do you say, well, it was misleading to say "best Biden ever" without caveating it and saying, except on the days when he's not?' he asked - after a stubborn Scarborough said Biden had both good and bad days. Scarborough, however, said he 'never saw the bad days personally,' before spinning the conversation toward Donald Trump. Scroll down for full video: The rant also saw the opinion host bizarrely argue the clip was taken out of context - the context being the entirety of his broadcasting career and the current news cycle. 'He stumbled and bumbled around, Mark,' Scarborough said of Biden, after listening to himself say he believed the then-unraveling incumbent was 'better than he's ever been, intellectually, analytically' barely a year ago. 'I mean, yeah, he certainly did. 'Donald Trump did, other politicians did,' he added. 'And it's actually the same case as a lot of times when I've gone in and talked to Donald Trump.' The testy defense continued from there and saw Scarborough invoke the current president's name some seven times. 'We go on to Donald Trump, and I've heard the media narrative around Donald Trump, and certainly I've been very critical of Donald Trump,' Scarborough argued, as MSNBC prepares to split from NBC News and lead a new company of cable channels. 'And when I leave, I [will] have a better understanding... of where Donald Trump is mentally, if Donald Trump is losing it, like people have said through the years or not. 'And so, again, am I going to look at a clip that's gone viral and pay more attention to that than two and a half, three hours I had with a guy one-on-one going around the world?' he concluded. 'No, I'm just not going to. Are some of the clips bad? Yeah, they certainly are bad,' he added. 'Put into proper context, I'm just not going to freak out and melt down on one or two clips here and there. 'And again he bumbled around, and he stumbled around, but he has for quite some time. 'That didn't seem to me to get in the way of Joe Biden being able to analyze the most important issues.' When it came the former Florida congressman insistence he didn't see Biden's bad days firsthand, Halperin did not let him off the hook either. 'Well, you did! You did because you saw him address a dead congresswoman, and you saw him in South Carolina,' Halperin mentioned, referring to Jackie Walorski, who died in a car crash two months before Biden mistakenly asked for her at an event in 2022. 'The dead congresswoman, yeah,' Scarborough conceded, before being grilled some more. 'Yeah, well, more than that, I mean, I can show you the RNC clip reels,' Halperin mentioned, referring to a series of viral flubs played to attendees of last year's conservative conference. There were plenty of days in public when he, when he was not the best Biden ever. And of course, shortly after-' Scarborough at this point interrupted. '[He] had good days — plural,' he said. Scarborough - aside from offering a 15-minute monologue to defend the then president's disastrous debate performance back in July - notably tore into former Special Counsel Robert Hur for a 2024 report on the former president related to the classified documents probe that showed Biden struggling with key memories. 'I'm just saying this guy says such random s**t!' Scarborough said at the time, demanding Hur apologize for the report, which revealed serious memory lapses from the then-president during a February 2024 interview surrounding his possession of classified documents. 'Does he hope he gets a judgeship? I think he does. I think he hopes he gets a judgeship if Donald Trump gets elected again because he's trying out, because he humiliated himself with that display,' Scarborough said. The audio of the Hur-Biden interview was released on Friday, and suggested Hur not only reported on since-substantiated concerns about Biden's mental acuity, he undersold the extent of it, progressive journalists like CNN's Abby Phillip have admitted. Jake Tapper, the author of the just released exposé Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, also admitted Tuesday to not fully reporting on Biden's senility when interviewing the former president in 202s amid speculation that swirled even then. 'Knowing what I know now, obviously I feel tremendous humility about my coverage,' Tapper told Megn Kelly on her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, while promoting the new book. He also admitted that 'conservative media was correct' in how it handled the story, two days after Biden was diagnosed with an advanced form of prostate cancer. He is currently exploring treatment options, his office said.
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough confronted on viral 'best Biden ever' clip
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough was confronted with a viral clip of him deeming former President Joe Biden the "best Biden ever" in March 2024 on Tuesday, standing by his assessment of the former president, citing his personal interactions with him. Speaking to Mark Halperin during his show, "Next Up with Mark Halperin," Scarborough watched the clip of himself, where he argued that the former president was "far beyond cogent." "I've said it for years now, he's cogent. But I undersold it when I said he was cogent, he's far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he's better than he's ever been, intellectually, analytically, because he's been around for 50 years," Scarborough said during a March 2024 "Morning Joe" broadcast. "Start your tape right now because I'm about to tell you the truth. And f-you if you can't handle the truth. This version of Biden, intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever." After noting that Biden had good days and bad days, Halperin asked Scarbrough, "Looking back at that, do you say, well, it was misleading to say 'best Biden ever' without caveating it and saying, except on the days when he's not the best Biden ever?" Scarborough insisted he never saw the bad days personally. Earlier in the conversation, Scarborough detailed multiple meetings he had with Biden, during which the MSNBC host argued that Biden had a better "analysis" of the situation, related to Ukraine and Russia, than he had heard from most people. Halperin pushed back and told Scarborough, "Well, you did! You did, because you saw him address a dead congresswoman, and you saw him in South Carolina." Halperin argued he could show Scarborough several clips of days when the former president was not the best Biden ever and Scarborough pivoted the conversation to Trump. Scarborough argued, "He stumbled and bumbled around, Mark. I mean, yeah, he certainly did. Donald Trump did, other politicians did, and it's actually the same case as a lot of times when I've gone in and talked to Donald Trump. We go on to Donald Trump, and I've heard the media narrative around Donald Trump, and certainly I've been very critical of Donald Trump, and when I leave, I have a better understanding, just like Jeffrey Goldberg did a couple of weeks ago, a better understanding of where Donald Trump is mentally, if Donald Trump is losing it, like people have said through the years or not." "And so again, am I going to look at a clip that's gone viral and pay more attention to that than two and a half, three hours I had with a guy one-on-one going around the world? No, I'm just not going to," the MSNBC host said. "Are some of the clips bad? Yeah, they certainly are bad." "Put into proper context, I'm just not going to freak out and melt down on one or two clips here and there," the "Morning Joe" host added. "And again he bumbled around, and he stumbled around, but he has for quite some time. That didn't seem to me to get in the way of Joe Biden being able to analyze the most important issues." Scarborough went after former Special Counsel Robert Hur in February 2024 for his report on the former president related to the classified documents probe that showed Biden struggling with key memories, including when his son Beau died, when he left the vice presidency and why he was in possession of classified documents he shouldn't have had. "I'm just saying this guy says such random s---!" Scarborough said at the time, demanding that Hur apologize for his report. "Does he hope he gets a judgeship? I think he does. I think he hopes he gets a judgeship if Donald Trump gets elected again because he's trying out, because he humiliated himself with that display," Scarborough added. The audio of the Hur-Biden interview was released on Friday, and CNN's Abby Phillip suggested Hur undersold the extent of Biden's lapses during the interview.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Analysis: Delusion versus conspiracy
The book has revived the conversation about how Democrats put a declining Joe Biden on the ballot — and how the media blew the story. There were a lot of bad moments in public, including one I wrote about in 2023 at the White House holiday party . But I also talked to sources I trusted and who spent time with Biden, and they would candidly assure me that he was, mostly, fine. So what happened here? There was, as the book shows, an extended effort to conceal Biden's infirmity. But I think for many people in Washington, it was also, as Orwell wrote, hard to see what's in front of your nose. You can see this (if, I suppose, you want to see it) in an unusual exchange on Mark Halperin's the other day, as a former top Biden aide (and unnamed source for the book, by his account), Rufus Gifford, wrestled with this question. 'My brain is doing somersaults, and has been for the last eight months, on this very topic, because I was certainly not with him every day, but I was with him a lot, and this whole thing is very hard for someone like me,' he said. 'I can guarantee you there was no cover-up on my part, but I wish I had a better sense of everything.' Gifford's evidence for delusion over conspiracy: He and other aides were eager to put Biden on a debate stage. 'I could not have been more excited about that debate. I thought the president was going to kill it. That is where my mind was.' An unsatisfying answer, perhaps, and nobody on social media's going to buy it! But the most obvious fact about today's hyper-polarized environment is that people can convince themselves of anything. Gifford also sent me a brief video of what proved a decisive moment, an encounter in which George Clooney says Biden didn't recognize him — the true original sin. Gifford says Clooney's name was called out just before the meeting, and so he doesn't think this makes sense. I don't actually think the video resolves much — but take a look for yourself here.
Business Mayor
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
Meghan McCain merges YouTube show with podcast as low viewership plagues program
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Just three months after Mark Halperin made the splashy announcement that Meghan McCain would be joining his media startup to host a twice-weekly show, McCain revealed that she is 'merging' that program with her other podcast and moving it to a new YouTube channel. The rebrand comes as McCain's Happy Hour podcast for Halperin's 2way network has experienced soft viewership numbers since its February launch. The last broadcast of the show before the merger was announced, which featured an interview with Fox News media critic Joe Concha, has only managed a little over 4,300 views on YouTube. Going forward, according to McCain's announcement, the show – which had previously aired live at 5 p.m. ET on Mondays and Wednesdays – will now carry the name Citizen McCain , the podcast she first launched in 2023 and had been on hiatus throughout April. The program will continue to air live on YouTube twice a week, but move from late afternoon to noon ET, and the audio version will be broadcast on Apple and Spotify. 'Our podcast is going to be our live show on 2way like we have been doing – just now with our original Citizen McCain name because quite frankly all of you like it and the brand is already on our TikTok, socials, etc,' McCain wrote on Substack earlier this month. 'We will also be moving our time of recording to noon eastern on Mondays and Wednesdays so you can join live on YouTube, join our live zoom chat and ask questions, or just watch later on YouTube or download later on our podcast channels,' she added. 'All you have to type in anywhere is 'Citizen McCain' to find our content.' Meghan McCain announced earlier this month that she was 'merging' her podcast with the twice-weekly live YouTube show she launched on Mark Halperin's network. (Getty Images) McCain added that she knew that 'this journey with Citizen McCain has been a rocky one with different partnerships,' but that she and her co-host Miranda Wilkins are 'very confident that our partnership with 2way.' She also stated that it has 'been so fun doing a live taped show with video and believe this is the right path for us to merge the two things together,' insisting that 'NOTHING about the content is changing.' Read More Goodbye to Succession, the defining show of the Trump era After the original Citizen McCain podcast went dark following its March 27 episode, McCain dropped a short announcement on the audio channels about the merger on May 1, letting listeners know that the show was returning in a new form. 'Meghan and Miranda have some big news! Thank you to everyone for patiently waiting out this limbo period because we're happy to announce that Citizen McCain has officially partnered with 2WAY,' McCain noted. 'This means that the podcast will be back, twice a week and if you want – you can watch the full show live on YouTube Mondays and Wednesdays at noon Eastern.' During the first broadcast of the reboot on May 5, McCain declared that 'Happy Hour is no more' before noting that both shows were combined 'under one roof' at 2way. Since the rebrand, however, the response has continued to be tepid. None of the full episodes of the new Citizen McCain has topped 5,000 views on YouTube. The show's dedicated YouTube channel has only 2,650 subscribers as of Thursday afternoon. Representatives for McCain and Halperin did not respond to requests for comment. On top of that, since her show's facelift and merger with the old podcast, which her Citizen Cain production company had previously produced, the new episodes and clips are only being posted and shared on the Citizen McCain channel and not 2way's. While the network's YouTube channel includes a link to her channel along with a subscribe button, noting that it is 'part of the 2way network,' the last time a segment or episode from McCain was posted to the main 2way channel was the April 30 live episode of Happy Hour with Concha. The rebrand comes as McCain's Happy Hour podcast for Halperin's 2way network has experienced soft viewership numbers since its February launch. (Getty Images for SiriusXM) Overall, the most views any McCain video has attracted during her 2way partnership appears to be for a two-minute clip from a February episode of Happy Hour , which featured the headline: Joe Biden's Staff 'All Hated Kamala Harris … She Was the Joy Reid of the White House.' That video has pulled in nearly 81,000 views in nearly three months. In general, though, most of the full Happy Hour broadcasts averaged around 10,000 views, and outside of the Kamala Harris segment and a handful of others, the vast majority of the clips from these shows drew less than 5,000 views – with many failing to even top a thousand. At the same time, 2way itself hasn't lit the world on fire despite bringing McCain, journalist Michael Moynihan and others 'to join its growing roster of ongoing bipartisan conversations curated by the veteran journalist Mark Halperin,' as Semafor reported in February. According to social media analysis site Social Blade, 2way has been tallying about 83,000 views a day for its programming on YouTube, with the channel publishing an average of eight videos a day. The channel has a total of 78,400 subscribers as of Thursday afternoon, placing it in 2,428th place. Across 2,211 videos, it has pulled in a total of 22.8 million views. McCain's partnership with Halperin has raised some eyebrows, notably because she was extremely critical of the longtime political journalist after he was accused of sexually harassing and assaulting more than a dozen women in 2017, which led to him losing his plush gigs with MSNBC and Showtime. Despite her past revulsion over some of the accusations against Halperin, which he has denied, McCain told The Independent back in February that she now sees things differently. 'With age comes wisdom and different perspectives on people. I am now a 40 year old mother of two. I have grown and evolved like everyone else, particularly in the past five years — Mark has also grown and evolved,' she said. 'Like Mark, at this point in my life I believe in giving people the presumption of grace and forgiveness as I would like it in return. I have had the fortune and misfortune of having every single thing I've ever done since I was 22 well documented on the internet and thrown back in my face by people like you.' Read More Tennis blackout is a sign of the times Halperin, meanwhile, has 'scraped his way back' to media acceptance and prominence since his #MeToo exile. Besides launching 2way and maintaining his political analyst role with the pro-Trump channel Newsmax, he has once again become a regular presence on mainstream cable news channels, including recent appearances on Fox News. That also includes hosting a separate podcast on the new audio and video network launched by Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News star who was a key figure in Roger Ailes' ouster amid sexual misconduct allegations.
