Latest news with #RunAgain
The Journal
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Joe Biden was begged by his son Hunter to ‘take a nap' during his busy trip to Ireland in 2023
HUNTER BIDEN PLEADED with his father Joe Biden to 'take a nap' during his packed Ireland trip two years go, a new book reports. A section in the new book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson focuses on his four-day Irish trip in April 2023, which saw him traverse the country, taking in Dublin as well as ancestral spots in Mayo and Louth. The book – titled Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again – has direct testimony from Democratic congressman Mike Quigley who said that Biden seemed sapped of energy, leading to Hunter to plead for him to take a nap. 'You promised you wouldn't do this,' the book reports Hunter as telling his father. 'You promised you'd take a nap. You know you can't handle all this.' Biden announced his reelection campaign a few days after the Irish trip, only to carry out a stunning reversal after a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last June. Advertisement The new book recounts Quigley and New York congressman Brian Higgins discussing Biden's health following a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin as part of the Ireland trip. While they noted that Biden seemed to get an 'adrenaline boost' from performing to crowds – like his riverside address in Ballina, Co Mayo to tens of thousands – the two US politicians felt that their president's drained nature that day was similar to that of seriously unwell family members. Higgins is quoted as saying that Biden's cognitive decline was 'evident to most people that watched him', with his health also a worried topic of discussion among Democratic officials. Biden has strongly contested the claims that there had been a dramatic decline in his health in the latter half of his term in the White House. On a recent episode of US TV programme The View, he denied the allegations put forward in numerous reports on his health. 'They are wrong. There's nothing to sustain that,' Biden told the programme last month. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
New York Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Biden aides were willing to do ‘undemocratic things' to keep faltering president in power: ‘Original Sin' author
Joe Biden's aides were willing to do 'undemocratic things' to cover up the former president's mental decline and keep him in power for another four years, the author of a bombshell book revealed Sunday. Biden's team of unelected staffers felt justified in 'picking up the slack' for the faltering commander in chief and shielding him from the public because they viewed President Trump as an 'existential threat' to democracy, Alex Thompson, co-author of 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,' told Fox News' Shannon Bream. 3 Biden staffers felt justified in taking 'undemocratic' measures to ensure the president remained in power, Alex Thompson, who co-authored 'Original Sin' with Jake Tapper, claimed. Getty Images Advertisement 'Who would have been running the White House in a second Biden term?' Bream asked Thompson, after noting that he quoted a long-time Biden aide in his book 'basically admitting he shouldn't be running again.' 'Well, this person went on to say that when you're voting for a president, you're voting for the aides around him,' the author and Axios journalist revealed. 'But these aides were not even Senate-confirmed aides,' Thompson pointed out. 'These are White House aides, these were unelected people.' Advertisement Bream highlighted a passage from Thompson's book, where one anonymous aide argued Biden 'just had to win, and then he could disappear for four years. He'd only have to show proof of life every once in a while … His aides could pick up the slack.' Thompson explained that in his reporting for the book with co-author Jake Tapper, it became clear that many in Biden's orbit were willing to go to extreme lengths if it meant keeping Trump out of the Oval Office. 'If you believe — and I think a lot of these people do sincerely believe that Donald Trump was and is an existential threat to democracy — you can rationalize anything, including sometimes doing undemocratic things, which I think is what this person is talking about,' Thompson told Bream. 3 The bombshell book details Biden's mental and physical decline and Democratic efforts to cover it up. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement 3 Thompson's book, 'Original Sin,' was released last week. Fox News In his book, Thompson referred to the small group of people in Biden's inner circle running the White House as the 'Politburo,' noting that the term was also used by some within the administration. The small, tight-knit group included top Biden aides Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti and Bruce Reed, as well as first lady Jill Biden and the president's scandal-scarred son, Hunter. Thompson claims the 'politburo' were the 'ultimate decision-makers' as Biden's mental acuity declined. The term 'politburo' is commonly defined as the top echelon of a communist state.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Comer calls for interviews with Biden's doctor, other White House aides
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) called for interviews of five of former President Biden's aides regarding what he described as an effort to cover up the leader's reported cognitive decline. Comer has requested transcribed statements from Biden's physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor, former Director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden and former assistants Anthony Bernal, Annie Tomasini and Ashley Williams. 'The American people deserve to know when this decline began, how far it progressed, and who was making critical decisions on his behalf,' Comer, who serves as chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said in a Thursday statement. 'Key executive actions signed by autopen, such as sweeping pardons for the Biden Crime Family, must be examined considering President Biden's diminished capacity,' he added. Comer's call for interviews comes after his committee announced it will hold hearings about Biden's cognitive functions and autopen usage throughout his administration. A group of GOP senators on Thursday demanded that Biden officials testify about the alleged cover-up. Biden and his wife, Jill, have denied reports alleging the leader experienced a sharp cognitive decline while in office. Less than a year after leaving the Oval Office, journalists and former staffers have come forward with claims of former President Biden's mental lapses. A transcript of his two-day interview with former special counsel Robert Hur's interview was made public last year after the Biden White House blocked the Justice Department from releasing the audio recording. Hur closed his investigation into the former president's handling of classified documents, concluding that he was a 'well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' However, newly leaked audio published by Axios showcased Biden's long pauses and lapses during the tape. After reviewing the clip, Comer said Biden wasn't capable of making decisions and became incoherent. The Kentucky lawmaker has requested to interview five of the former president's closest aides before the House committee on June 18. Biden's mental state and age have come into the spotlight in recent weeks amid the release of two high-profile books about the 2024 presidential election — 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again' by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson, and 'Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House' by The Hill's Amie Parnes and NBC's Jonathan Allen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Stephen A. Smith Not Happy With Popular CNN Anchor's Behavior
When ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith usually goes on a long-winded rant, it's about a trending topic in the world of sports. That wasn't the case during a recent appearance on NewsNation. Smith has appeared on NewsNation's "Cuomo" a plethora of times over the past year. Some fans believe he's soft-launching his career as a politician. After all, he's considering a run for United States president in 2028. "Here's the reality: People, literally people, have walked up to me, including my own pastor, for crying out loud, who has said to me, 'You don't know what God has planned for you. At least show the respect to the people who believe in you, who respect you, who believe that you can make a difference in this country, to leave the door open for any possibilities some to three years down the line.' And that's what I've decided to do," Smith said. Smith's future in politics is unclear at this time. What we do know, however, is that he's not on great terms with CNN host Jake Tapper. Tapper released a new book titled "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again." It details the mental decline of Joe Biden during his term as president. Unsurprisingly, Tapper has received a lot of criticism for his book about Biden. While on NewsNation, Smith said that Tapper deserves any backlash heading his way. "But why did, why did he deserve it? Here is why. You got the video of him talking to Lara Trump and how — how condescending he was to her, etc. And I'm certainly not here to throw shade on him; I don't play that game," Smith said, via The Hill. "I'm just talking about the facts. They are what they are, and we see it. "And so it's about how you were acting towards people who had the audacity to be opposite and express some level of dissent to what you were saying, and what you were reporting on, and what your network was reporting on. It's not the fact that you were just wrong. It was the defiance and the condescending approach that you had, a dismissive approach that you had towards others." Tapper would probably agree with Smith's assessment. "I think some of the criticism is fair, to be honest," Tapper told CNN. "Of me, certainly. I'm not going to speak for anybody else, but knowing then what I know now, I look back at my coverage during the Biden years — and I did cover some of these issues, but not enough. I look back on it with humility." We'll see if Tapper fires back at the ESPN personality in the coming days.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Biden's White House chief of staff made all the ‘big decisions,' was nicknamed ‘Prime Minister': book
Former President Joe Biden's White House chief of staff was referred to as 'the Prime Minister' in the administration because he was the one making the 'big decisions,' according to a bombshell book. Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios share damning revelations about the alleged cover up of Biden's mental and physical decline in the book Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, out today. Ron Klain, who served as Biden's chief of staff from the start of his term until February 2023, was thought of as having 'Prime Minister' status by people inside the administration because the president was so 'limited', according to Thompson. Speaking to TIME, Thompson was asked about insiders referring 'to Ron Klain as the Prime Minister.' 'When you have a President whose energy is limited, whose time is limited, whose bandwidth is limited, then a lot of decision making filters down,' Thompson responded. 'And there were big decisions being made that people who had served in previous administrations and were surprised that Joe Biden was not involved in.' Thompson added that one Cabinet member, who is not identified, told the authors: 'The President is making the decisions, but if you present the decisions in a certain way, often it's not really a decision.' Klain was 'disappointed' in Biden's lack of preparation for the disastrous debate against Donald Trump on June 27. 'He'd been assured that Biden had been reviewing his prep materials before he arrived at Camp David, but he hadn't,' the authors write. In another book on Biden's decline released last month by reporter Chris Whipple, Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History, Klain was said to be 'startled' by the president's demeanor during debate prep at Camp David. 'He'd never seen him so exhausted and out of it,' The Guardian reported. 'Biden was unaware of what was happening in his own campaign. Halfway through the session, the president excused himself and went off to sit by the pool.' 'The president was fatigued, befuddled, and disengaged,' Whipple writes in the book. 'Klain feared the debate with Trump would be a nationally televised disaster.' Klain later told Politico that the 'framing' of his comments in the report was 'wrong.' Despite his previous remarks about the former president, responding to Thompson and Tapper's latest book, Klain said that he still believed that Biden should not have dropped out of the race. 'We are all in decline. But the president was mentally sharp and capable of serving,' Klain told The Guardian. 'I think his press conference after the Nato meeting in July proved that.' The book's release comes just two days after Biden revealed he has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. In response to claims made in the book, Biden's spokesperson Chris Meagher said that his team was 'still waiting for someone, anyone, to point out where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or make a presidential address where he was unable to do his job because of mental decline.' 'In fact, the evidence points to the opposite — he was a very effective president,' Meagher added.
