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New York Post
22-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's defense of Biden's mental acuity ridiculed during podcast interview
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) struggled to justify her defense of former President Joe Biden's mental acuity when grilled over it during a recent podcast interview. 'Do you regret saying that President Biden had a mental acuity, he had a sharpness to him?' Sam Fragoso, host of 'Talk Easy,' asked the Massachusetts Democrat in an interview posted on Sunday. 'You said that up until July of last year,' Fragoso added, noting that Warren had backed Biden up until he bowed out of the 2024 presidential race. Advertisement 'I said what I believe to be true,' Warren responded. Warren was grilled about her past comments defending Biden's fitness for office during a recent podcast appearance. Youtube / Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso When Fragoso pressed, asking the senator if she believed Biden 'was as sharp as you,' Warren paused and appeared to be holding back laughter. Advertisement 'I said I had not seen decline … and I hadn't at that point,' the senator claimed. Warren argued that when she defended Biden, including immediately after his shockingly poor debate performance against President Trump, she had not seen any discernible difference in his mental fitness from the Biden she knew in 2021. 'You know the – the thing is, he is, look, he was sharp. He was on his feet. I saw him at live events. I had meetings with him a couple of times …' Warren rambled, before Fragaso interrupted her. ''On his feet' is not praise,' the stunned podcast host told Warren. ''He can speak in sentences' is not praise.' Advertisement Warren, again, appeared to struggle to contain her laughter. 'Alright. Fair enough. Fair enough,' she responded, backing down from her defense of the former president and then changing the subject. Biden dropped out of the 2024 race last July amid mounting concerns about his age and mental acuity. REUTERS Biden administration officials and Democrats have faced criticism for allegedly covering up the former president's mental and physical decline in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Advertisement Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), for example, publicly downplayed reports of Biden's cognitive decline up until the former president's disastrous June 27 debate while privately expressing her concerns, according to author Chris Whipple's new book, 'Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History.' 'He was not the same Joe Biden,' Pelosi reportedly told a friend of the then-president's condition after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom award during a May 2024 White House ceremony. The White House event took place exactly a month before Biden's dramatic decline was detailed in a Wall Street Journal report, where more than 45 Republican and Democratic lawmakers and staffers described a president who spoke so softly during meetings that participants struggled to understand him; did not appear to know what policies were in place; and relied on staffers to answer direct questions. Pelosi, however, slammed the report as a 'hit piece.'
Wall Street Journal
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
Even Hollywood Couldn't Save Biden
Joe Biden received advice from Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg before his June debate against Donald Trump, according to a new book by Chris Whipple. Given that it was probably the worst presidential debate performance in history, it's no wonder they haven't bragged about it. 'Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History' recounts how the Hollywood moguls advised Mr. Biden over Zoom on how to answer questions. Mr. Katzenberg then spent a week at Camp David to work with Mr. Biden on his body language in front of a camera. There's a long history of Hollywood types advising Democrats on debates. Every Democratic president since 1960 who has participated in a general-election debate has received debate advice from Tinseltown. It started with the director Arthur Penn, who advised John F. Kennedy before Kennedy's 1960 debate against Richard Nixon. JFK was smooth and effective on television while Nixon, who sounded fine on radio, looked pasty and sweaty to those watching at home. Presidential debates then took a 16-year hiatus. In 1976 they returned, and with them so did Hollywood kibitzing. In 2004 Jimmy Carter revealed that while preparing for his 1976 debate with Gerald Ford, he watched tapes of the 1960 debate 'over and over' with Robert Redford, who gave him tips on what not to do. A grateful Carter recalled he 'didn't know what in the world I was going to do' in the debate: 'I was probably president because of Bob Redford.' When Bill Clinton ran in 1992, he had many eager Hollywood friends looking to offer him advice. His old pals and fellow Arkansans, Linda Bloodworth and Harry Thomason, were Hollywood producers who told him how to capitalize on camera angles at the debates. Comedian and director David Steinberg suggested via the Thomasons that Mr. Clinton look directly at audience members during a town-hall debate, rather than into the cameras. Mr. Clinton did exceedingly well at that debate, especially in contrast to George H.W. Bush, who memorably looked at his watch during a question. Mr. Steinberg wasn't the only Hollywood star to offer advice to Mr. Clinton that cycle. Barbra Streisand sent him a telegram before his first presidential debate in 1992: 'Don't be afraid to let your passion and anger show. The best defense is a strong offense. We honor your convictions and integrity and we will be rooting for you.' As Ms. Streisand described the guidance in her 2023 autobiography, 'I was talking to him like a director.' Barack Obama also drew on Democrats' alliance with progressive Hollywood stars. They weren't shy about giving guidance after Mr. Obama's poor debate performance against Mitt Romney in 2012. Aaron Sorkin, creator of 'The West Wing,' wrote a scene in which President Josiah Bartlet advised Mr. Obama to go after Mr. Romney more aggressively next time by 'learning to pronounce three words: 'Governor, you're lying.' ' The program had ended its run, so Mr. Sorkin fed the scene to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who published it. Not all the advice heading from Los Angeles to Washington has been helpful. As actor Rob Lowe recounted on his podcast in 2021, director Rob Reiner suggested to Al Gore that he get up in George W. Bush's face during their 2000 debate. It didn't work. Mr. Gore's attempt to make Mr. Bush uncomfortable was countered with a dismissive head check that might have been Mr. Bush's best moment in that debate. Unlike that situation, one can hardly blame Messrs. Katzenberg and Spielberg for Mr. Biden's predicament. Mr. Biden didn't have it in him to perform adequately in 2024. The best advice they could have offered Mr. Biden would have been to drop out of the race before taking the stage, but there was no way he would have taken it. Mr. Troy is a Senior Fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute. He served as deputy secretary of health and human services, 2007-09, and is author, most recently, of 'The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry.'
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump: Jimmy Carter died a happy man because Biden holds title for ‘worst' president in history
President Donald Trump said the late President Jimmy Carter could die peacefully knowing he wasn't the worst U.S. president because that title belongs to former President Joe Biden. Trump issued the remarks to reporters during a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited the White House on behalf of European nations to assist in brokering a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union. "Worst administration in the history of our country," Trump said on Thursday. "Worse than Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter died a happy man. You know why? Because he wasn't the worst. President Joe Biden was." Critics Pile On Biden Following Abc Interview, Blast His Refusal To Commit To Cognitive Test: 'Disqualifying' Trump has routinely railed against Biden and the former president's mental fitness, and the remarks coincide with multiple books detailing Biden's cognitive function while in office. One White House aide said that staff isolated Biden and allowed his faculties to "atrophy" in the book, "Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History." It was released on April 8. A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Read On The Fox News App Trump's comments come days after Biden slammed the Trump administration for creating so much "damage" during the early days of the administration. Ex-biden Aide Says Former President Was 'Fatigued, Befuddled, And Disengaged' Prior To June Debate: Book "Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It's kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon," Biden said in his first public speech post-presidency on Tuesday. Biden delivered the speech during a disability advocacy conference in Chicago. On Thursday, Trump and Meloni said they were confident the U.S. and Europe could hash out a trade deal. Trump unveiled 20% tariffs on European Union goods coming into the U.S. on April 2, but he announced on April 9 the tariffs would remain at 10% for 90 days to allow the U.S. and the EU to strike a deal. "There will be a trade deal, 100%," Trump told reporters. "Of course there will be a trade deal, they want to make one very much, and we're going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it, but it'll be a fair deal."Original article source: Trump: Jimmy Carter died a happy man because Biden holds title for 'worst' president in history
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
George Clooney denies unloading on MSNBC producer after Brzezinski claim about actor's op-ed critical of Biden
Actor George Clooney denied during a Wednesday interview that he called a producer with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" last year to yell about co-host Mika Brzezinski accusing the actor of taking orders from former President Barack Obama to write an op-ed calling on then-President Joe Biden to exit the 2024 race. "That never happened. Now, it's an interesting thing. You know, here's a funny thing about this. You're writing a book, you know, and all I have to do is tell the truth. I have emails. I was ticked off when it was Mika Brzezinski — who I like, perfectly nice woman — but she said that, you know, that President Obama was behind me writing the op-ed, and that's not true at all. It has no basis in fact. And I wrote Mike Barnicle and I just said, what is that about?" he told CNN's Jake Tapper. Clooney wrote a guest essay for The New York Times in early July calling on Biden to drop out of the race. After the opinion piece came out, Brzezinski accused Obama of influencing Clooney to write the essay during "Morning Joe." Author Chris Whipple wrote in his new book, "Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History," that the "Morning Joe" segment led to Clooney reportedly calling a producer and shouting, "How the f--- could you let her link me with Barack Obama saying he made me write the op-ed?" George Clooney Says He Dropped Support For Biden After Seeing Him Up Close, Condemns Democratic 'Cowardice' Clooney said Barnicle, who appears on "Morning Joe" often, said he had no idea. Read On The Fox News App "And I said, the one thing you know about me is that I don't take my marching orders from anybody. And that's the only person I know over there. And I wrote him. We have a four-email exchange," Clooney added. "And then this guy [Whipple] says, I called up a producer, who, I don't know how to call a producer there. I don't know any producer there. And I yelled at them, which isn't true. And here's the problem with that, what that does is it calls into question any other facts in this book," Clooney told Tapper. George Clooney Rubs Elbows With Biden At Star-studded La Fundraiser After Calling White House With Complaint Tapper also asked Clooney if he thought the Democratic Party should have had some kind of primary after Biden dropped out. "Yeah, if you think about it, and she may have ended up winning that contest," he said, referring to former Vice President Kamala Harris. "And here's the problem that we were facing with that. Whether or not you agree that that administration was successful or not, that's a different thing. But the perception was, and how they were running was, that it was a failed administration. I could argue that it's not, but that's a different argument." Clooney continued, "You can't run against yourself, right? And that's why that was a difficult campaign. It's hard to run against yourself and say, well, yeah, I disagree with all this stuff." He said it was impossible for Harris because she would have had to "run down" Biden. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture Clooney also said it was his "civic duty" to call for Biden to drop out during the interview with Tapper. "I'm a Democrat in Kentucky, so I get it. When I saw people on my side of the street not telling the truth, I thought that was time," he article source: George Clooney denies unloading on MSNBC producer after Brzezinski claim about actor's op-ed critical of Biden
Fox News
17-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump: Jimmy Carter died a happy man because Biden holds title for ‘worst' president in history
President Donald Trump said the late President Jimmy Carter could die peacefully knowing he wasn't the worst U.S. president because that title belongs to former President Joe Biden. Trump issued the remarks to reporters during a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited the White House on behalf of European nations to assist in brokering a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union. "Worst administration in the history of our country," Trump said on Thursday. "Worse than Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter died a happy man. You know why? Because he wasn't the worst. President Joe Biden was." Trump has routinely railed against Biden and the former president's mental fitness, and the remarks coincide with multiple books detailing Biden's cognitive function while in office. One White House aide said that staff isolated Biden and allowed his faculties to "atrophy" in the book, "Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History." It was released on April 8. A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Trump's comments come days after Biden slammed the Trump administration for creating so much "damage" during the early days of the administration. "Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It's kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon," Biden said in his first public speech post-presidency on Tuesday. Biden delivered the speech during a disability advocacy conference in Chicago. On Thursday, Trump and Meloni said they were confident the U.S. and Europe could hash out a trade deal. Trump unveiled 20% tariffs on European Union goods coming into the U.S. on April 2, but he announced on April 9 the tariffs would remain at 10% for 90 days to allow the U.S. and the EU to strike a deal. "There will be a trade deal, 100%," Trump told reporters. "Of course there will be a trade deal, they want to make one very much, and we're going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it, but it'll be a fair deal."
