Latest news with #RobertHur
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Flashback: The debate night against Trump that threw Biden's reelection campaign into a free fall
A year ago Friday, President Joe Biden took the debate stage against then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and drove one of the final nails in his reelection campaign's coffin as traditional allies turned their backs on the 46th president and subsequently rallied to replace him as the frontrunner against Trump. Biden entered the reelection cycle already racked by claims and concerns that his mental acuity had slipped and he was not mentally fit to continue serving as president, which was underscored by special counsel Robert Hur's report in February 2024 that rejected criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials, citing he was "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." The then-president spent days preparing for the debate from Camp David in Maryland, as videos of his recent public gaffes and missteps haunted the campaign in the days leading up to the debate. Trump, meanwhile, led the charge in demanding Biden take a drug test to prove he was not taking performance-enhancing supplements ahead of the highly anticipated event. Biden brushed off accusations he was using any performance-enhancing supplements, including mocking Trump's challenge that he take a drug test in an X post showing him drinking a can of water. New Book Reveals Biden's Inner Circle Worried About His Age Years Before Botched Debate Performance "I don't know what they've got in these performance enhancers, but I'm feeling pretty jacked up. Try it yourselves, folks. See you in a bit," the X post read, accompanied by a photo of Biden drinking a can of water that read "Get real, Jack. It's just water." Read On The Fox News App Just minutes later, Biden would deliver a failing debate performance that unleashed panic among the Democratic Party, as some rushed to defend Biden, and others broke with the man who had served in public office for more than 50 years to demand fresh leadership at the 11th hour of the campaign cycle. Former Nbc Host Chuck Todd Admits Media Feared That Covering Biden's Decline Would Help Trump "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence, I don't think he knows what he said either," Trump shot at Biden at one point during the debate. The viral moment followed Biden attempting to tout Congress' bipartisan border package that lawmakers had bucked earlier in 2023. Biden said, "We find ourselves in a situation where when he was president, he was separating babies from their mothers put them in cages, making sure that the families were separated." "That's not the right way to go. What I've done since I've changed the law, what's happened? I've changed it in a way that now you're in a situation where there are 40% fewer people coming across the border illegally, that's better than when he left office. And I'm going to continue to move until we get the total ban on the total initiative relative to what we can do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers," Biden said, appearing to trail off. Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Grapple With Biden's Legacy As 2028 Race Begins Overall, Biden's 90-minute performance was riddled with him tripping over his words, speaking in a far more subdued tenor than during his vice presidency, having a raspy and unsure voice, and losing his train of thought at times. Biden and Trump also were both confronted over their ages during the debate, with the moderator saying Biden would be 86 by the end of a potential second term, and Trump 82. Biden defended his age, saying he "spent half my career being criticized about being the youngest person in politics. I was the second-youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate, and now I'm the oldest. This guy is three years younger and a lot less competent." Democrats Fretted Behind The Scenes About Biden's Decline Despite Public Confidence, New Book Claims Trump, meanwhile, said he had taken cognitive tests and "aced them." The debate unleashed panic among Democrat allies of the president and members of the media, as they remarked his performance was a failure that added fuel to the fire surrounding concerns over his mental acuity and age. "My phone really never stopped buzzing throughout. And the universal reaction was somewhere approaching panic," then-MSNBC host Joy Reid, for example, said. "My job now is to be really honest," former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, said during an appearance on MSNBC after the debate. "Joe Biden had one thing he had to do tonight, and he didn't do it. He had one thing he had to accomplish and that was reassure America that he was up to the job at his age. And he failed at that tonight." "I think the emotions of the night were basically disappointment, anger, and then, by the end, it was panic," one House Democrat who was granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital following the debate. First 2024 Trump-biden Presidential Debate: Top Clashes Over Issues From The Border To Ukraine Legacy media outlets such as the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune called on Biden to map out an exit plan – with the Times describing Biden as a "shadow of a great public servant" – while Biden allies such as former President Barack Obama and first lady Jill Biden reiterated their support for the 46th president's re-election. "Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know," Obama said the day after the debate. "But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight – and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit." Criticisms Mount That Biden Is A 'Shadow' Of Himself After Disastrous Debate: 'Not The Same Man' From Vp Era Soon after the debate, however, reports spread that Obama was working behind the scenes to rally that Biden drop out of the race, so a new generation of Democrats could take the reins of the party. The White House, meanwhile, forcefully defended the president following the debate. "Absolutely not," then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declared in a media briefing July 3, 2024, when asked if Biden had any plans to exit the 2024 race. Biden ultimately did drop out of the race on July 21, 2024, less than a month following the debate, as pressure from traditional allies grew. The president announced his departure in a Sunday afternoon message posted to his X account. The announcement was soon followed by him endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to take up the mantle, leaving her with just more than 100 days to launch her own presidential campaign against article source: Flashback: The debate night against Trump that threw Biden's reelection campaign into a free fall
Fox News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Flashback: The debate night against Trump that threw Biden's reelection campaign into a free fall
A year ago Friday, President Joe Biden took the debate stage against then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and drove one of the final nails in his reelection campaign's coffin as traditional allies turned their backs on the 46th president and subsequently rallied to replace him as the frontrunner against Trump. Biden entered the reelection cycle already racked by claims and concerns that his mental acuity had slipped and he was not mentally fit to continue serving as president, which was underscored by special counsel Robert Hur's report in February 2024 that rejected criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials, citing he was "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." The then-president spent days preparing for the debate from Camp David in Maryland, as videos of his recent public gaffes and missteps haunted the campaign in the days leading up to the debate. Trump, meanwhile, led the charge in demanding Biden take a drug test to prove he was not taking performance-enhancing supplements ahead of the highly anticipated event. Biden brushed off accusations he was using any performance-enhancing supplements, including mocking Trump's challenge that he take a drug test in an X post showing him drinking a can of water. "I don't know what they've got in these performance enhancers, but I'm feeling pretty jacked up. Try it yourselves, folks. See you in a bit," the X post read, accompanied by a photo of Biden drinking a can of water that read "Get real, Jack. It's just water." Just minutes later, Biden would deliver a failing debate performance that unleashed panic among the Democratic Party, as some rushed to defend Biden, and others broke with the man who had served in public office for more than 50 years to demand fresh leadership at the 11th hour of the campaign cycle. "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence, I don't think he knows what he said either," Trump shot at Biden at one point during the debate. The viral moment followed Biden attempting to tout Congress' bipartisan border package that lawmakers had bucked earlier in 2023. Biden said, "We find ourselves in a situation where when he was president, he was separating babies from their mothers put them in cages, making sure that the families were separated." "That's not the right way to go. What I've done since I've changed the law, what's happened? I've changed it in a way that now you're in a situation where there are 40% fewer people coming across the border illegally, that's better than when he left office. And I'm going to continue to move until we get the total ban on the total initiative relative to what we can do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers," Biden said, appearing to trail off. Overall, Biden's 90-minute performance was riddled with him tripping over his words, speaking in a far more subdued tenor than during his vice presidency, having a raspy and unsure voice, and losing his train of thought at times. Biden and Trump also were both confronted over their ages during the debate, with the moderator saying Biden would be 86 by the end of a potential second term, and Trump 82. Biden defended his age, saying he "spent half my career being criticized about being the youngest person in politics. I was the second-youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate, and now I'm the oldest. This guy is three years younger and a lot less competent." Trump, meanwhile, said he had taken cognitive tests and "aced them." The debate unleashed panic among Democrat allies of the president and members of the media, as they remarked his performance was a failure that added fuel to the fire surrounding concerns over his mental acuity and age. "My phone really never stopped buzzing throughout. And the universal reaction was somewhere approaching panic," then-MSNBC host Joy Reid, for example, said. "My job now is to be really honest," former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, said during an appearance on MSNBC after the debate. "Joe Biden had one thing he had to do tonight, and he didn't do it. He had one thing he had to accomplish and that was reassure America that he was up to the job at his age. And he failed at that tonight." "I think the emotions of the night were basically disappointment, anger, and then, by the end, it was panic," one House Democrat who was granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital following the debate. Legacy media outlets such as the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune called on Biden to map out an exit plan – with the Times describing Biden as a "shadow of a great public servant" – while Biden allies such as former President Barack Obama and first lady Jill Biden reiterated their support for the 46th president's re-election. "Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know," Obama said the day after the debate. "But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight – and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit." Soon after the debate, however, reports spread that Obama was working behind the scenes to rally that Biden drop out of the race, so a new generation of Democrats could take the reins of the party. The White House, meanwhile, forcefully defended the president following the debate. "Absolutely not," then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declared in a media briefing July 3, 2024, when asked if Biden had any plans to exit the 2024 race. Biden ultimately did drop out of the race on July 21, 2024, less than a month following the debate, as pressure from traditional allies grew. The president announced his departure in a Sunday afternoon message posted to his X account. The announcement was soon followed by him endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to take up the mantle, leaving her with just more than 100 days to launch her own presidential campaign against Trump.
Fox News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Biden breakdown: Where do investigations into the former president stand?
Former President Joe Biden left office in January, but questions about his mental acuity and decline while in office continue to mount amid the release of audio of his interview with former Special Counsel Robert Hur and his cancer diagnosis, drawing attention to a number of actions taken in his final days in office and beyond. Here's a look at the known, active investigations into the former president and his team: Biden used his final weeks as commander-in-chief to grant clemency and pardon more than 1,500 individuals, in what the White House described at the time as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president. The Justice Department is reviewing the list of people that were granted pardons by Biden, amid concerns about his use of an autopen to automatically sign documents. DOJ Pardon Attorney Ed Martin is reviewing the list of Biden-era pardons granted during the former president's final weeks in office, including the one granted to his son Hunter and the preemptive pardons granted to Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Gen. Mark Milley, Biden family members and members of the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riots. But Biden only signed one pardon by hand during his final weeks in office — and it was his most controversial one — for his son Hunter. Biden pardoned his son Hunter in December 2024 after vowing to the American people for months he would not do so. Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony gun offenses during special counsel David Weiss' investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes over his alleged failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea. Former President Joe Biden in December 2024 announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department's decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," the former president said. "There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me — and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough," he said. "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision." The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is leading an investigation into an alleged cover-up of Biden's mental decline. The investigation, specifically, is into whether those inside Biden's inner-circle knowingly colluded to hide the former president's declining mental acuity and used methods to circumvent the former president when it came to the issuance of important orders, particularly through the use of an autopen tool used to mimic the president's signature. So far, four former Biden aides have agreed to voluntarily testify for transcribed interviews, including the director of Biden's former Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden, Biden's assistant and senior advisor to the first lady, Anthony Bernal, former special assistant to Biden and Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations, Ashley Williams, and Biden's Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini. Tanden will appear before the House Oversight Committee on June 24, Bernal two days later on June 26, while Williams will testify July 11 and Tomasini on July 18. But Biden's former White House doctor, Kevin O'Connor, declined an invitation to sit for a transcribed interview scheduled for June 27. Comer subpoenaed O'Connor to compel that testimony. Comer sent letters to five more top former Biden staffers, putting his total outreach in the investigation to 10 people so far. The latest round of letters are being sent to former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, former senior communications advisor Anita Dunn, former top advisors Michael Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Bruce Reed. Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer in May. "Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms," Biden's team shared in a statement. "On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone." "While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management. The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians," the statement said. During his presidency, Biden had a "cancerous" skin lesion removed from his chest, the White House said at the time. Biden, during a 2022 speech discussing pollution in his home state, said: "That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up (with) have cancer." But Comer has expanded his investigation into Biden's mental decline to include an investigation into the timeline of when Biden learned he had cancer. "If you'll remember, Joe Biden did an interview several years ago and said he had cancer. The White House quickly issued a statement saying, oh, he misspoke," Comer said during an appearance on Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria." "Now, how many people do you know in the history of the world that have misspoke saying they had cancer when they really didn't?" Comer added: "So there's evidence out there that would suggest that there's been a cover-up with respect to his cancer for many years, just based on Joe Biden's own words."
Fox News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Biden breakdown: Where investigations into the former president stand
Former President Joe Biden left office in January, but questions about his mental acuity and decline while in office continue to mount amid the release of audio of his interview with former Special Counsel Robert Hur and his cancer diagnosis, drawing attention to a number of actions taken in his final days in office and beyond. Here's a look at the known, active investigations into the former president and his team: Former President Joe Biden used his final weeks as commander-in-chief to grant clemency and pardon more than 1,500 individuals, in what the White House described at the time as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president. The Justice Department is reviewing the list of people that were granted pardons by former President Joe Biden, amid concerns about his use of an AutoPen to automatically sign documents. DOJ Pardon Attorney Ed Martin is reviewing the list of Biden-era pardons granted during the former president's final weeks in office, including the one granted to his son, Hunter Biden, and the preemptive pardons granted to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, Biden family members, and members of the House Committee investigating Jan. 6. But Biden only signed one pardon by hand during his final weeks in office—and it was his most controversial one—for his son, Hunter Biden. Biden pardoned his son Hunter in December 2024 after vowing to the American people for months he would not do so. Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony gun offenses during special counsel David Weiss' investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes over his alleged failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea. Former President Biden in December 2024 announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department's decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," the former president said. "There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me — and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough. "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision." The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is leading an investigation into an alleged cover-up of Biden's mental decline. The investigation, specifically, is into whether those inside Biden's inner-circle knowingly colluded to hide the former president's declining mental acuity and used methods to circumvent the former president when it came to the issuance of important orders, particularly through the use of an autopen tool used to mimic the president's signature. So far, four former Biden aides have agreed to voluntarily testify for transcribed interviews, including the director of Biden's former Domestic Policy Council, Neera Tanden, Biden's assistant and senior advisor to the first lady, Anthony Bernal, former special assistant to Biden and Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations, Ashley Williams, and Biden's Deputy Chief of Staff, Annie Tomasini. Tanden will appear before the House Oversight Committee on June 24, Bernal two days later on June 26, while Williams will testify July 11 and Tomasini on July 18. But Biden's former White House doctor, Kevin O'Connor declined an invitation to sit for a transcribed interview scheduled for June 27. Comer subpoenaed O'Connor to compel that testimony. Comer sent letters to five more top former Biden staffers, putting his total outreach in the investigation to 10 people so far. The latest round of letters are being sent to former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, former senior communications advisor Anita Dunn, former top advisors Michael Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Bruce Reed. Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer in May. "Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms," Biden's team shared in a statement. "On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone." "While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management. The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians," the statement said. During his presidency, Biden had a "cancerous" skin lesion removed from his chest, the White House said at the time. Biden, during a 2022 speech discussing pollution in his home state, said: "That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up (with) have cancer." But House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has expanded his investigation into Biden's mental decline to include an investigation into the timeline of when Biden learned he had cancer. "If you'll remember, Joe Biden did an interview several years ago and said he had cancer. The White House quickly issued a statement saying, oh, he misspoke," Comer said during an appearance on Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria." "Now, how many people do you know in the history of the world that have misspoke saying they had cancer when they really didn't?" Comer added: "So there's evidence out there that would suggest that there's been a cover-up with respect to his cancer for many years, just based on Joe Biden's own words." Comer has subpoenaed O'Connor, the former White House physician who gave Biden several clean bills of health.
Russia Today
01-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
The Biden years: When America started to resemble the late-stage USSR
It's been a while since we've heard much about Joe Biden, hasn't it? Yet here he is, back in the headlines – not because of some triumphant return to form, but for all the wrong reasons. The former US president has once again found himself at the center of national attention, thanks to a sequence of revealing and deeply troubling events. It began with Axios publishing the full audio of Biden's now-infamous interview with special prosecutor Robert Hur. The same interview in which Hur concluded that the then president suffered from serious memory issues. As the recording confirmed, he wasn't wrong. Biden struggled to recall basic facts – even the date his son died. Days later, another bombshell dropped: Biden had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. The news barely had time to circulate before the release of Original Sin, a book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson, tore down what little remained of the White House facade. The authors didn't just suggest that Biden had declined mentally during his presidency. They asserted that he had not been governing at all. Instead, they described a 'Politburo' of family members and close aides who effectively ran the United States in his name. It's a term that will sound all too familiar to the Russian ear, and one that cuts deeper than many Americans might realize. For years, critics of the US establishment – especially abroad – have joked about the 'Washington Obkom', a reference to the old Communist Party regional committees of the Soviet Union. Today that comparison doesn't seem like satire. It feels like a diagnosis. It's especially ironic that these revelations are coming not from conservative firebrands or Russian media, but from the very liberal American outlets – CNN, Axios – that worked so hard in 2024 to prop up the Biden administration and conceal the cracks forming behind the curtain. But I'm less interested in their delayed honesty than in the questions Americans are now starting to ask. How did the United States, with all its checks and balances, end up with a gerontocratic shadow government? Why did Washington begin to resemble Moscow circa 1982? Let's start there. A gerontocracy emerges when the ruling elite can no longer tolerate change. In the USSR, it was the ageing leadership of the Communist Party that clung to power. In the US, it's the political generation that peaked in the 1990s and 2000s, the last so-called 'consensus' generation in American politics. Their grip on power outlasted their ideas. Though Democrats and Republicans had their differences, they broadly agreed on the same post-Cold War worldview. They ran the show for decades – until Donald Trump shattered that illusion in 2016. Trump's rise forced a reckoning. On the right, younger Republicans moved toward a more nationalist, populist agenda. On the left, Democrats tacked hard toward identity politics and expanded welfare, partly driven by their reliance on minority voting blocs and partly by the legacy of Barack Obama's progressive rhetoric. By the time Trump's first term ended, the American political elite faced a nightmare: if they handed power to the next generation, they risked total collapse. The establishment Republicans had already been steamrolled by Trump's base. Democrats feared the same fate if they embraced their more radical progressives. Their solution was to cling to the past. Enter Joe Biden, a relic of the consensus era, sold to voters as a unifying moderate. In reality, he was a placeholder. A human firewall designed to stop the rising tide on both sides. The hope was that a return to 'normal' would restore calm. Instead, it prolonged the crisis. Biden, like Brezhnev before him, became the living embodiment of a system unable to face reality. And now, as Americans look back on the Biden years, they are forced to reckon with the consequences of their denial. Power didn't disappear, it simply drifted into backrooms and family circles. Decision-making was outsourced to unaccountable figures behind the scenes. And the public was kept in the dark. Even Biden himself, we now know, was shielded from bad polling numbers. But the deeper lesson is more uncomfortable. Change comes whether you want it to or not. The US establishment tried to shut out the new generation. It only worked temporarily. Trump is back in power. Yes, he is old. But unlike Biden, he has surrounded himself with younger, dynamic figures who are already shaping the Republican Party's future. The Democrats, by contrast, have learned nothing. Despite their crushing defeat in 2024, the old leadership continues to resist renewal. And now it's costing them. Just recently, the Republicans passed Trump's major tax bill in the House of Representatives by a single vote. That vote was lost because Democratic Congressman Gerry Connolly, aged 75, had passed away just before the session. He was the third Democrat to die in office this year. This morbid pattern hasn't gone unnoticed. Americans have begun to joke grimly that the Democratic Party is literally dying. And the punchlines, as dark as they may be, contain more truth than fiction. Washington is starting to resemble Brezhnev's Moscow – not just in age, but in inertia. In the end, the lesson isn't about personalities. It's about systems that refuse to adapt. Systems that cling to the past until the present falls apart. The 'Washington Obkom' may have seemed like a Russian jest once. It's not a joke anymore. This article was first published by the online newspaper and was translated and edited by the RT team
