New <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/us/politics/biden-aides-election-age.html">reporting</a> reveals an extraordinary isolation campaign by former President Joe Biden&#8217;s closest aides at the end of his term, with staffers screaming at reporters, changing his phone number, and blocking access from panicked Democrats trying to tell him the truth about his failing campaign.
The revelation appears in the recently published <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/754957/2024-by-josh-dawsey-tyler-pager-isaac-arnsdorf/">book</a> by a trio of legacy media reporters, titled &#8220;2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,&#8221; written by Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Dawsey, New York Times White House correspondent Tyler Pager, and Washington Post reporter Isaac Arnsdorf.
Pager, conducting research for the book, managed to obtain Biden’s cellphone number in March 2025. The former president quickly agreed to an interview despite his aides repeatedly turning down similar requests from Page for several months.
Asked if he regretted dropping out of the presidential race, Biden said in a dispassionate tone, “No, not now. I don’t spend a lot of time on regrets.” He then ended the conversation to board an Amtrak train, Pager <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/us/politics/biden-aides-election-age.html">recalled</a> for the Times.
Pager’s brief discussion with Biden reportedly sparked panic among the former president’s top aides. “After the first call,” the authors <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/bidens-team-scolded-reporters-changed-his-number-after-they-called-personal-cellphone-report/">report</a> in the book, “furious Biden aides repeatedly called and texted [Pager].”
“One screamed at me for calling the former president directly. Others texted furiously, trying to figure out how I had obtained Mr. Biden’s phone number,” Pager said.
Although Biden himself initially seemed open to continuing to talk to Pager, the reporter’s calls began to go straight to voicemail.
Within days, Pager’s calls were greeted with a message from Verizon: “The number you dialed has been changed, disconnected, or is no longer in service.”
The Times reporter writes that this incident is reflective of the insularity of Team Biden throughout his doomed presidential campaign.
Pager reports that instead of confronting Biden with the harsh reality after his disastrous debate performance, his inner circle restricted access to him, making it difficult for even longtime allies, such as Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, to connect with the president.
On his way to a fundraiser after the debate, Biden asked his traveling aides aboard Air Force One what people were saying about his performance.
Rather than providing an accurate assessment, they offered what witnesses described as a &#8220;sanitized version&#8221; of the situation.
According to Pager, Biden’s aides never even allowed him to meet with campaign pollsters, instead presenting Biden with overly optimistic outlooks that alarmed campaign staff.
Following the debate, campaign pollsters presented their findings to Biden&#8217;s advisers, and their conclusion was damning: all polling indicated that Biden had no path to victory, and voters were not convinced that he was up for the job.
This assessment enraged Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the former president and chairman of Biden&#8217;s 2020 presidential campaign, who reportedly preferred a sanitized version of events.
“Two days after the presentation, Geoff Garin, one of the pollsters, checked in with Mr. Ricchetti. Mr. Ricchetti lit into him and said the presentation was out of line,” Pager reported. “It was not their job to tell them there was no path to victory. The pollsters, Mr. Ricchetti said, were supposed to provide the path to win.”
Rep. Pete Aguilar, a top House Democrat from California, confronted Ricchetti in a heated call, asking, &#8220;Do you realize how bad it is? Has anyone told the president how bad it is?&#8221;
When Ricchetti insisted that many members of Congress still supported the president, Aguilar pushed back: &#8220;Steve, has anyone walked into the Oval and told him we could lose everything?&#8221; Ricchetti admitted no one had.
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/us/politics/biden-aides-election-age.html">The Times</a>, the situation was so dire that reliable Democratic strongholds, including Virginia, Minnesota, and New Mexico, suddenly became competitive – a devastating development that Biden&#8217;s inner circle concealed from him.
When former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) met privately with Biden at the White House during this crisis period, she grew frustrated by his insistence that polling showed no real change since the debate.
At one point, Biden called his longtime adviser, Mike Donilon, to refute Pelosi&#8217;s claim that polls showed he would lose to Trump. Donilon got on the line and reportedly contradicted Pelosi&#8217;s assessment.
Campaign adviser Adrienne Elrod was so concerned that Biden wasn&#8217;t getting an accurate assessment that she contacted &#8220;Morning Joe&#8221; hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, knowing the president watched their show on MSNBC every morning.
Days before Biden dropped out, Scarborough aired these concerns, saying, &#8220;The anger I hear are the people who are keeping him in a bubble.&#8221;
Even when confronted directly by donors at a Hamptons fundraiser who challenged him on his debate performance, Biden dismissed concerns as &#8220;one bad night&#8221; and vowed to stay in the race. His closest aides brushed off the concerns as typical donor anxiety.
The controversy over Biden&#8217;s isolation mirrors similar concerns that arose during his presidency, when critics frequently questioned whether his staff was shielding him from unscripted interactions with the press and public.
Throughout his term, the White House faced persistent accusations that Biden&#8217;s handlers were deliberately limiting his exposure to mask cognitive decline – allegations his team consistently dismissed as partisan attacks despite mounting video evidence of verbal stumbles and confusion during public appearances.

TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-BIDEN-TRUMP

New Book Reveals Biden’s Inner Circle Took Drastic Steps To Limit Access, Shield Him From The Truth

2024 Election

Biden Administration

Biden Campaign

Debate

Elections

Joe Biden

Legacy Media

New York Times

Politics

President Joe Biden&#8217;s embattled son Hunter Biden was &#8220;an albatross&#8221; around the neck of his father during the 2024 presidential campaign, according to a new book coming soon from Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Dawsey.
Dawsey, during an appearance on Sunday morning&#8217;s broadcast of &#8220;This Week,&#8221; said that Hunter Biden was a &#8220;major figure&#8221; in Biden&#8217;s inner circle during the campaign — and how heavily the first son&#8217;s court case had weighed on the president and his family.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Hunter Biden was a “major figure” in former Pres. Biden’s reelection campaign, WSJ reporter Josh Dawsey said regarding the reporting in his new book.
&#8220;He would pipe in to calls. He was helping him make campaign decisions. And the president was very concerned about his son.” <a href="https://t.co/9LF549RWtx">pic.twitter.com/9LF549RWtx</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1941907684288016894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Dawsey to elaborate on his claims that the president&#8217;s son had been a &#8220;burden&#8221; on him and his campaign.
&#8220;You also detail how much of a burden Hunter Biden was on President Biden during his campaign,&#8221; Stephanopoulos prompted Dawsey.
&#8220;Right, so one of the scenes in the book is that the President has a big month ahead in June of 2024, he has European travel, he has the first debate with Donald Trump, as you saw, it didn&#8217;t go so well,&#8221; Dawsey began. &#8220;But the thing he&#8217;s telling his friends he&#8217;s plays concerned about is that his son is not convicted in his court case.&#8221;
&#8220;He even offers to testify for his son,&#8221; Dawsey continued. &#8220;And he&#8217;s talking to folks nonstop around him &#8230; about his son, right? And he&#8217;s just constantly worried about him, he said the prosecutors are trying to break him, and as you see ultimately he decides to pardon his son.&#8221;
But what Dawsey really noticed as he did the research for his book was just how prominent a role Hunter Biden had in his father&#8217;s inner circle.
&#8220;He would pipe in to calls. He was helping him make campaign decisions. And the president was very concerned about his son,&#8221; Dawsey said. &#8220;It was one of the things that was an albatross on him as he tried to run for reelection.&#8221;

Joe Biden, Hunter Biden

‘An Albatross On Him’: New Book Details The Strain Hunter Biden Put On 2024 Campaign

'An Albatross On Him': New Book Details The Strain Hunter Biden Put On 2024 Campaign

Hunter Biden

Media

President Donald Trump scored another victory on Tuesday as Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, agreed to a $16 million settlement in a lawsuit Trump had brought accusing the media outlet of election interference.
The lawsuit stemmed from an interview CBS News&#8217;s “60 Minutes” conducted with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris one month before the 2024 election. CBS News released a promotional clip of the interview showing Harris giving a convoluted answer to a question from host Bill Whitaker, but when the show was aired, a different, more coherent answer was shown.
Whitaker was discussing the United States&#8217; financial support for Israel in its war against genocidal Islamic terrorists in the region. “But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” Whitaker suggested.
In the promotional clip, Harris responded with this word salad: “The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Monday, on a 60 Minutes election special, Bill Whitaker asks Vice President Kamala Harris if the U.S. lacks influence over American ally Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. <a href="https://t.co/TG3WOCA23A">https://t.co/TG3WOCA23A</a> <a href="https://t.co/IH6MXMjuCP">pic.twitter.com/IH6MXMjuCP</a>
&mdash; 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1842935494398591073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
However, those words were not included in the television broadcast, the interview when it was posted on YouTube, the interview&#8217;s transcript, or the show&#8217;s “Overtime” segment.
Instead, Whitaker&#8217;s identical statement, “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” was followed by Harris saying: “We are not gonna stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
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“Why did 60 Minutes choose not to air Kamala&#8217;s full word salad, and what else did they choose not to air?” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national campaign press secretary, asked at the time. “The American people deserve the full, unedited transcript from Kamala&#8217;s sit-down interview. We call upon 60 Minutes and CBS to release it. What do they, and Kamala, have to hide?”
“I’ve never seen this before, but the producers of 60 Minutes sliced and diced (‘cut and pasted’) Lyin’ Kamala’s answers to questions, which were virtually incoherent, over and over again,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113277179676731743">posted</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;This is a stain on the reputation of 60 Minutes that is not recoverable &#8211; It will always remain with this once storied brand,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I have never heard of such a thing being done in &#8216;News.&#8217; It is the very definition of FAKE NEWS! The public is owed a MAJOR AND IMMEDIATE APOLOGY! This is an open and shut case, and must be investigated, starting today!&#8221;
Former CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge <a href="https://x.com/C__Herridge/status/1844076585567027280">posted</a> on X, “As Trump campaign calls on @60Minutes to release &#8216;full, unedited transcript&#8217; of Kamala Harris interview &#8230; There is precedent. When I interviewed then President Trump in July 2020 @CBSNews we posted the interview transcript.” Herridge noted that the left-wing network did the same thing for its 2019 interview with then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr. &#8220;Full transcript = journalistic transparency,&#8221; she <a href="https://x.com/C__Herridge/status/1844203179287904262">added</a>.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) told The Daily Wire: “If the Harris campaign stands by all of the vice president’s comments, then I’m not sure why they wouldn’t support releasing the full interview. In fact, their refusal to join these calls only raises more questions.”
Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) also called on “60 Minutes” to release the full interview. “CBS has proven its bias,” Barrasso told The Daily Wire.  &#8220;A news organization should never selectively edit a candidate’s words. The American people deserve full transparency and the full transcript.”
“Trump will receive $16 million upfront,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/paramount-global-settles-trumps-lawsuit-against-cbs-news-over-60-minutes-interview">Fox News</a> reported. “This will cover legal fees, costs of the case, and contributions to his future presidential library or charitable causes, to be determined at Trump’s discretion. There is an anticipation that there will be another allocation in the mid-eight figures set aside for advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network in the future. &#8230; Going forward, the network will promptly release full, unedited transcripts of future presidential candidates’ interviews.”
“With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit,&#8221; a spokesperson for Trump&#8217;s legal team told Fox News. &#8220;CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle. President Trump will always ensure that no one gets away with lying to the American People as he continues on his singular mission to Make America Great Again.&#8221;
CBS did not acknowledge any journalistic malpractice. “The settlement will include a release of all claims regarding any CBS reporting through the date of the settlement, including the Texas action and the threatened defamation action,” Paramount stated.

Vice President and assumptive presidential candidate Kamala Harris in North Karolina

Trump Scores $16M Payout From Paramount After Exposing Deceptively Edited Kamala Interview

CBS News

deceptive editing

Donald Trump

Kamala Harris

Lawsuit

word salad

A new <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/voting-patterns-in-the-2024-election/">Pew Research</a> poll indicates that President Trump gained ground with several unexpected groups in his historic comeback 2024 presidential victory.
Among Hispanic voters &#8212; who preferred former President Biden in 2020 over Trump by a whopping 25 percentage points, and preferred Hillary Clinton to Trump by an even wider margin in 2016 &#8212; Trump only trailed former Vice President Kamala Harris by three percentage points, going from 36% of Hispanic voters in 2020 to 48% in 2024.
Among black voters, Trump showed a significant increase, doubling his support from 8% in 2020 to 15% in 2024.
Trump drove turnout among both blacks and Hispanics in 2024. “Increased shares of Black voters who favored Trump were driven not by individuals shifting their preferences, but by changes in who turned out to vote,” Pew reported, adding, “9% of eligible Hispanic voters voted in 2020 but not in 2024, and these voters favored Biden in 2020 by roughly two-to-one (69% to 31%). By contrast, among Hispanic eligible voters who voted in 2024 but not in 2020, 60% voted for Trump in 2024 and 37% voted for Harris.”
In another significant change, voters ages 18 to 49 only preferred Harris by 7 percentage points in 2024; they had preferred Biden by 17 points in 2020.
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Suburban voters only preferred Harris by 4 points, while in 2020, they preferred Biden by 10 points.
Trump showed strong gains with religious voters; Protestant support grew from a 19-point lead in 2020 to 26 points in 2024; Catholic support went from Biden and Trump splitting them evenly in 2020 to Trump posting a huge 12-point lead in 2024. Jewish support went up at least 4% from 2020 to 2024, <a href="https://www.rjchq.org/rjc_delivered_in_2024">according</a> to Associated Press/Fox, the highest percentage since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
Among naturalized citizens, in 2020, Biden led Trump 59%-38% in 2020, but in 2024, Trump got 57% of that vote.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION

Trump Gained Significantly From Unexpected Groups In Historic 2024 Win: Poll

Hispanics

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has faced significant resistance from California Democratic donors in recent weeks as she ramped up outreach for a potential gubernatorial run, with some major contributors still bitter about her role in what one called the &#8220;complete s*** storm&#8221; of her 2024 presidential run.
Harris has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kamala-harris-hints-at-future-political-run-im-not-going-anywhere?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Kamala+Harris+Hints+At+Future+Political+Run%3A+%E2%80%98I%E2%80%99m+Not+Going+Anywhere%E2%80%99">testing</a> the waters with trusted supporters as she considers a gubernatorial run, but enthusiasm has noticeably waned among the Democratic donor class, according to a POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/27/california-donors-kamala-harris-governor-00428797">report</a>.
One California Democrat who contributed six figures to Harris&#8217;s presidential campaign bluntly stated that her candidacy would only remind voters of the &#8220;traumatizing&#8221; 2024 election when Donald Trump regained power.
“Kamala just reminds you we are in this complete s*** storm. With Biden, we got bamboozled … I think she did the best she could in that situation, but obviously she knew about the cognitive decline too,” the unidentified donor reportedly said. “I’ve written so many checks because I knew the Trump administration would be horrible, but we’re living in a nightmare because of the Democrats. I’m furious at them, truly.”
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POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/26/california-republicans-kamala-harris-governor-run-00368028">reports</a> that many GOP candidates, eager to face Harris given her damaged reputation, would consider throwing their hat in the ring should the former vice president enter the race.
Democratic fundraisers note that Harris has yet to address accusations from former Los Angeles mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, who alleges both she and Biden&#8217;s Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, another Democrat who has already entered the gubernatorial race, were &#8220;complicit in a cover-up&#8221; regarding Biden&#8217;s condition.
“Voters deserve to know the truth, what did Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra know, when did they know it, and most importantly, why didn’t either of them speak out?” Villaraigosa <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/20/fellow-democrat-tears-into-harris-becerra-bidens-fitness-00361106">said</a> in a statement. “This cover up directly led to a second Donald Trump term — and as a result, all Californians are paying the price.”
Harris has set a late-summer deadline for her decision. She is exploring multiple options beyond the governor&#8217;s race, including a potential 2028 presidential run or establishing &#8220;a philanthropic venture&#8221; outside of elected office, per POLITICO.
“It’s very fair to say there’s not an overwhelming clamor” for a Harris gubernatorial bid, said Scott Drexel, a Bay Area-based donor adviser. “It’s very hard for there to be one if it’s not 100 percent clear if she really wants to do it.”
“She’s going to have to work for the nomination,” Drexel said, “Every day that passes, there’s less of a sense of inevitability about her candidacy.”
Harris has made some quiet outreach, including multiple private meetings in the Bay Area during her visit to headline a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in early June.
These intimate gatherings in supporters&#8217; homes were officially billed as social events but carried &#8220;an unmistakable subtext&#8221; regarding her political future, POLITICO reported.
&#8220;The donors that are here, that have been with her know that this is her home state. She can win &#8230; but they also don&#8217;t want her to find herself in a spot of vulnerability, particularly if someone like a Rick Caruso comes into the race,&#8221; said Todd Hawkins, a Harris bundler dating back to her tenure as California attorney general.
Caruso, a billionaire developer and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, has been mentioned as a potential centrist challenger who could complicate Harris&#8217;s path to the nomination. Caruso is a former Republican who changed his party registration several times before running as a Democrat in the 2022 L.A. mayoral race, when he lost to Karen Bass. 
One Southern California fundraiser, speaking anonymously, said donors &#8220;realize it&#8217;s just going to bring up the whole pathetic last presidential, which no one wants to hear about again. And then it&#8217;s the whole &#8216;Did you know Joe Biden?&#8217; thing. She still would probably lead, but honestly, no one is incredibly pumped.&#8221;

Former Vice President Kamala Harris

Liberal Donors Trash Kamala: ‘Just Reminds You We Are in This Complete S*** Storm’

California

gubernatorial race

Los Angeles

Rick Caruso

Xavier Becerra

Bill Clinton denied that he witnessed evidence of a cognitive or physical decline in his fellow former president, Joe Biden, after new details emerged about efforts by the White House to keep the matter under wraps.
In an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-clinton-on-opposing-president-trumps-agenda-we-cannot-throw-the-legacy-of-this-country-away/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with &#8220;CBS Sunday Morning,&#8221; correspondent Tracy Smith brought up “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,&#8221; a recently-published book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson.
The book &#8220;talks about Joe Biden and the people around him seeing that he had cognitive and physical decline. Did you ever have a moment with him where you thought maybe he was unfit to run for president?&#8221; Smith asked.
&#8220;No,&#8221; the 78-year-old Clinton said. &#8220;I thought he was a good president. The only concern I thought he had to deal with was, could anybody do that job until they were 86?&#8221; Clinton said. &#8220;And we did several long talks. I had never seen him and walked away thinking, He can&#8217;t do this anymore. He was always on top of his briefs.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Bill Clinton says he never saw anything to point to Biden being in cognitive decline. He thought Biden was in perfect shape and sharp as a tack.
If only there were signs… <a href="https://t.co/LVSUfDCphg">pic.twitter.com/LVSUfDCphg</a>
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1929208505187135956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Biden embarked on a campaign for re-election, but dropped out under pressure from allies concerned about his mental capacity, age, and electability following a fumbling debate performance against now-President Trump — who ended up winning a second term in a match-up against Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Pressed again, Clinton added, &#8220;No. So, I didn&#8217;t know anything about any of this. And I haven&#8217;t read the book. And I saw President Biden not very long ago, and I thought he was in good shape. But the book didn&#8217;t register with me &#8217;cause I never saw him that way.&#8221;
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Clinton said he &#8220;didn&#8217;t want to&#8221; read the book because Biden is &#8220;not president anymore, and I think he did a good job. And I think we are facing challenges today without precedent in our history. And some people are trying to use this as a way to blame him for the fact that Trump was re-elected.&#8221;
Republicans in Congress are now looking into any efforts to cover up Biden&#8217;s condition during his single term as president. House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/chairman-comer-demands-testimony-from-bidens-doctor-former-white-house-aides-on-cover-up-of-mental-decline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanded</a> testimony from Biden&#8217;s doctor and former White House aides. It was recently disclosed that Biden is fighting an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-biden-diagnosed-with-aggressive-form-of-prostate-cancer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;aggressive form&#8221;</a> of prostate cancer, raising <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-a-top-cancer-doctor-says-bidens-diagnosis-story-doesnt-add-up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questions</a> about the timing of the announcement.
Biden issued a defiant response when confronted about the controversy over his mental and physical health while in office. “You can see that I’m mentally incompetent and I can’t walk, and I can beat the hell out of both of them,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-says-he-can-beat-the-hell-outta-jake-tapper-jokes-hes-mentally-incompetent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, apparently referencing Tapper and Thompson.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden

Bill Clinton Whiffs On Obvious Biden Decline: ‘I Thought He Was In Good Shape’

Bill Clinton

Health

President Donald Trump on Monday called for a &#8220;major investigation&#8221; into former Vice President Kamala Harris over accusations that she paid for the endorsements of celebrities like Bruce Springsteen and Beyoncé during her failed presidential campaign. 
In an early morning Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114532867603994760" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a>, Trump claimed Harris illegally paid for high-profile endorsements. 
“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION? WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? …AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, AND BONO??? I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter,” Trump wrote.  
“Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment,” he added. “In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT’S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic &#8216;entertainers,&#8217; this was just a CORRUPT &amp; UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”
Springsteen, who performed at an October rally for Harris in Atlanta, has been attacking the Trump administration during his concerts in recent weeks. 
“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” Springsteen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nobody-cares-bruce-springsteen-mocked-for-tirade-against-trump?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘Nobody+Cares’%3A+Bruce+Springsteen+Mocked+For+Tirade+Against+Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at a concert last week in England. “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!” 
The Harris campaign has previously come under scrutiny for large payments made to the production companies of celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, and LeBron James. 
The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/lebron-james-endorsed-kamala-harris-then-she-paid-his-company-50k/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last month that Harris’s campaign paid James&#8217;s production company $50,000 for &#8220;campaign event production.” While James did not appear at any Harris events, he did post a social media video endorsing Harris and suggesting that Trump was a racist. 
Similarly, the Harris campaign paid Beyonce’s production company $165,000 and Oprah’s production company $1 million. Beyonce spoke briefly at a Harris campaign event in Houston while Oprah did a sit-down interview with Harris in Chicago.

Americans Go To The Polls In The 2024 Elections

Trump Calls For ‘Major Investigation’ Into Kamala Over ‘Unlawful’ Celebrity Endorsements

Beyonce

Bruce Springsteen

Executive

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod called the recently revealed details of President Biden&#8217;s cognitive decline &#8220;stunning&#8221; in a Wednesday interview, and called Biden&#8217;s decision to seek re-election &#8220;irresponsible&#8221; on the part of both the former president and his family.
Speaking on NPR&#8217;s Morning Edition, Axelrod laid into Biden’s inner circle and top Democrats for adapting the former president’s schedule to accommodate his &#8220;declining condition,&#8221; while simultaneously arguing to voters that he was fit to serve another term.
&#8220;What is clear is that they did everything they could to adapt his public appearances and adapt his schedule to his declining condition,&#8221; Axelrod said, adding that &#8220;it was an irresponsible decision on his part, and I have to say, on his family&#8217;s part.&#8221;
The former Obama strategist&#8217;s <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/05/14/nx-s1-5397210/biden-trump-election-original-sin-book">comments</a> were in response to revelations from excerpts of &#8220;Original Sin: President Biden&#8217;s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,&#8221; a forthcoming book by CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson.
The senior CNN political commentator pointed to one of the most “troubling” incidents detailed in the excerpt, in which Biden reportedly failed to recognize actor George Clooney, a donor and friend of two decades, at a California fundraiser.
“The details behind it were troubling. The thing that I was struck by was the reporting on his schedule before this event, and the rigors of what he was up to, and people dismissing his kind of being vacant, not being able to identify George Clooney, a friend of two decades, when he saw him, dismissed it as a function of jet lag and fatigue.”
Axelrod later points to Biden’s inner circle dismissing incidents like these as a symptom of a &#8220;deeper issue&#8221; within Biden&#8217;s circle that enabled his continued candidacy despite clear signs of decline.
“What struck me was that when you are president of the United States. Fatigue and strain is your daily existence. The presidency is relentless. And this is why I said in 2022 that it was going to be hard to make the case that he should be president for four more years.”
Tapper and Thompson&#8217;s book <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/how-joe-biden-handed-the-presidency-to-donald-trump?fbclid=IwY2xjawKR0X9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFOYXJLc0lmZEVrbjVHZ2UxAR5goe6iYyOhoScB-4DQYuQYLkTkOruNaz_AWLHo8Qd0BMU2lJ8BLLGoiWcoqw_aem_OAsqiqfGfha4zoH5cuj5kw">paints</a> a picture of a widespread effort within Biden&#8217;s inner circle to conceal his deteriorating condition from public view, with insiders pursuing &#8220;aggressive efforts to hide his cognitive diminishment.&#8221;
Axelrod avoided labeling this effort from Biden’s team as “lying,” as “they were motivated by a belief in him, by a desire to see him continue,” instead putting most of the blame squarely on Biden and his family for putting staff in that position in the first place.
Biden’s 2024 bid was “an irresponsible decision on his part, and I have to say, on his family&#8217;s part,” Axelrod said.
When asked about Biden&#8217;s recent media appearances, including his appearance on &#8220;The View,&#8221; where viewers noticed him trailing off mid-sentence, Axelrod suggested the former president was continuing to receive poor counsel from the same advisers who encouraged his reelection bid.
&#8220;All he&#8217;s doing is making the story larger,&#8221; Axelrod said. &#8220;If he&#8217;s concerned about President Trump and some of the things that President Trump is doing, then he should want the Democratic Party to be in a position to move on and do well in the midterm elections.&#8221;
Biden&#8217;s office continues to defend his legacy. A spokesperson said that the former president &#8220;was a very effective president&#8221; and challenged critics to provide evidence of instances where &#8220;national security was threatened or where he was unable to do his job.&#8221;
“Original Sin” is set to release in late May.

The 2017 Concordia Annual Summit – Day 1

Axelrod: Biden’s Reelection Bid Was ‘Irresponsible,’ Details Of Cognitive Decline ‘Stunning’

Biden Admin

David Axelrod

Jill Biden

Even liberally applied &#8220;Hollywood Magic&#8221; was not enough to save a floundering former President Joe Biden — &#8220;magic&#8221; that included help with lighting and sound from mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg and direction from Oscar-winner Stephen Spielberg, says the new book &#8220;Original Sin&#8221; from CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson.
In an <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/how-joe-biden-handed-the-presidency-to-donald-trump?mbid=social_twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_social-type=owned&amp;utm_brand=tny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">excerpt from the book</a> published on Tuesday by The New Yorker, Tapper and Thompson revealed just how much pre-production went into getting Biden camera ready as the 2024 presidential campaign heated up — and the moment when everyone involved realized that it just wasn&#8217;t working.
Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, who had been friends with Biden for decades, spearheaded high-dollar fundraisers — including a Radio City event that raked in $26 million — but he took on a different role as the 2024 presidential election loomed ever closer.
&#8220;As 2024 approached, he saw Biden’s communication struggles and thought he could help fix them. He worked on providing better lighting for Biden and trying to find a microphone that would amplify Biden when he would break into a whisper for emphasis,&#8221; Tapper and Thompson wrote — but Katzenberg didn&#8217;t stop there.
&#8220;Katzenberg also recruited his friend Steven Spielberg, who helped coach Biden for the State of the Union and his debates, even assisting with routine campaign videos. There was, however, only so much that Hollywood magic could do,&#8221; they continued.
The moment that shocked everyone, according to Tapper and Thompson, was Biden&#8217;s appearance at the Hollywood fundraiser hosted by actor George Clooney — and his apparent failure to immediately recognize his longtime friend and supporter.
<blockquote>“You know George,” the assisting aide told the President, gently reminding him who was in front of him. “Yeah, yeah,” the President said to one of the most recognizable men in the world, the host of this lucrative fund-raiser. “Thank you for being here.”
“Hi, Mr. President,” Clooney said.
“How are ya?” the President replied.
“How was your trip?” Clooney asked.
“It was fine,” the President said.
It seemed clear that the President had not recognized Clooney.
“It was not O.K.,” recalled the Hollywood V.I.P. who had witnessed this moment. “That thing, the moment where you recognize someone you know—especially a famous person who’s doing a f***ing fund-raiser for you—it was delayed. It was uncomfortable.”
</blockquote>
Biden had to be reminded that the man standing in front of him was George Clooney, according to witnesses.
&#8220;Clooney was shaken to his core. The President hadn’t recognized him, a man he had known for years. Clooney had expressed concern about Biden’s health before—a White House aide had told him a few months before that they were working on getting the President to take longer steps when he walked—but obviously the problem went far beyond his gait. This was much graver,&#8221; Tapper and Thompson wrote.
It was only a short time later that Clooney penned the open letter calling on Biden to exit the race.

George Clooney

Behind The Scenes: Book Reveals The Extensive ‘Hollywood Magic’ That Couldn’t Save Biden

Behind The Scenes: Book Reveals The Extensive 'Hollywood Magic' That Couldn't Save Biden

Hollywood

Former President Joe Biden&#8217;s team considered the possibility that they might have to put him in a wheelchair if he won re-election in 2024, the upcoming book &#8220;Original Sin&#8221; claims.
<a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/13/biden-book-wheelchair-2024-campaign-original-sin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to the book</a> from CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios&#8217; Alex Thompson, information given to the American people about then-President Biden&#8217;s physical condition was often at odds with evaluations from his personal physician.
&#8220;Biden&#8217;s physical deterioration — most apparent in his halting walk — had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn&#8217;t do so until after the election,&#8221; Tapper and Thompson wrote.
Biden&#8217;s physician suggested that a wheelchair might be necessary – especially if the president were to fall at any point — because his age and condition could prolong recovery.
&#8220;Given Biden&#8217;s age, [his physician Kevin O&#8217;Connor] also privately said that if he had another bad fall, a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a difficult recovery,&#8221; the book reads.
Biden&#8217;s team did show concerns that he could fall, and took precautions such as using the shorter staircase from Air Force One and having the president wear shoes that were made for better stability.
Still, according to the book, O&#8217;Connor often felt as though Biden&#8217;s aides were not doing enough to make sure that he was taking proper precautions and getting enough rest.
&#8220;O&#8217;Connor sometimes quipped that Biden&#8217;s staff members were trying to kill him, while he was trying to keep him alive,&#8221; Axios reported.
Another instance that showed O&#8217;Connor and Biden&#8217;s team in conflict was the aftermath of a 2020 fall in which Biden fractured his foot. After the president wore a walking boot for more than two months, O&#8217;Connor announced that &#8220;both small fractures of his foot are completely healed&#8221; and that &#8220;this injury has healed as expected.&#8221;
But throughout 2024, as critics increasingly noticed the president&#8217;s awkward gait, aides claimed that his halting step resulted from his refusal to wear the boot long enough when he&#8217;d been recovering from the fractures in his foot. &#8220;In short, they said, Biden was being undone by his own vigor,&#8221; Axios reported.
Biden&#8217;s team has responded to early reports from the book, saying, &#8220;So far, we are 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.&#8221;

Biden’s Team Considered Putting Him In A Wheelchair If He Won In 2024, New Book Says

Axios

Jake Tapper

Former President Joe Biden jumped back into the public spotlight, giving his first few interviews since his Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election to President Donald Trump, and the response from Democrats has been unequivocal: they want him to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/11/biden-go-away-00339909" target="_blank" rel="noopener">go away</a>.
Biden&#8217;s appearance on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-biden-gets-one-question-about-his-cognitive-decline-jill-has-to-help-him-answer-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The View</a>&#8221; on Thursday sparked a number of reactions, especially after he struggled so mightily with a question about his obvious cognitive decline that former First Lady Jill Biden felt compelled to intervene and answer the question on her husband&#8217;s behalf.
Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha told Politico that the main positive with regard to Biden&#8217;s appearance on &#8220;The View&#8221; was that the selection of the new Pope quickly took over the news cycle.
&#8220;It’s time for Joe Biden to go away with all due respect and let the next generation of Democrats take the mantle,” Rocha said. “Every time he appears on a show or says something, it’s just another week or a month that we have to defend him and remind everybody that we got beat by Donald Trump, again. &#8230; For those of us trying to rebuild the brand, it does no good when you’re constantly reminded about the old brand that won’t go away.&#8221;
Amanda Litman, co-founder of the progressive group Run for Something, agreed with Rocha: &#8220;Every interview that Biden does drags us backwards and reminds people of the older generation of Democrats that got us into this mess — when attention is our scarcest resource, we need to prioritize hearing from the next generation of leaders who could excite and rebuild the party.&#8221;
But even if Biden were to stop doing interviews entirely, Democrats will still have his legacy to contend with as more and more information comes out about his decline in books like the upcoming &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jake-tapper-who-ignored-signs-of-bidens-decline-releasing-book-on-the-cover-up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Original Sin</a>,&#8221; written by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios&#8217; Alex Thompson. Republicans also appear ready to move forward with the release of audio from Biden&#8217;s interviews with former Special Counsel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/special-counsel-robert-hur-gives-explosive-testimony-to-congress-about-criminal-probe-into-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert Hur</a>.

President Biden Addresses NAACP Convention In Las Vegas

Democrats Are Getting Desperate, Begging Joe Biden To ‘Just Go Away’

Democrats Are Getting Desperate, Begging Joe Biden To 'Just Go Away'

2026 Midterms

Former President Joe Biden said in an interview released Wednesday that he stayed in the 2024 presidential race for so long because he had been &#8220;so successful&#8221; in implementing his agenda.
In his first <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0m9mvemxrwo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> since leaving the White House, Biden defended his decision to seek re-election, boasted about his record in office, and criticized President Donald Trump&#8217;s foreign policy. During the discussion with the BBC, Biden doubled down on his decision to stay in the presidential race as long as he did and insisted that the race&#8217;s outcome would not have changed had he dropped out earlier.
“I don’t think it would have mattered. We left at a time when we had a good candidate, she was fully funded,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And what happened was&#8230; I had become, what we had set out to do, no one thought we could do, I had become so successful in our agenda, it was hard to say, ‘Now I’m going to stop now.’&#8221;
At the time of his decision, Biden&#8217;s popularity was underwater. He was trailing in the polls, and there were increasing questions about his health after he appeared disjointed during his first debate with Trump.
&#8220;I meant what I said&#8230;I’m preparing to hand this to the next generation. The transition government. But things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away. It was a hard decision,&#8221; he added. 
Biden also attacked the Trump administration&#8217;s foreign policy, saying that Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth&#8217;s criticism of European countries freeloading off the United States was unfounded. He said that he was concerned about the future of NATO.
“It’s a grave concern. I think it would change the modern history of the world,&#8221; Biden said. “Look, we are not the essential nation. We’re the only nation in a position to have the capacity to bring people together, lead the world. Otherwise you’re going to have China and the former Soviet Union, Russia stepping up.&#8221;
Biden also criticized Trump&#8217;s statements about making Canada the 51st state and potentially acquiring Greenland.
“What the hell is going on here? What president ever talks like that? That’s not who we are. We are about freedom, democracy, opportunity, not about confiscation,&#8221; Biden said. 
Last month, Biden gave his first speech since leaving office, criticizing the Trump administration&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency project.

Former President Biden Speaks at ACRD Conference in Chicago

Biden Reveals Why It Was ‘Difficult’ To Quit 2024 Campaign

NATO

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