President Donald Trump is reportedly holding out on a $15 million settlement offer from Paramount Global, demanding more money and an apology.
Paramount and Trump have been locked in negotiations for a month over a lawsuit the president filed last year against CBS News, which is overseen by Paramount. The media company has offered $15 million to settle the case, but Trump’s team rejected the offer, wanting at least $25 million and an apology for interfering in the 2020 election, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/paramount-has-offered-15-million-to-settle-cbs-lawsuit-trump-wants-more-861d857e">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-sues-cbs-news-for-10-billion-over-kamala-60-minutes-interview-edits">sued</a> CBS News in November over an interview the network conducted with former Vice President Kamala Harris during an episode of “60 Minutes.” The lawsuit accused the news company of deceptively editing the interview to make Harris appear much sharper than she actually performed. The network has said the interview was “not doctored or deceitful.”
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The court-wrangling with the president comes as Paramount Global tries to navigate a planned merger with Skydance Media. The high-profile battle with Trump has complicated company dynamics amid the merger.
Earlier this month, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-news-president-quits-amid-60-minutes-legal-battle-with-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that she was leaving the network after breaking with executives over how to handle the Trump lawsuit. McMahon left in part because of her unwillingness to make an apology as part of a potential settlement.
“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon wrote in a memo to staff. “It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”
Shari Redstone, Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder and chair, has stepped back from the Trump lawsuit as she navigates the $8 billion merger with Skydance, which must undergo a federal review by the Trump administration.
Paramount Global is the latest major company attempting to settle a lawsuit from Trump. Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit over Trump’s social media accounts being banned following January 6, 2021. $22 million of the settlement is directed toward the Trump presidential library while the rest of the money covered legal expenses.
The social media platform X agreed to a similar settlement worth $10 million the following month.

Donald Trump

Trump Rejects $15M Settlement Offer From Paramount Over ‘Deceitful’ Kamala Interview

CBS News

Courts

Kamala Harris

Media

Politics

Kamala Harris is reportedly mulling entering the race for governor of California, and the idea is delighting an unexpected group: Republicans.
California has not elected a Republican governor since 2007, but many Republicans see Harris as a potentially vulnerable candidate should Democrats choose her. “Sources familiar with Harris&#8217; thinking say she&#8217;s weighing a gubernatorial bid in her home state, a third run for the presidency or not seeking elected office,” CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamala-harris-california-governor-or-presidential-bid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this month.
“I&#8217;d jump for joy,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco declared, per the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14755375/kamala-harris-endorsement-republicans-california-governor-race.html">Daily Mail</a>. “She&#8217;s the perfect example of everything Californians are sick of &#8211; soft on crime, blind to our problems, and more focused on DC than Main Street. &#8230; She won two statewide elections, and she won in California when she was running for president. But those votes didn&#8217;t go to Kamala Harris. Those votes went against Donald Trump.”
“I think it could attract some donors from around the country who might be interested in taking another pound of flesh,” Republican political consultant Dave Gilliard stated, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/26/california-republicans-kamala-harris-governor-run-00368028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a>. “Money is the biggest obstacle other than the registration because the donor world doesn’t think a Republican can be elected governor anymore.”
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“She&#8217;s got the résumé &#8211; but so do a lot of people who&#8217;ve lost,” Republican consultant Kevin Madden asserted. “What she doesn&#8217;t have is momentum.”
“I sense that this is the best shot for someone to be elected statewide in California who’s not a Democrat for at least 20 years, and I think the evident reason for that is the failure of one-party rule,” conservative pundit Steve Hilton said. “The candidate who’s going to win in 2026, regardless of party label, is the change candidate. Kamala Harris is the one who least represents change.”
“She has a chance to be embarrassed even if she wins,” said GOP consultant Kevin Spillane, who managed the campaign of GOP California attorney general candidate Steve Cooley, who <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Attorney_General_election,_2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">narrowly lost</a> to Harris in 2010. “It could be a pyrrhic victory.”
“California remains a staunchly Democratic state in which <a href="https://www.politico.com/2024-election/results/california/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">59 percent of voters</a> chose Harris over Trump in 2024,” POLITICO noted. “But Harris underperformed former President Joe Biden’s 2020 results across the state as Trump flipped purple counties and made inroads in blue areas.”

Vice President Kamala Harris hold a campaign rally in North Las Vegas

Kamala Weighing CA Governor Run: One Unexpected Group Especially Delighted

California

Dr. Stephen Quay does not believe President Joe Biden was only just diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer, telling The Daily Wire, &#8220;there is a mismatch between the standard of care [Biden] should have been getting, and what we&#8217;re hearing about now.&#8221;
Quay, a University of Michigan-educated doctor, author, and <a href="https://drquay.com/">renowned scientist</a>, spoke to The Daily Wire just days after the former president&#8217;s office announced that he had been diagnosed with an &#8220;aggressive form&#8221; of prostate cancer that had already metastasized to his bones. He said he&#8217;s received death threats since he began speaking out about Biden&#8217;s diagnosis, calling the experience &#8220;quite bizarre.&#8221;
But Quay made it clear that he is simply offering thoughts &#8220;based on peer-reviewed papers that address large populations.&#8221; To that end, he notes that 85 to 90% of all cases, the disease progression from localized in the prostate to advanced metastatic disease is a process that plays out &#8220;over the course of five to seven years.&#8221;
Quay made it clear that while a rapid onset of advanced disease was certainly possible, that was only the case in perhaps one or two percent of patients. He also noted the fact that Biden&#8217;s cancer is &#8220;hormone sensitive&#8221; could potentially explain the former president&#8217;s physical and cognitive decline.
&#8220;The standard treatment would be to deprive the body of testosterone through <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/treating/hormone-therapy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Androgen Deprivation Therapy,&#8221;</a> Quay said. For a man of Biden&#8217;s age, such a precipitous drop in testosterone could lead patients to lose muscle tone and become noticeably weaker.
&#8220;Out of 100 men, nearly 40% will have a serious fall within six to 12 months of ADT treatment,&#8221; he said, adding that another common side effect had to do with patients seeing cognitive issues.
&#8220;Some of that will be self-reported, where they just notice that maybe they&#8217;re not as sharp as they have been in the past,&#8221; Quay said, also noting that the people around the patient might also notice cognitive decline even when the patient himself did not.
While Quay said that he had no knowledge of whether Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doctors-raise-questions-about-timing-of-biden-cancer-diagnosis-unbelievable-this-was-missed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">knew of his diagnosis</a> prior to his office&#8217;s public announcement, he said that it was possible that the former president&#8217;s noticeably awkward gait and obvious cognitive issues were side effects of the standard treatment for his cancer.
If that were the case, he added, he could understand why someone in Biden&#8217;s position might have made a &#8220;calculated decision&#8221; not to release the information to the public.
&#8220;He might have not had the cognitive issues when he decided to go ahead with a campaign,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s true that he probably couldn’t be elected with cancer or cognitive issues, so at some point, he would have to make a calculated decision whether or not to tell people. But to speak to whether or not that was the right course of action, I stop being a doctor with an opinion and start being a voter with an opinion — and that’s fine as long as I can keep them compartmentalized.&#8221;
A Biden spokesman has said that <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/joe-biden-psa-screening-2014-prostate-cancer-rcna208120" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nothing was hidden</a> from the public and that the former president did not receive his prostate cancer diagnosis until last Friday. The spokesman also said Biden&#8217;s last known prostate cancer screening — called a Prostate Specific Antigen test — was in 2014.
Quay discussed the efficacy of PSAs in an X post shortly after Biden&#8217;s diagnosis was made public.
&#8220;Prostate cancer is the easiest cancer to diagnose when it first starts and to watch it progress to bone metastases,&#8221; he wrote.
&#8220;The PSA blood test shows the rate of cancer cell growth. For even with the most aggressive form, it is a 5-7 year journey without treatment before it becomes metastatic. Meaning, it would be malpractice for this patient to show up and be first diagnosed with metastatic disease in May 2025. It is highly likely he was carrying a diagnosis of prostate cancer throughout his White House tenure and the American people were uninformed.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Prostate cancer is the easiest cancer to diagnose when it first starts and to watch it progress to bone metastases. The PSA blood test shows the rate of cancer cell growth. For even with the most aggressive form, it is a 5-7 year journey without treatment before it becomes…
— Dr Steven Quay (@quay_dr) <a href="https://twitter.com/quay_dr/status/1924208125349171299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;If you can believe what they say, that it is hormone sensitive, that means that it would be detectable in PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) levels,&#8221; he said, noting that PSA testing is not always recommended after age 69, but that for someone in Biden&#8217;s position it seemed unwise not to go ahead with the test.
&#8220;There is a mismatch between the standard of care that he should have been getting and what we’re hearing about now.&#8221;

President Biden Delivers Remarks On The Middle East From The White House

Why A Top Cancer Doctor Says Biden’s Diagnosis Story Doesn’t Add Up

'There Is A Mismatch': Dr. Steven Quay Explains Why Biden's Cancer News Doesn't Quite Add Up

Axios

Cancer

Health

Jake Tapper

Jill Biden

Joe Biden

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

2024 Election

Beyonce

Bruce Springsteen

Elections

Executive

Ashley Etienne, once an aide to former Vice President Kamala Harris, said on Sunday that she believed the release of audio from former President Joe Biden&#8217;s interview with then Special Counsel Robert Hur would ultimately help Democrats and could even be good for Biden.
The audio, which was released on Friday afternoon, painted a picture that reflected Hur&#8217;s assessment — that Biden was an elderly man who was at best, forgetful. The consensus across much of the media was that it only reinforced claims that Biden had been diminished long before the White House or even other Democrats and members of the press admitted it.
But according to Etienne, who appeared on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; on Sunday, the release of the audio was far less damaging than it could have been primarily because it would be out of the news cycle long before any of the Democrats who&#8217;d defended Biden&#8217;s cognitive acuity and overall fitness had to run for reelection.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Guest on <a href="https://twitter.com/MeetThePress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MeetThePress</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AshleyEtienne09?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AshleyEtienne09</a>, contends re audio tapes of Biden: “It’s clear to me that President Trump released the tape because he’s trying to distract from his unprecedented disastrous first 100 days.” Moreover, “it’s good for Joe Biden, it’s good for the Democratic… <a href="https://t.co/FfPk5LPj2l">pic.twitter.com/FfPk5LPj2l</a>
— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentHBaker/status/1924137365699756477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Etienne began by suggesting that the audio had been released intentionally to distract voters from the first 100 days of his current term.
&#8220;This is how I see it. The real question is: Why release this tape now?&#8221; she mused. &#8220;And it’s clear to me that President Trump released the tape because he’s trying to distract from his disastrous – unprecedented – disastrous first 100 days. I mean, we’ve all been talking about that at the table today.&#8221;
&#8220;So to me that’s what’s at play. Imagine a situation where you’re so desperate, so under water on every issue that you play your best card in the first six months of an administration. So the way I see this is: This is good for Joe Biden. It’s good for the Democratic Party, because we can dispense with this now and not closer to the midterm election –&#8221; Etienne continued.
&#8220;You think it’s good for Joe Biden?&#8221; anchor Kristen Welker interrupted.
&#8220;Meaning …&#8221; Etienne prompted.
&#8220;– it does raise new questions about his decision not to get out sooner as you just heard Chris Murphy say,&#8221; Welker finished.
&#8220;Well, I do believe that I think the problem with the Democratic Party right now is that we’ve not produced an autopsy, we’ve not produced an assessment of what actually happened in the election and to address this issue head on. If we were to, we can reconcile, coalesce, speak with one voice, and move past it,&#8221; Etienne concluded.

Special Counsel Robert Hur Testifies On Biden’s Classified Documents Investigation

Former Kamala Aide Says Biden-Hur Interview Audio Is … Good For Democrats?

Former Kamala Aide Says Biden-Hur Interview Audio Is ... Good For Democrats?

Meet the Press

As more and more &#8220;bombshells&#8221; drop about former President Joe Biden&#8217;s last days in office — many coming from the soon-to-be-released &#8220;Original Sin,&#8221; written by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson — one question has remained top of mind especially for critics of the last administration: &#8220;Who was running the country?&#8221;
Revelations from the book thus far have included, among other things, claims from Biden&#8217;s cabinet members that they were actively kept from meeting with him — claims that appear substantiated by the fact that he only held three full cabinet meetings in 2023 and one in 2024. Tapper and Thompson were also told that Biden failed to recognize his longtime friend — and host — actor George Clooney at a Hollywood fundraiser.
The more evidence piles up, the more critics ask: if Biden was clearly incapable of finishing the 2024 presidential race, then how could anyone say he was still capable of serving as president? And if he was incapable of serving as president, &#8220;who was running the country?&#8221; And, on a related note, where was Vice President Kamala Harris?
&#8220;Dems/media still missing the story on Biden. Yes, it&#8217;s bad that you guys lied about his health. But it&#8217;s amazing that nobody is asking WHO WAS RUNNING THE COUNTRY FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, because it was clearly not the guy we elected. We had a soft coup,&#8221; one person posted, noting that legacy media outlets seemed wholly uninterested in that story.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dems/media still missing the story on Biden.
Yes, its bad that you guys lied about his health.
But its amazing that nobody is asking WHO WAS RUNNING THE COUNTRY FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, because it was clearly not the guy we elected.
We had a soft coup. The media response: <a href="https://t.co/9OqJJMOoBQ">pic.twitter.com/9OqJJMOoBQ</a>
— Pradheep J. Shanker, M.D. (@neoavatara) <a href="https://twitter.com/neoavatara/status/1922655738435973551?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;So, who exactly was running the country from 2021-2024?&#8221; author Carol Roth asked.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
So, who exactly was running the country from 2021-2024?
— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) <a href="https://twitter.com/caroljsroth/status/1923060475765346403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Watching President Trump operate, flying around the world, making deals, up early, shutting it down late, involved in everything, you realize he is a once in a generation phenom. One of the greatest to ever do it. But it forces a terrifying question. Who the hell was running the country the last four years under Biden? How? Because it sure was not him,&#8221; another posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Watching President Trump operate, flying around the world, making deals, up early, shutting it down late, involved in everything, you realize he is a once in a generation phenom. One of the greatest to ever do it.
But it forces a terrifying question. Who the hell was running the… <a href="https://t.co/ru2OGI5zP1">https://t.co/ru2OGI5zP1</a>
— Petey B (@realpeteyb123) <a href="https://twitter.com/realpeteyb123/status/1922313424039772220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I asked this on CNN, I’ll ask it again. Who in the hell was running the country if Biden was clearly incapable of doing the job,&#8221; Shermichael Singleton asked.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I asked this on CNN, I’ll ask it again. Who in the hell was running the country if Biden was clearly incapable of doing the job. <a href="https://t.co/MZixrUYnH3">https://t.co/MZixrUYnH3</a>
— Shermichael Singleton (@MrShermichael) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrShermichael/status/1922274199214727286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings raised the same question:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WHO was running our country?
The very fact that America even has to ask this question is scandal enough.
WE DEMAND ANSWERS! <a href="https://t.co/Tl90IXr4EF">pic.twitter.com/Tl90IXr4EF</a>
— Stephen Davis (@Stephend1776) <a href="https://twitter.com/Stephend1776/status/1923087128520511759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Others turned the question on then-Vice President Kamala Harris:
&#8220;So, is anybody gonna report on where Kamala Harris was during all this time that Joe Biden was unfit to be president, or nah?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
So, is anybody gonna report on where Kamala Harris was during all this time that Joe Biden was unfit to be president, or nah?
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) <a href="https://twitter.com/baseballcrank/status/1922761248128598219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In The Wake Of Biden Book ‘Bombshells,’ One Pressing Question Still Remains

In The Wake Of Biden Book 'Bombshells,' One Pressing Question Still Remains

Scott Jennings

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

Aides who worked for former Vice President Kamala Harris — particularly those close to her failed 2024 presidential bid — have come forward to throw former President Joe Biden under the bus, claiming that he is to blame for her loss to President Donald Trump.
The new accusations were fully explored in the upcoming book from CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios&#8217; Alex Thompson: &#8220;Original Sin: President Biden&#8217;s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,&#8221; as noted in a report from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/12/biden-harris-david-plouffe-book" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a>. A number of those close to Harris asserted that Biden was ultimately responsible for the Democrats&#8217; failure to retain the White House.
David Plouffe, who managed former President Barack Obama&#8217;s 2008 campaign, told authors Tapper and Thompson that Biden &#8220;totally f***ed us&#8221; by staying in the 2024 campaign until late July, leaving Harris just over 100 days — 107, to be exact — to mount a campaign against President Donald Trump.
Plouffe referred to the abbreviated campaign as &#8220;a f***ing nightmare,&#8221; adding, &#8220;It&#8217;s all Biden.&#8221;
Plouffe recalled taking phone calls from donors who were concerned about Biden&#8217;s speech patterns or his uneven gait, but when he asked the White House and Biden&#8217;s closest advisers whether the president was capable of seeing the 2024 campaign through, he was always told that Biden was fine.
There were others who agreed with Plouffe, including one Democratic strategist who told Tapper and Thompson, &#8220;[The 2024 campaign] was an abomination. He stole an election from the Democratic party; he stole it from the American people.&#8221;
Another senior aide who remained anonymous — and who ultimately quit his position in the Biden White House over the president&#8217;s decision to seek reelection, admitted, &#8220;We attempted to shield him from his own staff so many people didn’t realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023.&#8221;
&#8220;I love Joe Biden. When it comes to decency, there are few in politics like him,&#8221; the aide said. &#8220;Still, it was a disservice to the country and to the party for his family and advisers to allow him to run again.&#8221;
Even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly warned Biden to get out if he wanted to preserve any part of his legacy, meeting with the president at his Rehoboth Beach home shortly after the disastrous CNN debate in late June.
Schumer told Biden that if he remained on the ticket and lost, half a century of &#8220;amazing, beautiful work goes out the window. But it’s worse than that – you will go down in American history as one of the darkest figures.&#8221;
Biden, according to the book, replied to Schumer, &#8220;You have bigger balls than anyone I’ve ever met.&#8221;
Despite that, it was nearly a full month before Biden dropped out of the race on July 21.

Biden and Harris

Kamala’s Team Tosses Biden Under The Bus, Blames Him For 2024 Loss

Kamala's Team Tosses Biden Under The Bus, Blames Him For 2024 Loss

Books

Former President Joe Biden claimed on Thursday that he could have once again bested President Donald Trump if he had not opted to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election in late July.
Biden joined the hosts of ABC&#8217;s &#8220;The View&#8221; — with former first lady Jill Biden at his side — and the conversation turned to the 2024 campaign as the cohosts asked about his decision to exit the race and whether or not he regretted dropping out.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sara Haines commends Biden for his &#8220;selfless and very difficult decision&#8221; to get out of the race, but wanted to know what he thought was the reason for Harris&#8217;s defeat. 
Biden seems to blame it on Americans being sexist: &#8220;I was surprised because they went the route of the sexist… <a href="https://t.co/IRgS19rfim">pic.twitter.com/IRgS19rfim</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/1920497211906970096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Cohost Sara Haines praised Biden for taking the &#8220;selfless&#8221; route and stepping aside, saying that Democrats hd been shocked when former Vice President Kamala Harris had then been unable to close the deal. &#8220;It was like 2016 all over again,&#8221; she complained, and then asked Biden why he thought Harris had not been able to beat Trump.
&#8220;I wasn&#8217;t surprised, not because I didn&#8217;t think the vice president was the most qualified person to be president. She&#8217;s qualified to be President of the United States of America. I was surprised — I was surprised because they went the route of — the sexist route, the whole route,&#8221; Biden said, adding, &#8220;I&#8217;ve never seen quite a successful and consistent campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn&#8217;t lead the country — and a woman of mixed race.&#8221;
Biden also told Haines that he&#8217;d spoken to Harris just a day earlier, although he would not say what they discussed.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Alyssa Farah Griffin asks if Biden still thought he could have beaten Trump. 
He does: &#8220;Yes. He still got 7 million fewer votes.&#8221; 
Biden also dismisses Trump winning all the swing states. 
He thanks The View for not focusing on poll numbers. <a href="https://t.co/eBrACmqJdR">pic.twitter.com/eBrACmqJdR</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/1920499382840865168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Biden — whose exit came on the heels of a disastrous televised debate with President Trump in late June — whether he believed he could have won if he had remained on the ballot through the end of the campaign, and he said that he did.
Griffin noted that Trump had won all of the battleground states and had increased his support in almost every demographic, but Biden was not deterred.
&#8220;Yes, he still got less — it wasn&#8217;t a slam dunk,&#8221; Biden claimed, suggesting that because Trump won the 2024 election with fewer votes than Biden got in 2020, he would have won if he&#8217;d stayed in the race.

President Biden Addresses NAACP Convention In Las Vegas

Yes, Joe Biden Still Thinks He Could Have Beaten Trump In 2024

The View

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

Editor’s Note: Last week was all about 100 days of President Donald Trump. But what if he lost on November 5, 2024? We spent the week thinking about this Bizarro World alternate universe.
&#8212;
Just over one hundred days ago, President Kamala Harris placed her hand on a signed copy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s memoir and took the Oath of Office.
It’s been a tumultuous few months since America’s first black-Indian-female president moved her power suits and boxes of unsold “I’m Speaking” t-shirts into the Oval Office. The Daily Wire has done its best to keep up with the firehose of news coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and while we appreciate you joining us on this journey, we understand if you’ve had a hard time keeping up.
So, to mark this milestone of the Harris administration, let’s take stock of where we are.
The Harris-Walz administration has some pretty major problems, both at home and abroad. But you wouldn’t know based on the smiling faces at the White House Easter Egg Roll, which this year was dually billed as the Transgender Day of Visibility Parade.
First Gentleman Doug Emhoff was all smiles dancing to Katy Perry. In lieu of a traditional Easter bunny, children posed with Emhoff’s daughter, Ella, who donned bunny ears and dyed her armpit hair festive pastels for the occasion. Second Lady Gwen Walz was set to hold court at the Planned Parenthood Storybook Corner, but her delivery of “Pat The Bunny” was reportedly so disconcerting that most children fled in tears.
Not present at the event was Harris&#8217;s predecessor, Joe Biden, who you&#8217;ll remember was granted a full and unconditional pardon from Harris just hours after being sworn in. Harris also pardoned Hunter Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley, and the members of the House January 6 Committee. All the pardons date back to 2014, an unprecedented sweep that had even some of Harris’s allies shocked. Legal experts say the only thing more shocking would have been for Biden to issue the pardons himself on his last day in office.
From there, it was off to the races. A group of red state attorneys general challenged Biden’s 11th-hour executive order declaring the Equal Rights Amendment “the law of the land.” The case made its way to the Supreme Court, where Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the liberals in a surprise 5-4 ruling, which held that public assertions of gender binaries were a violation of federal law.
Despite an almost complete lack of judicial challenges to her executive orders, President Harris’s agenda has not moved the needle on most of the issues facing Americans today. Nowhere is this clearer than the economy, where the Harris administration’s efforts to pull the country out of Biden’s economic mess have been hampered by her refusal to admit her predecessor’s mistakes or in any way deviate from his playbook.
Rather than cut taxes or play hardball with American trading partners, Harris has taken to giving pep talks. The latest, from an address marking her 100th day in office, shows that she’s not making much use of the White House speechwriting staff.
“Who saw that video from a couple weeks ago, the one of the elephants at the San Diego Zoo during the earthquake?” Harris asked the crowd at Emerge, a gala dedicated to honoring Democratic women. “Here those elephants were, and as soon as they felt the earth shaking beneath their feet, they got in a circle and stood next to each other to protect the most vulnerable. Think about it. What a powerful metaphor.”
An unedited video of the speech posted by The Daily Wire was removed from Facebook, which has doubled down on censorship since Harris won the election. The newly formed Hate Speech Commission, co-chaired by Al Sharpton and Robin DiAngelo, said criticizing Harris&#8217;s speech was &#8220;bigoted.&#8221;
Harris’s commitment to “the most vulnerable” doesn&#8217;t seem to extend to the countless Americans murdered by illegal aliens, as illegal border crossings continue to beat previous records. Some 480,000 illegals have entered the country over the past 100 days. Like Biden did for Harris when she was vice president, Harris anointed Vice President Walz her border czar. Walz has done little to strengthen the border or keep criminal aliens from entering our country. Instead, the vice president spends most of his time wining and dining transgender athletes at White House ceremonies.
Things don’t look much better abroad. Hamas has not released a single hostage, and the bloody stalemate in Gaza seems destined to drag on as Harris and Secretary of State Pete Buttigieg issue nothing stronger than warnings for both sides to abide by international law.
Iran-backed Houthi terrorists continue their assaults on American and European ships, and Tehran, emboldened by its progress on developing a nuclear weapon, is becoming more and more brazen about funding the terrorists.
And Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continue apace, with Kyiv showing no signs that the latest $10 billion in American aid is doing much to win the war. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky — whose rude performance in a February Oval Office meeting was met with further groveling from Harris and Walz — seems undeterred in his demands. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine has ceaselessly mocked Harris and Walz for their weakness on the world stage.
It’s unclear what will come from the next 100 days. Health and Human Services Secretary Vivek Murthy seems hellbent on following his tobacco ban by making red meat illegal, and Attorney General Cory Booker will almost certainly hold another press conference where he compares library fines to segregation. For our sake, let’s hope Secretary of State Buttigieg doesn’t have another gaffe like he had in Riyadh.
Press Secretary Harry Sisson did not respond to a request for comment.
To buoy their spirits, Republicans have jumped the gun on 2028 speculation. Senator JD Vance, resettling in the upper chamber, has demurred whenever approached about a potential campaign. And while former president Donald Trump has stoked 2028 speculation on Truth Social, it remains to be seen whether he’ll mount a third campaign.
As of this writing, Trump was last seen returning to Mar-A-Lago after a round of golf. Video shows the former president shaking hands and posing for pictures with guests, occasionally turning to the crowd to ask: “Miss me yet?”

President Biden And Vice President Harris Speak At Democratic National Committee’s Holiday Reception

What If Kamala Won? Imagining 100 Days Of President Kamala Harris

Hamas

Illegal Immigation

Tim Walz

Former Vice President Kamala Harris was back in the spotlight for the first time since her loss to President Donald Trump, taking the stage in San Francisco on Wednesday night to deliver a speech ripping the president.
Harris gave the keynote <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/fmr-vice-president-kamala-harris-delivers-remarks-at-emerge-gala/659258" target="_blank" rel="noopener">address</a> for the 20th anniversary gala for Emerge, a Democratic organization that recruits women to run for office. After a quick acknowledgement of the leftist organization at the beginning of her speech, Harris quickly moved to taking shots at the Trump administration.
&#8220;The American people deserve leaders who make their lives better and make our country stronger, but sadly, we have seen quite the opposite over these past few months,&#8221; Harris said. &#8220;Now I know tonight&#8217;s event happens to coincide with the 100 days after the inauguration, and I&#8217;ll leave it to others to give a full accounting of what has happened so far, but I will say this, instead of an administration working to advance America&#8217;s highest ideals, we are witnessing the wholesale abandonment of those ideals.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We got stern, serious Kamala now. <a href="https://t.co/BmgeCGD2ZF">pic.twitter.com/BmgeCGD2ZF</a>
&mdash; ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) <a href="https://twitter.com/alx/status/1917780654277697847?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Harris argued that Trump is &#8220;counting on the notion that fear can be contagious &#8230; that if they make some people afraid, it will have a chilling effect on others.&#8221; The former vice president then accused Trump of creating the &#8220;greatest manmade economic crisis in modern presidential history,&#8221; referring to the president&#8217;s massive tariff rollout, which she described as &#8220;absolute chaos.&#8221;
She praised leftist politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who have traveled the country to hold rallies bashing Trump&#8217;s agenda. She also commended Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who traveled to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration deported on suspicion of being an MS-13 gang member.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Kamala Harris: I&#39;m really inspired by Democrat leaders like Chris Van Hollen, Jasmine Crockett, Maxwell Frost AOC, and others. <a href="https://t.co/OlEBpiJ5hw">pic.twitter.com/OlEBpiJ5hw</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1917780078492070014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Later in the speech, Harris pointed to a video of elephants at the San Diego Zoo that were captured on video forming a circle of protection during a recent earthquake.
&#8220;So that scene has been on my mind,&#8221; Harris said, breaking into a laugh. &#8220;So in the video, here those elephants were. And as soon as they felt the earth shaking beneath their feet, they cut in a circle and stood next to each other to protect the most vulnerable. Think about it. What a powerful metaphor.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
2024 loser Kamala Harris tells Democrats to find inspiration in the San Diego Zoo elephants that circled up in shoulder-to-shoulder after an earthquake:
&quot;Think about it. What a powerful metaphor.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Q4QAoU8FQJ">pic.twitter.com/Q4QAoU8FQJ</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1917895482665292089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Harris did not address speculation that she is preparing to jump into the 2026 California governor race to replace Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited. Earlier this month, she <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" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hinted</a> at a future political run, saying she is &#8220;not going anywhere.&#8221;

Kamala Comes Out Angry In First Major Speech Since Election Loss

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San Francisco

Trump Administration

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