Obama silent over reports he’s working ‘behind the scenes’ to force Biden out of the 2024 race
Former President Obama is keeping tight-lipped following reports that he is working “behind the scenes” to force President Biden out of the 2024 presidential race. Multiple media outlets reported Thursday morning on Obama’s alleged efforts, including Politico, which stated that the former president had been given a “heads-up” by actor George Clooney concerning his damaging New York Times guest essay calling on Biden to drop out. “While Obama did not encourage or advise Clooney to say what he said, he also didn’t object to it,” the report said. ‘OBAMA BRO’ CONFIRMS CLAIMS IN CLOONEY’S DAMAGING OP-ED ON BIDEN’S MENTAL FITNESS MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough went a step further, stating on “Morning Joe,” a favorite program of Biden’s, that “what’s going on behind the scenes is the Biden campaign and many Democratic officials do believe that Barack Obama is quietly working behind the scenes to orchestrate this.” A source close to Obama declined to comment on the reports but pointed Fox News Digital to the former president’s statements in support of Biden, both at the Los Angeles fundraiser that became the subject of Clooney’s op-ed, and his disappointing showing in the first presidential debate last month. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Obama has since remained quiet publicly as a number of his close allies and former staffers ramp up their calls for the president to step aside, including former adviser David Axelrod and the “Obama bros,” a group of three close advisers often referred to by that name during his tenure in the White House. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh admitted to AIIMS
He was admitted to the neuro department of the hospital.
Trump roasts Biden with clip from Clooney movie after actor calls for president to drop out of race
Former President Trump took shots at actor George Clooney on his Truth Social platform over the last several hours, including a video with President Biden’s face superimposed onto a scene from one of Clooney’s movies. “So although I wish I were here with better news, the fact is you and I are sitting here today because this will be your last week of employment,” Clooney’s character in “Up in the Air” says in the clip posted by Trump. Footage of Biden looking into the camera during a recent interview with ABC’s George Stephanopolous was featured in the clip. “This is not an assesment of your productivity,” Clooney continues. “Try not to take this personal.” “Well, I just had a bad night,” Biden responds. FIRST DEM SENATOR CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT ‘FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY’ The video mocking Biden came shortly after Trump blasted Clooney on Truth Social following the actor’s call for Biden to drop out of the race weeks after a Hollywood fundraiser he attended with Biden. “So now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act,” Trump wrote in the post. “He’s turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are. What does Clooney know about anything?” TOP DEM CONTRADICTS PAST DEFENSE OF BIDEN ABILITY: ‘MUST DO MORE’ TO PROVE HIMSELF “Clooney should get out of politics and go back to television,” Trump continued. “Movies never really worked for him!!!” Clooney wrote in his New York Times article that Democratic Party leaders needed to stop trying to convince Americans they “didn’t see what we just saw,” and accused them of ignoring “warning signs” concerning Biden. Former Obama adviser Jon Favreau, a member of the group often referred to as the “Obama bros” during his tenure in the White House, was also at the Hollywood fundraiser and followed up Clooney’s announcement with a similar sentiment. “It was not surprising to any of us who were at the fundraiser,” Favreau told CNN. “I was there. Clooney was exactly right, and every single person I talked to at the fundraiser thought the same thing, except for the people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn’t say that.” Biden has said he will not be leaving the 2024 race, and his campaign is continuing to go “full steam ahead,” as one source put it to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign and Clooney’s representatives for comment but did not receive a response. Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report
Biden fundraising takes hit amid rising calls from Democrats for president to end re-election campaign
Two well-connected Democratic Party consultants who work closely with top party donors confirm to Fox News that there has been a major slowdown in President Biden’s fundraising over the past week. The news comes as Biden continues to push back against a rising chorus of calls from within the Democratic Party for the president to step aside and end his 2024 re-election campaign following last month’s disastrous debate performance against former President Trump, his Republican challenger. “People are starting to tap the brakes a bit. They want to see how it’s going to play out,” one of the bundlers, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News. The other bundler – who also asked for anonymity – concurred, emphasizing that “major donors are pausing” until “things are settled.” TRUMP’S STAGGERING SECOND QUARTER HAUL TOPS BIDEN’S MASSIVE FUNDRAISING IN 2024 REMATCH CASH DASH The development was first reported yesterday by NBC News, with stories soon after from a handful of other news organizations, including CNN and Politico, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt, responding to the stories, said that they were “not accurate.” “On grassroots fundraising, the first seven days of July were the best start to the month on the campaign — and many of those were first-time donors. On the high-dollar side, we’ve had folks max out since the debate, as well,” Hitt said in a statement. THE DEMOCRATIC LT. GOVERNOR OF THIS BLUE STATE CALLS ON BIDEN TO END HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN The president, in a call earlier this week with top donors, tried to reassure them and argued that he is still the best candidate to defeat Trump in November. However, actor George Clooney, who is among Biden’s biggest supporters and donors in Hollywood, and who was one of the hosts of a mega-fundraiser last month in Los Angeles with Biden and former President Obama that hauled in $28 million for the president’s campaign, urged Biden to step aside on Wednesday. The Biden campaign touted that they hauled in a staggering $38 million in fundraising in the immediate aftermath of the June 27 debate in Atlanta. Biden is scheduled to appear at several high-dollar fundraisers this month, Fox News has confirmed, including one in Austin, Texas, early next week, and a West Coast swing at the end of the month. However, organizers for at least one Chicago-area fundraiser scheduled during next month’s Democratic National Convention have decided not to proceed with their event, a Democratic source confirmed to Fox News. A spokesperson for the Biden campaign says the event was not affiliated with their official fundraising schedule. Following his extremely rough debate performance in his first face-to-face showdown with Trump, Biden has been attempting to prove that he still has the stamina and acuity to handle the toughest and most demanding job in the world. He is trying to prove that he has the fortitude to defeat Trump. WHAT SWING STATE VOTERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BIDEN’S EXTREMELY ROUGH DEBATE PERFORMANCE The debate was a major setback for Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history. His halting delivery and stumbling answers at the showdown in Atlanta sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and a rising tide of public and private calls from within his own party for him to step aside as its 2024 standard-bearer. Since the debate, 10 House Democrats and one in the Senate have publicly called on Biden to end his re-election bid and a growing number of both House and Senate Democrats have publicly and privately warned that the president will lose to Trump in November. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Biden, in a letter sent to congressional Democrats on Monday as they returned from the July 4 holiday recess, reiterated that he’s “firmly committed to staying in this race” and argued that “the question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it is time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump.” “Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us,” the president added. “It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Biden under pressure after countries refuse to take back illegal immigrants: ‘National security concern’
FIRST ON FOX: House lawmakers are urging the Biden administration to do more to push back against countries, including China, who fail to take back their illegal immigrants — amid an influx of nationals across the southern border. The 14 Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, raise concerns about the record number of Chinese migrants that have flooded across the U.S. border in recent months, and that it is one of a number of “recalcitrant” countries who fail or who are uncooperative in taking back their illegal immigrants. “This is concerning as China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pose grave threats to the United States’ economic and national security. In fact, China is one of 13 countries considered uncooperative or “recalcitrant,” systematically refusing or needlessly delaying the repatriation of their citizens,” they say in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. CHINESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SURGE AT US BORDER ‘PROVES OUT WORST FEARS’: LAWMAKERS Fiscal Year 2023 set a record for the number of Chinese nationals coming across the border, with 24,314 nationals. With FY 24 still not finished, that record has already been surpassed at the border. It has raised a number of national security concerns, with lawmakers and officials warning that it could open the door to Chinese espionage. Recently, DHS touted a new charter flight of Chinese nationals, which it says was the first large charter flight since 2018. The lawmakers cite reports that fewer than 150 illegal immigrants were on the flight, while only 288 Chinese nationals were removed in FY 2023, only a small fraction of the tens of thousands coming across. DHS said that the flight was the result of efforts by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ efforts to engage China “on areas of mutual interest” and the countries are working to reduce illegal immigration and disrupt smuggling. “We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” Mayorkas said in a statement announcing the flights. “People should not believe the lies of smugglers.” ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARY HIT NEW HIGH AMID NATIONAL SECURITY FEARS The lawmakers note that federal law allows for the administration to stop granting visas to a recalcitrant country until they begin accepting their nationals back to the U.S., but in some cases existing visa sanctions have been lifted, namely for Laos. “Ensuring a timely return of removable aliens should be a priority for the administration. The administration should ensure every country accepts all its repatriated citizens, with no exceptions,” they say. The lawmakers request the names of all the countries currently deemed recalcitrant, how many aliens are in the U.S. from those countries, and how many have criminal records. They also ask for any visa sanctions that have been imposed on them, including on China, since 2021. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS They are also asking for information on the reported 116 Chinese nationals who were repatriated on the charter flight, including whether they have criminal charges, gang affiliations and links to espionage. They also want to know how many Chinese nationals have been released into the U.S. House Republicans have focused heavily on the potential threat of Chinese espionage at the border, including holding hearings about the threat — but it was dismissed by Democrats as fearmongering. Republicans recently called the entry of Chinese nationals a “major national security concern” and cited data showing that there have been over 100 incidents in which Chinese nationals have been caught spying at U.S. military installations and other sensitive sites. It comes at a time when the border crisis is a top issue for voters ahead of the November election. Republicans have accused the administration of failing to properly enforce immigration laws and of fueling the crisis by reversing what they say were successful Trump-era policies like Remain-in-Mexico and border wall construction. The administration says it needs Congress to provide more funding and reforms to fix a “broken” system. President Biden recently took executive action to suspend entries across the border at times of high encounters, which officials say has led to a decrease in encounters by 40%. It has also said that a majority of all southern encounters during the past three fiscal years resulted in a removal, return, or expulsion.
Luna’s bid to force Garland to hand over Biden-Hur tapes fails in House
House Democrats and some Republicans joined together to block Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s bid to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 per day until he released audio tapes of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. Democrats failed to block the resolution from hitting the floor on Wednesday evening, setting up a vote on the measure for Thursday. Luna has for weeks threatened to force a vote on holding Garland in “inherent contempt” and appealed to both Republicans and Democrats to support the effort, citing concerns about Biden’s mental acuity spurred by his disastrous performance in the CNN Presidential Debate. Her initial bill would have directed the House sergeant-at-arms to arrest Garland in order for the chamber to hold its own trial. It is a little-known procedure, not invoked since the 1930s, that has never been used on a Cabinet official. DOJ WON’T PROSECUTE AG GARLAND FOR CONTEMPT FOR REFUSAL TO TURN OVER AUDIO FROM BIDEN, HUR INTERVIEW Luna agreed to delay forcing the vote until this week after discussing the matter with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. She also modified her bill to fine Garland instead of arresting him. A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson said in response to the GOP effort, “This is unconstitutional. We are confident our arguments would prevail in court.” Republicans have been seeking the audio tapes of Biden’s interview in Hur’s classified documents probe for months as part of their impeachment inquiry into the president. ANNA PAULINA LUNA CALLS FOR $10,000 PER DAY FINE ON GARLAND FOR BIDEN-HUR AUDIO TAPE House GOP lawmakers, some of whom long held that Biden is not mentally fit for office, voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress last month for his refusal to turn over audio tapes of Hur’s interview with Biden on his handling of classified documents. The DOJ has refused to prosecute, citing Biden’s decision to call for executive privilege over the tapes. Democrats have also pointed out that the full transcript is already available and have bashed the effort as nakedly partisan. However, Republicans argue that the tapes would provide necessary context about Biden’s mental acuity that could not be gleaned from the transcript. EX-REP. CHARLIE RANGEL, 94, QUESTIONS WHETHER BIDEN BELONGS IN NURSING HOME, NOT WHITE HOUSE Some GOP lawmakers reignited those calls in the wake of Biden’s debate performance late last month. The 81-year-old president spoke with a hoarse voice, reportedly due to a cold, and stumbled over his own answers several times during the primetime event. Viewers also observed him appearing tired and noticeably less sharp than he looked the last time he faced former President Trump in 2020. The House GOP also sued Garland last week in order to obtain the tapes, with the lawsuit being led by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Centre announces 10% reservation in CISF, BSF, RPF for Agniveers
For the first batch of ex-Agniveers, the upper age limit relaxation is set at five years, reducing to three years for subsequent batches.
Trump calls George Clooney a ‘rat’ for turning on Biden
Former President Trump lashed out at actor George Clooney on Wednesday night, calling the Democratic Party ally a “rat” for calling on the president to cease reelection efforts. Clooney published an op-ed in The New York Times earlier in the day, expressing his belief that President Biden “saved our democracy” by beating Trump in 2020 but acknowledging that Democrats “are not going to win in November with this president.” Trump responded to the op-ed later that night via Truth Social, his proprietary social media platform, saying, “So now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act. He’s turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are.” PRESSURE ON BIDEN BUILDS AS GEORGE CLOONEY SAYS HE’S UNFIT AND POLITICIANS PRIVATELY AGREE “What does Clooney know about anything? He uses the Democrat ‘talking point’ that Biden, the WORST President in the history of the United States, has ‘saved our Democracy,’” Trump stated. Clooney did take an apologetic tone in his op-ed — outright stating “I love Joe Biden” and that he believes in his “character” and “morals” — but claimed to have witnessed his decline firsthand at a fundraiser last month. “It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” Clooney wrote. DAVE PORTNOY MOCKS GEORGE CLOONEY FOR WAITING 3 WEEKS AFTER FUNDRAISER TO ACKNOWLEDGE BIDEN IS A ‘VEGETABLE’ The actor joined a growing list of Hollywood elites and megadonors who’ve turned on Biden following the debate, where his halting, frail and at-times confused performance alarmed supporters. “Crooked Joe Biden didn’t save our Democracy, he brought our Democracy to its knees. Clooney should get out of politics and go back to television. Movies never really worked for him!!!” Trump concluded. Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, mocked Clooney for waiting until three weeks after his star-studded fundraiser for Biden in which he raised millions of dollars to acknowledge the president is “a vegetable.” “George Clooney, what a f—— hero this guy is, huh? Comes forward today — now, this guy threw a fundraiser, raised tens of millions, co-chair for Biden, three weeks ago. Today comes out, he’s like, ‘Guess what? The guy you saw in the debate, that vegetable, that’s f—— Biden, he’s a vegetable. He was a vegetable three weeks ago.’ Acting like he’s doing some heroic thing,” Portnoy said in a video posted on X. Besides Clooney, members of Biden’s party, political allies and liberal media figures have also pressured the president to drop out of the race, warning he cannot beat former President Trump. Despite mounting pressure to step aside, Biden has insisted to supporters and media outlets this week that he will stay in the race and remains the best candidate to beat his GOP rival. Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks and Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
Dem rep ‘closer and closer’ to urging Biden to drop out, would back Harris nomination or open convention
Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, says he would support an open convention or Vice President Kamala Harris replacing President Biden as the Democratic nominee should Biden decide to withdraw from the presidential race. Landsman made the comments during a Thursday morning appearance on CNN, telling host Kasie Hunt he is losing confidence that Biden can win the 2024 election. Landsman is the latest Democrat in Congress to defect from Biden, with eight other representatives and one senator calling on the president to withdraw. “I’m getting closer and closer to appreciating that as much as I respect Joe Biden and what he’s done, that what [George] Clooney said yesterday was really powerful in that he saved democracy in 2020 he’s gotta do it again in 2024,” Landsman said, referencing George Clooney’s Wednesday op-ed calling on Biden to withdraw. “I want to go back home and check in with folks maybe one last time,” Landsman clarified, adding that “It’s becoming increasingly likely that this may be just too high of a hill for him to climb.” BIDEN ‘WORKING THE PHONES’ IN BATTLE TO SAVE RE-ELECTION BID, WITH DEMOCRATS STARTING TO RETURN TO HIS CAMP Landsman argued that it “should not be that hard” to convince voters not to vote for former President Trump. “If he can’t do it, then he’s gotta let somebody else do it,” he said of Biden. The lawmaker went on to criticize Biden’s letter to House Democrats earlier this week. Biden used the letter to insist he was staying in the race and demanded that discourse around replacing him “end.” BIDEN DELIVERS STRONG SPEECH TOUTING NATO AMID HEALTH QUESTIONS, DEMOCRATS’ CONCERNS “I think he’s made it even harder since the debate, because instead of saying look, you know, let me show you I can do this. He just kind of went at us, and I don’t think that helped him,” Landsman said. New polling shows that 67% of Americans and 54% of Biden’s own supporters say the president should withdraw from the race. NATO SUMMIT IN DC IS ‘PIVOTAL’ MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT FOR BIDEN AS SCRUTINY OVER FITNESS FOR OFFICE INTENSIFIES The Thursday poll from ABC News and the Washington Post found better outcomes for Democrats if Harris were to replace Biden as the party’s nominee. That poll found 49% support for Harris and 46% support for Trump. Biden has vowed to remain in the race despite rising concerns and calls for him to drop out and let another candidate take on Trump. “There’s been a lot of speculation: What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What’s he going to do?” Biden said Friday in a speech in Madison, Wisconsin. “Well, here’s my answer: I am running and going to win again.”
Who is Manish Kumar Verma? Former IAS officer, who calls Nitish Kumar ‘Yug Purush’, joins JD(U)
Verma, a 2000-batch Odisha-cadre IAS officer, voluntarily retired from services in 2021, reportedly on the advice of Nitish Kumar.