Flashback: Biden challenged to take pre-debate drug test in 2024; his son now makes Ambien claim
Former President Joe Biden’s campaign dodged answering whether the president planned to take performance-enhancing drugs ahead of his debate against President Donald Trump just over a year ago, instead arguing that Trump and his campaign were spreading “desperate, obviously false lies” about the 46th president potentially taking drugs. About one year after Biden’s ill-fated debate, former first son Hunter Biden claimed in a wild and expansive interview published Monday his dad’s poor debate performance was due to taking Ambien, a sedative-hypnotic typically used to treat insomnia. “I know exactly what happened in that debate,” Hunter Biden said in the interview. “He flew around the world, basically, the mileage that he could have flown around the world, three times. He’s 81 years old. He’s tired as s—. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep. “He gets up on the stage, and he looks like he’s a deer in the headlights,” Hunter added. “And it feeds into every f—ing story that anybody wants to tell.” BIDEN AIDES PUSHED FOR EARLY DEBATE TO SHOW OFF BIDEN’S ‘STRENGTH,’ EXPOSE TRUMP’S ‘WEAKNESS,’ BOOK SAYS On June 26, 2024, the day before the debate, Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign inquiring if Biden had any plans to use performance-enhancing drugs for the debate, but staffers twice avoided a direct answer to the question. At the time, Trump was leading a rising chorus, which included lawmakers, demanding that Biden take a drug test before the showdown. Those advocating a screening suggested Biden may have been motivated by a desire to quell mounting concerns about his mental acuity. “Donald Trump is so scared of being held accountable for his toxic agenda of attacking reproductive freedom and cutting Social Security that he and his allies are resorting to desperate, obviously false lies,” a Biden campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital the evening ahead of that 2024 debate. When asked in a follow-up email for a “yes” or “no” response, the spokesperson said the original statement answered the question. “The accusation from Trump on drugs is a desperate, obviously false lie,” the response said. Ambien is a sedative that slows brain activity to help a person fall asleep and would not act as a performance-enhancing supplement for a public debate. FLASHBACK: THE DEBATE NIGHT AGAINST TRUMP THAT THREW BIDEN’S REELECTION CAMPAIGN INTO A FREE FALL ONE YEAR LATER: HOW JOE BIDEN’S DISASTROUS DEBATE PERFORMANCE FORCED HIS MEDIA ALLIES TO TURN ON HIM Joe Biden spent days preparing for the debate at Camp David in Maryland with videos of his public gaffes and missteps haunting the campaign in the days leading up to the debate. Trump, meanwhile, led the charge in demanding Biden take a drug test to prove he was not taking performance-enhancing supplements ahead of the highly anticipated event. “DRUG TEST FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN??? I WOULD, ALSO, IMMEDIATELY AGREE TO ONE!!!” Trump posted to Truth Social in the lead-up to the debate. Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House and Trump campaign asking if Biden or Trump, respectively, planned to take performance-enhancing drugs ahead of the debate. The Biden White House did not respond at the time, while the Trump campaign responded. “Absolutely not,” then-campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital at the time. “President Trump has naturally elite stamina and doesn’t need performance-enhancing drugs, unlike Joe Biden, who many are saying will be drugged up for the debate like he was at the State of the Union,” Leavitt said at the time. “President Trump has repeatedly asked Joe Biden to participate in drug testing. What does Team Biden have to hide?” BOOK REVEALS BIDEN ADVISORS DECLINED TO HAVE PRESIDENT TAKE A COGNITIVE TEST IN FEBRUARY 2024: REPORT Hunter Biden’s recent explosive interview on “Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan,” released on YouTube, fanned the flames of Biden’s presidency and exit from the 2024 federal election amid ongoing accusations that Biden’s mental acuity had cratered during his Oval Office tenure. Biden entered the re-election cycle already racked by claims and concerns that his mental acuity had slipped, and he was not mentally fit to continue serving as president, which was underscored by special counsel Robert Hur’s report in February 2024 that rejected criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials, saying he was “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden also brushed off accusations he was using any performance-enhancing supplements, including mocking Trump’s challenge that he take a drug test in an X post just before the debate showing him drinking a can of water. “I don’t know what they’ve got in these performance enhancers, but I’m feeling pretty jacked up. Try it yourselves, folks. See you in a bit,” the X post said, accompanied by a photo of Biden drinking a can of water that said “Get real, Jack. It’s just water.” The debate was an abject failure for Biden as he stumbled over his responses and appeared to lose his train of thought and slur words at times, opening the floodgates of criticism from longtime Democratic allies who called on Biden to drop out of the race and pass the torch to a younger generation to take on Trump. A handful of former President Barack Obama’s allies and former advisors publicly helped lead the charge in calling on Biden to drop out of the 2024 race earlier in the summer, including David Axelrod, who said Biden was “not winning this race;” George Clooney, who called on the president to quit in a bombshell op-ed; and Jon Favreau, who served as former director of speech writing for Obama. BIDEN CAMP DODGES ANSWERING IF PRESIDENT PLANS TO USE PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS BEFORE DEBATE Hunter Biden unleashed on the Democrats who turned their backs on his dad as he attempted to recover from the debate performance in his expletive-riddled interview Monday. “F‑‑- you. What do you have to do with f‑‑‑ing anything? Why do I have to f‑‑‑ing listen to you? What right do you have to step on a
Beto O’Rourke drops f-bomb as he urges Dems to ‘meet fire with fire’ against GOP redistricting plans in Texas
As Texas Republicans attempt to redraw their congressional districts to widen their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of competitive midterm elections expected in 2026, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, said Democrats should “meet fire with fire.” The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate told former Biden advisor Neera Tanden at the Center for American Progress (CAP) on Tuesday that he supports California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s own attempt at redistricting the blue state to deepen Democrats’ own congressional control. O’Rourke rationalized California’s redistricting because “we already have an authoritarian president.” And while he acknowledged the irony of his party following suit on something Democrats “don’t like Republicans doing,” O’Rourke said, “This is for the very future and fate of the republic. We lose it, you will never, ever get it back.” “Not only do I think [Newsom] should do this, I don’t think he should wait for Texas,” O’Rourke said. “In other words, why the f–k are we responding and reacting to the other side instead of taking the offense on these things?” COURT SHUTS DOWN REDISTRICTING FIGHT IN KEY SWING STATE — HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS O’Rourke criticized the Democratic Party for caring “more about being right” than about “being in power.” He said Democrats, who are grappling with losing control of the White House and Congress in 2024, “have to be ruthlessly focused on winning power.” DEMOCRAT BETO O’ROURKE SAYS HE’LL RUN FOR SENATE IF TEXANS WANT HIM TO If Democrats don’t fight back, O’Rourke said, “a state that was already something less than democracy is about to descend even further.” The GOP-controlled state legislature in Texas began a special session on Monday, and one of the key items on their agenda is the push by Republicans in the red state to redraw the current congressional maps to reduce the number of districts controlled by already marginalized Democrats. It’s part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of the chamber, and cushion losses elsewhere in the country, as the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. And President Donald Trump is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term, when Democrats grabbed a majority in the House in the 2018 midterms. “Texas will be the biggest one,” the president told reporters last week, as he predicted the number of GOP-friendly seats that could be added through redistricting in the Lone Star State. “Just a simple redrawing, we pick up five seats.” Hours earlier, Trump held a call with Texas’ Republican congressional delegation, and sources confirmed to Fox News that the president told the lawmakers that he was aiming to redraw the maps to create five new winnable seats. Democrats control just 12 of the state’s 38 congressional districts, with a blue-leaning seat vacant after the death in March of Rep. Sylvester Turner. The idea is to relocate Democratic voters from competitive seats into nearby GOP-leaning districts, and move Republican voters into neighboring districts the Democrats currently control. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both conservative Republicans and Trump allies, said they needed to redistrict because of constitutional concerns raised by the Justice Department over a handful of minority-dominated districts. “Coincidentally or not, each of those seats is held by a Democrat who is either Black or Mexican-American,” O’Rourke said Tuesday. “That’s what they’re doing. It’s members of Congress choosing their own voters, literally.” Redistricting typically takes place at the start of each decade, based on the latest U.S. Census data. Mid-decade redistricting is uncommon – but not without precedent. Democrats are slamming Trump and Texas Republicans for what they describe as a power grab, and vowing to take legal action to prevent any shift in the current congressional maps, as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said, “Democrats are going to push back aggressively because it’s the right thing to do.” “Two can play this game,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media last week. The next day, after a meeting, Democrats in California’s congressional delegation said they were on board with an ambitious plan to try and gain at least five seats through redistricting. Democrats currently control 43 of the Golden State’s 52 congressional districts. But it won’t be easy to enact the change, because in California, congressional maps are drawn by an independent commission that is not supposed to let partisanship influence their work. Newsom this week suggested that the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature should move forward with a mid-decade redrawing of the maps, arguing that it might not be forbidden by the 17-year-old ballot initiative that created the independent commission. The governor also proposed quickly holding a special election to repeal the commission ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Both plans are considered long shots, as they would face plenty of legislative, legal and financial hurdles.
Cuomo tones down Trump rhetoric after stunning loss to Mamdani in NYC mayor primary
In the closing weeks ahead of New York City’s Democratic Party mayoral primary, as he appeared to be cruising toward capturing his party’s nomination, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo focused his campaign’s spotlight on President Donald Trump. But an unexpected loss to democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani forced his campaign to make an abrupt change in messaging. “Trump’s coming for New York. Who do you think can stop him?” the narrator in a Cuomo campaign ad said, over images of the June rioting in Los Angeles sparked by Trump’s immigration crackdown. “Trump’s at the city gates. We need someone experienced to slam them shut,” the narrator said, as he suggested that Cuomo was the most experienced candidate to push back against the president’s agenda. The former three-term governor, who resigned amid twin scandals in 2021, pledged, if elected mayor, to protect New York City from what he suggested could be a possible future federal crackdown against immigration protests in the city. And he vowed to mount a national campaign to try and thwart Trump’s agenda. POLL POSITION: MAMDANI’S THE FRONTRUNNER, BUT ISN’T RUNNING AWAY WITH THE NYC MAYORAL RACE But Mamdani’s stunning victory over Cuomo and nine other candidates last month to capture the Democratic Party nomination rocked the race for mayor in the nation’s most populous city. And as Cuomo resets as he runs in the mayoral general election as an independent candidate, references to Trump have plummeted as the former governor stands for interviews. He didn’t mention the president once in his video announcing his general election campaign. Longtime Cuomo adviser and spokesman Rich Azzopardi said “that’s not the case” when asked by Fox News Digital if the former governor was de-emphasizing Trump messaging. “It’s silly. It’s only been eight days since the campaign had a relaunch,” Azzopardi said. And he said that in the local interviews Cuomo has done, “it has been more local and pocketbook issues that have come up.” “I think New Yorkers know that the person best equipped to protect New York from any excesses that may come out of Washington is Andrew Cuomo, because he’s done it before,” Azzopardi added. But Mamdani’s campaign argues that Cuomo is taking a page from their playbook as he shines a spotlight on his proposals to lower the rent, build more housing, and improve public transportation. MAMDANI ON EXTENDED AFRICA TRIP AMID NYC MAYORAL CAMPAIGN The 33-year-old Ugandan-born state assemblyman from Queens, who was backed by progressive champions Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, surged to a come-from-behind primary victory, thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City’s high cost of living. Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering “free childcare” for children up to age 5 and setting up government-run grocery stores. And Mamdani, thanks in part to the efforts of a massive grassroots army of volunteers, rode a wave of support from younger and progressive voters to catapult himself into first place. Cuomo now says he’s committed to making New York a city with “lower rent, safer streets, where buying your first home is once again possible, where child care won’t bankrupt you.” And he’s taken aim at Mamdani for putting out “slick slogans, but no real solutions.” POTUS THE PUNDIT: TRUMP SAYS CUOMO’S GOT A ‘GOOD SHOT’ OF BEATING MAMDANI Cuomo is one of four candidates in the general election who are taking on Mamdani, who, as the Democratic Party nominee, is the front-runner in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a roughly six-to-one margin. Also in the race are Mayor Eric Adams, the embattled incumbent who announced earlier this year that he would seek re-election as an independent candidate, and Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa, who for a second straight election is the Republican mayoral nominee. And Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor, is also running as an independent. Cuomo, since his primary defeat, has noted that the general election electorate in New York City is much larger than the pool of voters who cast ballots in the Democratic nomination race. “Only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary,” Cuomo said in his general election launch video. And as he now faces a broader and more moderate electorate than that in the Democratic Party primary, Cuomo’s apparent pivot away from Trump and towards issues of affordability appears strategic. Azzopardi, pointing to the campaign re-launch, told Fox News, “It was important to hit the ground running to meet New Yorkers where they are, and that’s what we’re doing.” “The message is a simple one. It’s New Yorkers are generally not hard-core pro-MAGA Trumpers, nor are they socialists. They are in the middle, and the governor is making the case about how he is the person best equipped to bring the first competent administration back to City Hall in 12 years,” Azzopardi said. But veteran Democratic strategist Lauren Hitt, who advised an anti-Cuomo super PAC in the Democratic primary, argued that New York City voters are likely to be skeptical of the former governor’s message. “Cuomo already had his chance to make New York more affordable, and he did just the opposite. So he can try to slap another label on his campaign, but New Yorkers already know they don’t like what he’s selling,” Hitt said.
Anti-ICE attackers revealed to have extensive history of radical protest activities
Some members of the group charged in the Prairieland Detention Center anti-ICE attack on Independence Day have been arrested in the past for protest activities. Ines Soto, who is part of the group of ten charged with attempted murder of federal officers and firearm offenses, was arrested at a protest in 2016 for allegedly resisting arrest and trying to avoid detention, according to K-HOU 11 at the time. The protest was against a speech by Richard Spencer at Texas A&M University. The outlet My Aggie Nation noted that Soto was 31 in 2016, which corroborates with a KERA News report stating that Soto is now 40 years old and was released on a $10,000 bond. FBI CAPTURES FORMER MARINE CORPS RESERVIST ACCUSED OF SHOOTING AT ICE OFFICERS AT TEXAS DETENTION CENTER Meanwhile, KERA News reported that Savanna Batten partook in the Occupy Wall Street movement through an “Occupy Dallas” protest in 2011, where she was arrested for allegedly not allowing people to come and go from a Chase Bank. The case was ultimately dismissed, as a criminal trespassing charge was scrapped in exchange for 24 community service hours, the outlet reported. Batten also specifically has a history of anti-ICE activism, as she was charged for allegedly blocking a highway in June 2018 near a Dallas ICE facility, and the charge for that was also dismissed in 2019 as part of a program. Fox News Digital reported last week that Benjamin Song, who was captured by the FBI last week, had a known protest background. He was named in a 2023 lawsuit over a counter-protest to the New Columbia Movement at a drag brunch in Fort Worth, Texas. The lawsuit noted Song was tied with a pro-arms leftist group, the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club. UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS EXPOSE RADICAL VIEWS OF ANTI-ICE SHOOTING SUSPECT CAPTURED BY FBI In addition, he was also arrested in 2020 during a protest in Austin for allegedly assaulting a public servant, according to Fox 4. Song’s social media profiles also indicated that he was extremely vocal online about his stances and activism, and also appeared to use a martial arts studio tied to his mother to film tactical exercises. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Do you want to end mass shootings? Abolish the police,” he posted in June 2022 under the X handle, BubbleBreakBS. Song, a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, is accused of firing two AR-15-style rifles at two correctional officers and one Alvarado police officer, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital. MORE DETAILS REVEALED ON SUSPECTS IN INDEPENDENCE DAY ICE ATTACK IN TEXAS “Make no mistake, this was not a peaceful protest,” Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson said in a July 8 statement. “This was an ambush on federal and local law enforcement officers. This increasing trend of violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas. Those who use violence against law enforcement officers will be found and prosecuted using the toughest criminal statutes and penalties available.” A local police officer was shot in the neck by a suspect in the woods, according to the complaint. Another assailant allegedly fired dozens of rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility. Cars outside the facility were vandalized with “Ice pig” and “Traitor,” as authorities obtained anti-government literature from those involved, as well as a flag that said “Fight Fascism, Fight Oligarchy.”
Salvadoran president responds to Hunter Biden’s invasion threat: What is he ‘sniffing’?
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele responded late Monday to having his country under the threat of invasion from a future “President Hunter Biden.” Bukele, who has emerged as a top ally of President Donald Trump and a partner in the U.S. leader’s mass deportation operations targeting illegal immigrants, appeared to laugh off the threat. “Is Hunter Biden sniffing powdered milk?” Bukele replied on X, where he shared a snippet of Biden’s interview with podcaster Andrew Callaghan. “These guys think that we need to run away from all values in order for us to lead,” Biden fumed in the clip, initially speaking about the conservative right. KAINE BREAKS INTO SPANISH AS DEMS FORCE VOTE TARGETING TRUMP-EL SALVADOR ALLIANCE OVER DEPORTATIONS “I say, f— you. How are we getting those people back from f—ing El Salvador?” “Because I’ll tell you what, if I became president… I would pick up the phone and call the f—ing president of El Salvador and say, ‘You either f—ing send [illegal immigrants imprisoned in CECOT penitentiary] back or I’m going to f—ing invade.” Biden then accused Trump and Bukele of a “f—ing crime” and labeled both men “f—ing dictator-thug[s].” The retort called back to Biden’s history of drug use, which notably included a revelation he made to CBS that he would smoke “anything that even remotely resembled crack cocaine,” including “more Parmesan cheese than anyone you know.” Biden’s interview touched on that history, including the incident in which he swore on a federal firearms form that he was not using controlled substances at the time of purchase. BUKELE MOCKS ABREGO GARCIA’S TORTURE CLAIMS WITH PRISON HIGHLIGHT REEL Bukele followed up by sharing news coverage of a three-party prisoner swap between the U.S., El Salvador and Venezuela, to illustrate ongoing cooperation with the U.S.’s current leadership. “Maduro’s regime was satisfied with the exchange agreement; that’s why they accepted it,” Bukele said, adding that Caracas strongman Nicolas Maduro’s regime now “shout[s] and express[es] outrage – but not because they disagree with the deal, rather because they just realized they are left without hostages from the most powerful country in the world.” Bukele had agreed to fly Venezuelan deportees from the U.S. who had been held at CECOT back to Caracas, as the Maduro regime in turn released several Americans being held captive. Venezuela had not initially been accepting of deported illegal immigrant nationals captured by U.S. authorities. Ten U.S. citizens or legal-permanent residents, who had been held by Maduro, were released, according Secretary of State Marco Rubio. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Until today, more Americans were wrongfully held in Venezuela than any other country in the world. It is unacceptable that Venezuelan regime representatives arrested and jailed U.S. nationals under highly questionable circumstances and without proper due process,” Rubio said in a statement. Bukele also highlighted a clip of U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler calling him a “good friend” of the U.S.
EU defense chief warns of ‘most dangerous moment’ – coordinated Russian-Chinese aggression by 2027
The European Union’s first-ever defense commissioner has issued a stark warning: the world’s “most dangerous moment” could arrive as soon as 2027, when Russia and China may coordinate aggressive moves designed to overwhelm Western defenses. Andrius Kubilius, the EU’s commissioner for defense and space, echoed recent remarks by U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s top commander for air operations. Both officials highlighted 2027 as a potential flashpoint year when simultaneous military actions by Moscow and Beijing could stretch the transatlantic alliance to its limits. “The most dangerous moment can be in 2027, when both Russia and China will make these aggressive moves in a coordinated way,” Kubilius told reporters during a briefing in Washington. Grynkewich had warned last week that the United States and its European allies must be prepared to fight two wars simultaneously – one in Europe, should Russian President Vladimir Putin escalate in Ukraine or Eastern Europe, and another in the Pacific if Chinese President Xi Jinping launches an invasion of Taiwan. UKRAINE’S EX-FOREIGN MINISTER BACKS TRUMP ON DEFENSE SPENDING, WARNS DIPLOMACY WITH PUTIN IS NEARLY EXHAUSTED “We’re going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to beat that,” Grynkewich said. In a speech later Monday evening, Kubilius said the U.S. has the “right and reason” to turn its focus to China. “We are recognizing that you, Americans, have really the right and the reason in the longer-term perspective to start to shift more and more toward the Indo-Pacific in order to mitigate Chinese rising military power,” he said. “We Europeans need to ramp up our defense capabilities,” the former Lithuanian prime minister said, adding: “That is what we are doing.” Their warnings align with growing concerns across the U.S. defense establishment over what is often referred to as the “Davidson Window” – a term coined by former Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Philip Davidson, who testified before Congress in 2021 that China could attempt to forcibly reunify with Taiwan by 2027. The assessment has since become a widely cited benchmark for military planners preparing for a potential crisis in the Indo-Pacific. The 2027 window has taken on added urgency as China rapidly accelerates its military modernization program, aiming to achieve what Xi Jinping has called “world-class” warfighting capabilities by the People’s Liberation Army’s centennial in 2027. U.S. and NATO officials also fear that Russia, despite sustaining major losses in Ukraine, could reconstitute and redirect its forces toward renewed aggression in Eastern Europe by that same timeframe – placing strategic pressure on two fronts simultaneously. Kubilius traveled to Washington to assess potential shortfalls in European defense capabilities as the U.S. increasingly pivots its strategic attention toward the Indo-Pacific. He said EU member states are actively preparing for a shift in the American military posture on the continent. As of 2025, more than 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe – a presence widely expected to decline in the coming years as the Pentagon presses its European allies to assume greater responsibility for their own defense. “We are preparing ourselves to take responsibility on our shoulders,” Kubilius said. “We don’t know what Americans will decide.” Kubilius emphasized that Europe must not only fund its own defense but also build it. He noted that the EU has reduced its reliance on U.S.-made weapons from 60% of total imports to 40%, and hopes to lower that dependency further through increased domestic production. TRUMP’S NATO TURNAROUND: FROM THREATENING TO PULL US OUT TO ‘DADDY’ OF THE ALLIANCE As defense commissioner, Kubilius is tasked with implementing an $840 billion framework to “Re-Arm Europe,” including a €150 billion loan facility available to member states for building out their armed forces and industrial capacities. Separately, NATO leaders at last month’s summit in Washington agreed to a sweeping pledge to increase defense spending – raising the benchmark from 2% of GDP to 5% for member countries, a historic shift in alliance posture amid growing global instability. Adding to the sense of urgency, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would offer advanced weapons systems to Ukraine – on the condition that European partners cover the cost. Western defense ministers convened on Monday to discuss the proposed financing mechanism. “We’re going to be sending Patriots to NATO and then NATO will distribute that,” Trump said last week, referring to the high-value air defense systems that Kyiv has long sought. Kubilius declined to elaborate on which other weapons may be included in the package, but underscored the critical importance of maintaining unwavering support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion. “China is watching,” he said. “China will be able to make a conclusion that if the West is weak in Ukraine, then we can expect aggressive behavior from China against anyone.”
5 bizarre moments from Hunter Biden’s interview meltdown
Hunter Biden covered a lot of ground during his hourslong, profanity-laden meltdown on the “Channel 5” podcast this weekend, but some moments stood out among all the rest. Biden spoke with host Andrew Callaghan for roughly three hours, and the former president’s son took care to hash out all of his political grievances, taking aim at everyone from President Donald Trump to actor George Clooney. Here are five of the most unusual moments from Biden’s extended tirade. Biden had some particularly vulgar words for Clooney, who he claims sabotaged former President Joe Biden’s re-election effort with the “blessing” of former President Barack Obama and his cohorts. “F— him! F— him and f— everybody around him. I don’t have to be f—ing nice. Number one, I agree with Quentin Tarantino. George Clooney is not a f—ing actor. He is a f—ing, I don’t know what he is, he’s a brand,” Biden said. He and Callaghan were discussing Clooney’s infamous New York Times guest essay that became a key moment in the pressure campaign for Joe Biden to drop out of the race. The “Ocean’s 11” actor penned the essay, which called for Biden to be replaced as the Democratic nominee, less than two weeks after the former president had a disastrous debate performance against Trump. DNC VICE CHAIR COMPARES TRUMP TO NOTORIOUS SEGREGATIONISTS DURING HEATED TOWN HALL EVENT WITH BETO O’ROURKE “It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser 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. Hunter unloaded on the actor, asking, “Why do I have to f—ing listen to you?” and accusing him of having lied about his father experiencing memory lapses at a June 2024 fundraiser. “What do you have to do with f—ing anything?… What right do you have to step on a man who’s given 52 years of his f—ing life to the service of this country and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full-page ad in the f—ing New York Times to undermine the president?” Hunter fumed. Biden compared Trump and his supporters to Confederates and the Ku Klux Klan when the conversation turned toward immigration. Trump, he said, is a “f—ing thug” who is deporting illegal immigrants to a “concentration camp” in El Salvador. Biden said America gets stuck in a “permanent Jim Crow loop” that when the “more perfect union” is nearly realized, a “symbiosis between money and power” ruins it. SETH MEYERS SKIPS ASKING GEORGE CLOONEY ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL DECLINE, NOT RECOGNIZING HIM AT FUNDRAISER “There is a minority group that those in power, that came into power through democratically elected means, are going to target this minority group because they’re stealing all the jobs,” he said, as clips played of Trump from 2016 speaking about “Mexico not sending their best” and claims of migrants “eating the dogs” in Ohio. “And what we’re going to do is we’re going to send masked men to this marginalized group, and we are going to take them, put them on planes, put them on buses, put them on trains and send them to a prison camp in a foreign country,” Biden fumed. “What am I describing right then? Am I describing Germany? Or am I just describing the United States right now? Because I will tell you what. You think that the prison in El Salvador is not a f—ing concentration camp, you’re out of your f—ing mind.” Biden then claimed White men are “4-5 times more likely” to commit a violent crime than illegal immigrants. Biden became animated when the conversation turned to his father’s disastrous debate performance against Trump in 2024, a debate that ultimately proved fatal to his campaign. He revealed that his father was taking Ambien to sleep while on the campaign trail. HUNTER BIDEN RAGES AGAINST F—ING THUG TRUMP, INVOKES KKK IN IMMIGRATION RANT “I know exactly what happened in that debate. He flew around the world, basically, the mileage that he could have flown around the world, three times. He’s 81 years old. He’s tired as s—. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep,” he said. “He gets up on the stage. And he looks like he’s a deer in the headlights. And it feeds into every f—ing story that anybody wants to tell,” Hunter went on, claiming that CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s book relied on several anonymous sources for his related expose because, in reality, no one had spoken out against Joe. “If this was a conspiracy… somehow the entirety of a White House in which you’re literally living on top of each other has kept their mouth shut about you now, like what? And what’s the conspiracy? Did Joe Biden get old? Yeah, he got old. He got old before our eyes. The people that came out against him were who — nobody — except Speaker Emerita Pelosi did not give a full-throated endorsement, which allowed everybody else to kind of go, ‘OK.’ JOHN KERRY ADMITS TRUMP WAS ‘RIGHT’ ON BORDER, SAYS HE TOLD BIDEN THAT DEMOCRATS MISSED ON IMMIGRATION “Who came out full-throated? Progressives. AOC, Bernie, the entire progressive wing, [Silicon Valley congressman] Ro Khanna. The entirety of the progressive side of the Democratic Party said Joe Biden has got more of our agenda accomplished in four years than any president in history. The largest investment into climate change in history, just that alone. And so he gets over the hump. He goes and does Stephanopoulos, and everybody said that’s not enough.” Biden eventually turned his ire toward Democratic strategists who he says sabotaged his father’s campaign, including David Axelrod, James Carville and the former Obama staffers behind “Pod Save America.” “James Carville—who hasn’t run a race in 40 f–ing years—and David Axelrod, who had one success in his political life, and that was
Trump endorses GOP senator years after asserting ‘I will never endorse this jerk again’
After lambasting GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota in 2022 and vowing that he would never endorse the lawmaker again, President Donald Trump issued a full-throated endorsement of the incumbent Republican senator in a Truth Social post on Monday. Trump previously endorsed Rounds in 2020, but then excoriated the senator in 2022 after Rounds appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and described the 2020 election as “fair.” “‘Senator’ Mike Rounds of the Great State of South Dakota just went woke on the Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020,” Trump declared at the beginning of a lengthy statement in January 2022. GOP SENATOR INVITES TRUMP TO ‘AN APPRECIATION EVENT LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN’ IN DEEP-RED STATE “Even though his election will not be coming up for 5 years, I will never endorse this jerk again,” Trump later said in the statement. “The Radical Left Democrats and RINOS, like ‘Senator’ Mike Rounds, do not make it easy for our Country to succeed. He is a weak and ineffective leader, and I hereby firmly pledge that he will never receive my endorsement again!” Trump asserted in that statement several years ago. But in an about-face, Trump has endorsed Rounds for re-election. US CAN’T CUT CHINA OFF COMPLETELY, BUT MUST DEFEND AI AND AMERICAN INNOVATION FROM NONSTOP THEFT: SEN ROUNDS In a Monday Truth Social post, the president called the senator “An America First Patriot,” declaring, “Mike Rounds has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election – HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Tuesday morning but did not receive a response by the time of publication. TRUMP BLASTS MASSIE AS ‘THE WORST REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN’ AND SAYS HE’S SEEKING A CHALLENGER TO SUPPORT Rounds thanked Trump for the endorsement on Monday in posts on X, adding, “I look forward to working with you to make America even better!”
House Republicans warn anti-ICE rhetoric from Democrats is driving violent attacks on agents
President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and deportation rollout has ignited anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests across the United States. House Republicans told Fox News Digital there is a parallel between Democrats’ rhetoric against federal immigration officers amid this crackdown and the surge in violence against ICE and Border Protection (CBP) officers. “The increasingly violent attacks against law enforcement are being egged on by irresponsible Democratic politicians,” Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said in an exclusive interview. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday blamed Democrats’ “sanctuary city policies” for the shooting of an off-duty CBP officer in New York City. NOEM WARNS OF ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ THREAT LEVEL FOR ICE AGENTS, BLAMES ‘LIES’ FROM DEMOCRATS A second illegal immigrant has been apprehended in connection to the shooting of the CBP officer. He was reportedly struck in the face and forearm in Manhattan’s Riverside Park on Saturday night. Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, a Dominican national who was caught by Border Patrol in April 2023, was taken into custody following the shooting. GUNMAN AMBUSHES BORDER PATROL AGENTS DAYS AFTER HOUSE DEMS REJECT RESOLUTION CONDEMNING ANTI-ICE VIOLENCE “Without enforcing our immigration laws, we have no immigration laws,” McClintock continued. “Without immigration laws, we have no border, and without a border we have no country. And that’s what Americans suffered for four long years with the open borders policies of the Biden administration.” Democrat Sens. Alex Padilla and Cory Booker, two of the leading Capitol Hill critics of Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown, have introduced legislation that would require immigration enforcement officers to clearly identify themselves without masks. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga, told Fox News Digital that he has “absolutely” seen an increase in violence, explaining that when a member of Congress uses “radical rhetoric,” people take it to heart. “We should be applauding them. We should be thankful to them. They are literally removing criminal aliens from our midst and making us a safer nation. And yet these radical Democrats are inflaming the public. And as a result, you’re seeing more violence against them. And it’s unconscionable that they do that,” Clyde said. Federal immigration law enforcement officers have been targeted since Trump signed his “big, beautiful bill” into law, which includes legislation for robust immigration reform. There were at least two ambushes in Texas, and protesters clashed with federal officers at the Portland, Oregon, ICE facility, over the Fourth of July weekend. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., told Fox News Digital that there has been “growing rhetoric by many on the Democratic side” from everyone except Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. Particularly in Los Angeles, Guest pointed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s and Mayor Karen Bass’ anti-ICE rhetoric as protests delved into riots in the West Coast city last month. Bass has signed a series of executive orders aimed at impeding ICE deportation raids in Los Angeles, criticizing the “unconstitutional, reckless raids” and establishing a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) working group that expands resources for families impacted by Trump’s deportation rollout. “When we have Democrats constantly attacking our ICE agents for what they’re doing, demonizing them for enforcing the law, that is going to create more violence, and the situation is going to get worse and not better,” Guest added. Rep. Mariannette Miller‑Meeks, R‑Iowa, added in an interview with Fox News Digital that it’s “unreal to me that people are attacking law enforcement agents trying to do their job.” She said the emphasis should be on supporting ICE and CBP agents. “Keep the focus on deporting criminal illegals, people that are bad actors that should be out of the country, focusing on the influence of gangs and cartels in this country,” Miller-Meeks added, urging her fellow House Republicans to remind Americans that these deportations are necessary due to the surge of illegal immigration under the Biden administration. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Trump pulls US out of UN agency over its backing of ‘woke’ social causes
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that the United States will exit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). “President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November. This president will always put America First and ensure our country’s membership in all international organizations aligns with our national interests,” White House Deputy Spokesperson Anna Kelly said on Tuesday. WATCHDOG BACKS RUBIO’S SANCTIONS ON UN OFFICIAL OVER ‘SHAMEFUL EFFORTS’ TARGETING US, ISRAEL “The U.S. continues to demonstrate moral clarity in the international arena and when it comes to its involvement and financial investments in international organizations, and makes it clear that it is unwilling to support entities that promote hatred, historical revisionism, and political divisiveness over advancing shared universal values,” Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement. Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar also commended the decision, which he said “is a necessary step, designed to promote justice and Israel’s right to fair treatment in the U.N. system, a right which has often been trampled due to politicization in this arena.” “Singling out Israel and politicization by member states must end, in this and all professional U.N. agencies,” Sa’ar added. The move comes as the administration continues to make waves in the international community, and in particular at the U.N. The U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has drawn the ire of the U.N. and other international bodies. Additionally, Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed his concerns about the Trump administration’s foreign aid cuts, which he said would be “especially devastating” to the world’s vulnerable populations, according to Reuters. BUSH TEAMS UP WITH NOTORIOUS TRUMP FOES TO TRASH ‘COLOSSAL MISTAKE’ SHUTTERING USAID State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement on the exit that “continued involvement with UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States.” “UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy,” the statement read. “UNESCO’s decision to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump withdrew the U.S. from UNESCO in October 2017, during his first term, but former President Joe Biden had the country rejoin the agency in 2023. In 2017, the State Department said the U.S. was withdrawing from the agency for very similar reasons, suggesting UNESCO has not sufficiently fixed the issues at the center of the Trump administration’s concerns.