The White House is in a CRISIS

all right welcome back to Citizen McCain and here in studio here in Washington DC Miranda Wilkins I'm so happy you're finally here hello hello hi hello I'm excited you're here how do you feel I'm excited to be here but I feel like it's surreal because all these people behind the camera that uh I hear their voices and I see them like Milling around when we're getting staged and stuff and I get to meet them and I got to hug everybody and see them and it was all so exciting so I'm so happy to be here I cannot believe this is your first time in Washington DC never been here before so as we like you picked me up from my hotel and um we drove in and I got to see the monument and the capital Dome building and so hopefully we'll get out of here like a little early and maybe we can just like cruise around and go see everything because it's very exciting to be here I'm glad you're here did you have a nice Fourth of July I had a lovely Fourth of July with my family like we were talking about before the break we went to Big Bear and I was so looking forward to getting out of the heat right so in my house area where I live it was 15 120 degrees which is absolutely disgusting so I was expecting the mountains to be cooler right so when Big Bear it snows and that's where everyone goes snowboarding and skiing so I was thinking it was going to be like 70 80 maybe at the max Megan it was 100° up on the top of that mountain and none of the houses have air conditioning So Not only was I like not at all beating the heat it was like so freaking hot I thought I was going to die I would have much rather just stayed home I almost got a hotel room but but I I would have been like really big [ __ ] move so that's literally my version of Hell being in a place that hot with no air conditioning Not only was I in A Place With No Air Conditioning I was staying with my beautiful adorable lovely niece who is the same age as Clover and all she did was scream from 4:00 a.m. till 900 p.m. because she couldn't sleep because it was 90 degrees in her bedroom and I mean 18-month-old who can't sleep there's like literally nothing worse so as much as I love her I'm very glad to be in a separate home from her now because that kid sounds like Jurassic Park it's like literally sounds like a dinosaur screaming and CeCe was like I like it when baby Mia screams because she sounds so joyful I like yeah okay but she sounds like Jurassic she literally sounds like a roaring dinosaur and all I wanted to do was turn off that baby monitor I was like maybe if you don't hear her screaming she's not screaming it was like the does a tree fall in the forest if you don't hear it did you guys just suffer through the heat does a baby scream if you don't hear it so um yeah what I mean what were we supposed to do and even the restaurants and stuff in the town don't have air conditioning because it's a mountain town so we went to like the one place that does have air conditioning which like sushi cuz you have to keep the fish cold they had a line out the door for an hour and so we didn't even go there because what are we going to do stand in the Sun for an hour it's so counterproductive so did you go in the lake no you didn't go on a boat or anything no well like first of all no we did not rent a boat because who just sat around being who thinks who thinks to plan ahead no nobody so we did not rent a boat um my oldest daughter Coco you know everyone knows Coco she was on the show uh she did jump in the lake and she came out like Bigfoot like anybody thought they saw like a baby Sasquatch or anything over the weekend in the mountains that was her cuz she came out she lost a sandal um in the lake and she came out covered in mud she went swimming in the reads um she went fishing and she caught herself she did what that thing where you catch yourself with the fishing hook and so I was like Catch of the Day um so she know covered in mud and then she goes I'll look very hard for my shoe tomorrow I was like that thing is long done she like I'm so sorry I'll look really hard tomorrow very very funny it's funny how kids think like it's still going to be there but yeah it was the lake is disgusting like she came out just disgusting covered in mud have you been there she had a I have many times and I've been in the lake yeah yeah there's parts of it that are really nice we were in I don't think it's disgusting but you were probably on the we were in like a place called Boulder Bay which is like at the very it's like a cesac part of the lake so it's where a lot of people camp and stuff so it was like muddy and Sandy where we were so she liked it cuz she could stand at the shore and walk in and walk out but I was not I swam in the middle it's hard enough to get me in a swimming pool let alone like jump in the lake so we're going to the beach in a couple or at the end of the week so that's way more My Vibe I will have an enjoyable vacation yet everybody it that honestly doesn't sound good how was Sedona that's what I want to hear hear about I went to Sedona uh at our family's place and I had my my friend Sarah and her husband Bobby who I've spoken about on the show before and their four kids came which was really nice Full House yeah six kids eat a lot I was telling you there in the car like a lot of food there's a place in town that sells buckets of spaghetti and we had to get like seven buckets of spaghetti for lunch one day and meatballs it's very good but whatever bucket of spaghetti yes I had a really good time all we did was swim in the creek and fish and hike and I like that's all I you guys zoomed with me I was like yeah give me these Vibes got on your uh camouflage hat very very very I blend in with the natives when I'm there and then I went into Sedona one day and uh like into town my friend Sarah and I did and we went shopping because I got to get my crystals obviously there's a lot of energy in the world right now and you got to protect yourself so I went into town and there was a new Boutique and I went into the store and we bought it's called rolling rack Boutique and we went in and bought some stuff and the woman who owns the boutique put the nicest post anyone has ever written about me on their social media about me coming into the store and every time I feel like I'm hated and everybody just [ __ ] hates me all the time the kindest nicest like we love her I'm such a fan of how strong she is she represents Arizona Rolling Rock Boutique so every time uh it's one in toona there's apparently around the rest of Phoenix and Scottsdale as well but it like completely made my day not to like whatever but normally people are so hideous to me on social media that was like so nice and I was like see Arizona women are tough too my friend broe who's from Arizona came too and my friend Sarah was there and we were like sitting around we were like women born and raised in Arizona we're just tough like we're like tough and I was like I feel like tough women understand tough women so that was really nice and then um just hang out with the girls and my our friend andan came to and he cooked a lot and we just had just did all the normal stuff and had sparklers on the 4th of July and I don't want to come home the only reason why I'm here is cuz you're here I would have just stayed there I I think you got in yesterday also every time I go to Arizona I'm just like I should I'll just stay forever like it's like Never Never Land I never want to come back so did you catch a fish I did not but they did oh awesome I was just swimming and like you know I love the Fourth of July so much and I I love Arizona even it was really hot but there really is something about the dry heat I think it's real like it's not totally different yeah it feels like a swap heater here in DC right now Olivia who is here but behind the camera she and I flew in together from La yesterday and it's so disgusting and a plane that almost hit another plane oh my God our flight our flight was a mess they couldn't close Okay we flew in on a Boeing they could not close the plane door cuz it was full of dirt like I've never even heard of that it's like get the Dust Buster clean it out and let's go they wouldn't lock the do why is there so much dirt FL from Phoenix so you tell us the plane came from Phoenix well then that makes sense don't so they couldn't close the doors to leave LA and then as we're trying to land in DC so we're going like this descend descend descend whoop just kidding and it goes back up and the the pilot gets on it's like oh sorry uh it's not funny Air Traffic Control scheduled us to land on the same Runway as another plane and then Olivia says she could see the other plane in the air at the same time so it's like my God you literally you guys almost just lost us both uh at the same time because we're on the same plane together I'm surprised they told you that this would have been a very different show information they could have kept to themselves that's what I'm thinking I don't want to know any of that like any Pilots listening please just we don't need full disclosure like I want to know about the president's health I don't want to know that I almost just died in a crash so anyway we did land obviously we're fine and I'm flying home in an Airbus we survived Plane and I'm not going on another Boeing ever again because another plane that was leaving on a different Airline minutes behind us or ahead of us I don't know the exact same time we left LAX lost its front wheel that taking off I mean I guess they're fine there's 137 passengers on the plane not not us not our problem but it did lose its front wheel so it's not a good time you want to just drive home should we rent a car another thing that made vacation weird for me though and I don't know if this is for you guys too but obviously Ben my husband was home and he had to work basically the entire time because of Biden decomposing in front of us at the debate um and I was on a few you know I love my my zooms with the pollsters and people they were T of those secrets you can join them anyone can join my secret me I'll send you the link it's like wonky it's like so wonky it's really fun though um but I was I was very distracted by the news because obviously the entire time I was convinced in the first few days after the debate that Biden was 100% going to step down and there wasn't all another option yeah and it was going to be KLA or someone else I was convinced I was convinced of it there was a lot of reporting it was going to happen too and now we have switched into uh the scene in in Wolf of Wall Street where Leonardo Caprio is screaming I'm not leaving um and I really think I legitimately believe in my head and in my heart and in my frontal cortex of my brain that Jill Biden and Hunter Biden would literally rather burn the White House to the ground literally with matches and gasoline then leave like they do not these people do not care about and we'll get to Trump everybody calm the we'll get to Trump I think we're fully gonna see them Weekend at Bernie's him yeah like just Jill on one side Hunter on the other side like yeah propping him up at the convention uh because he can't work past 400 p.m. and the conventions go till like 10 11 midnight so when he's out there accepting the nomination he'll be asleep and they'll be like yay yeah the convention is going to be at night are they going to just what are they going to do when the balloons drop and all that stuff and he's asleep so coming up we do have Alex Thompson from the axio national politic IAL reporter who has he's always been a respected journalist but he's really sort of gone to the next tier of Fame and interests because he has been reporting on President Biden's health for years now he said since 2020 and he's done some very serious reporting then and then I'm going to give one thing away in our interview but he has let us know that reporting has gotten a lot easier since the debate reporting on Biden's Health um I was actually surprised he would come on because he's really in demand In This Moment just all over CNN and fox and everything right now on Sunday shows and um I'm so thrilled he wanted he made time to talk to us um and I think axios sometimes conservatives thinks axios is like a little too left-leaning but I actually have been so impressed with their reporting for such a long time and like Jonathan Swan used to do really incredible reporting on Trump now he's of the New York Times and now I think Alex Thompson what Jonathan Swan was to the Trump years Alex Thompson is the Biden years and they just have really really interesting reporters I love because it makes it super clear to read like it's not a lot of paragraphs and I don't feel like they're trying to make themselves sound smart you know what I mean like there's a lot of sites out there that they're writing to sooe their own ego whereas axio it's like very like bullet pointy and it's just very clear cut and easy to read for people who aren't maybe so into all the like political nuances and they don't know the history of everything it's just very cut and dry and this is what it is these are the facts and believe it or not whatever I love axio like I said I'm really excited to have him on we just did interview and uh I guess should we just get started with it yeah I want to hear what he has to say all right welcome back to Citizen McCain I'm so excited we have Alex Thompson here he is a national political correspondent for axio you can find him on X at Alex thmp and on Instagram Alx t h MP Mr Thompson you are the man of the moment thank you so much for taking time I'm really so excited to speak with you right now uh ever since the debate I feel like you're just a person you're sort of like the soothsayer for what's actually happening in Biden world and I really appreciate you taking time today uh I was really glad to to be here so thanks for inviting me so can I just start at the beginning you and you and Mark lebovich have really been the people the journalists who have really stayed on the Biden Health beat and um I I I can only assume that there was push back and pressure uh not only from the White House but probably possibly from other people in the Press court is sort of stay off this beat I know you work for I love axios and I respect axios what made you stay on it what made you continue printing the stories and I I just saw an interview with you recently saying it's now gotten easier to report on Biden's Health but what made you stay on this beat and start on this beat to begin with well two different questions what really got me started on it was when he declared for re-election um you know I had done some coverage during the 2020 primary when this was an issue as you remember Democrats were the ones bringing it up back then you know Cory Booker I think said on CNN one time you know you listen to Joe bid and you just sort of wonder sometimes and this is when you know Joe Biden was doing debates and talking about record players and playing them for the kids remember so you but once he once he said that he was going to run uh for reelection that meant he was going to be 86 at the end of his term and I just thought mental Fitness Beyond just it being a campaign issue I just thought it was like a really important issue objectively of how it affects policy about how it FF the country and that's really why I did it the other thing I would say is presidential Health has been something I've written about before like well before Joe Biden um like one of my like when I was a younger reporter I did some deep dives into the mental health of presidents you know presidents that had used uh you know um psychological drugs you know to deal with anxiety and and stuff like that you know behind the scenes so it was always something I was I was interested in and and in terms of keeping on it you know in some ways I would say real credit to my bosses at axio Jim vandah high and Mike Allen who basically every time I you know the White House Press team called them angrily or you know suggested that I was going too hard you know not only did they back me up but even after the backlash of the story they kept pushing to say like this is a this is like you know you should keep going I don't necessarily mind being a little bit on an island and the fact that that other reporters weren't following it as much sort of I think honestly like sort of made me want to keep covering it um just because I thought it was important in a rich vein and I'm glad more people are reporting on it now I actually heard a rumor and please like set this right or not that you may or may not have had a book deal taken away because of your reporting on President Biden's Health uh I don't know if that's true but how much push back did you get because I I just I mean a Republican and I'm conservative so obviously I'm going to look at this through a different lens but I I remember being on an off the Record Zoom with other political analyst saying he cannot answer a conversation with um Ryan C Crest at in New Year's at New Year he can't just have a normal conversation with saying how are you guys feeling and he couldn't answer it and also he's not doing the Super Bowl interview those to me are indicators that there is something going on you don't not trust your candidate how many people do you think actually knew about this beforehand and how much pressure did you feel um you know just again from other journalists or the White House to stop reporting on this well there a few questions in there yes it's true that I did have a book deal with Simon Schuster it's also true that um that the book deal was was cancelled last fall um I don't really want to and all can I just don't really want to go into the back and forth um of that maybe it will be resuscitated I've still been reporting as if you know I might be able to write a book about Joe Biden so maybe maybe you know that'll be resuscitated also you know a lot of the Joe Biden book books haven't sold um in terms of you know the signs that were there um yeah I think the last 6 months is when it really became undeniable and it was the combination of things you mentioned him not sting for the Super Bowl interview and then I think the other thing that uh was the her report my sort of joke about this was Joe Biden after Afghanistan um you know Joe Biden didn't sit for many tough interviews except for with Robert her and I thought if you looked at the transcript there were a lot of you know a a lot of mental lapses um that he also you know originally didn't tell the truth about uh when the for when the original report came out so I think all the combination of those things and also just you know what you can see with your own eyes not just on camera but you know if you go to the White House I mean you could see that he was struggling a lot more um especially physically and you know you could also just talk to the White House photographers we would sort of gut check um you know any age stuff or like sort of different protocols with the White House photographers because they don't write but they notice everything they're so such sharp observers so um you know I think that's when it sort of became undeniable in terms of you know the push back uh yeah I mean there was I mean every single time you did an age Story the White House was ferocious they were effective at you know squashing a lot of stories or you know muddying a lot of stories I remember you know I did this story about basically Biden's light schedule and you know the you know the the 10 to4 thing where he you know he's dependably engaged between 10 and four you know I reported that like a a year ago for the first time and now it's sort of taken off in a new life post debate but I remember I wrote that story and then the times the New York Times did a story like a month or two later that went even deeper on the schedule but I remember reading it and the White House was very effective at having a lot of it was full of stuff of previously reported stuff about Donald Trump's light schedule too and so they were very good at even when you did a story that that a lot of it was full of like well Donald Trump did X and while that was all true and I think completely fair I think it also made the stories maybe a little bit less distinctive you know it just didn't make them breakr as much I think watching the debate for a lot of people even for me I was invited to go to a debate viewing party and even my instincts I was like I just don't want to watch this with anyone else so I was alone in my house my girls were asleep and I was folding laundry and I literally was in the middle of folding laundry and I like dropped the clothes on the floor when I heard President Biden say uh the thing about fixing Medicaid because it just it was it sounds it sounds a little ridiculous but my dad died of brain cancer I know what cognitive decline looks like in one way or another I think any caregiver for an aging parent knows that and to me I felt saddened and uncomfortable and then very scared can you just just tell me where we're at now because there's lots of reports this New York Times report that there is a Parkinson's expert that visited the White House eight times in8 months including once for a meeting with the president's physician according to these official visitors logs um I I don't I don't know what any of this means could could a Parkinson's expert be there because there was a Parkinson's bill that was just passed sure aam's Razer meeting with the doctors The Physician for President Biden I would assume it probably has something to do with President Biden do you think that they're going to be able to combat this of reporting and what do you make of that of the Parkinson's expert visiting the White House my take on the Parkinson's thing is at the moment it's only circumstantial but it's completely worth reporting out and I can tell you that Democrats you know watching this White House are besides themselves with how the White House has responded to this so far because uh the White House has not given us any really good answers and yesterday if you watch The Briefing uh Karine jeanpierre acted very offended by some of the questions and the and the tough the tough she just didn't have any aners she could not answer the question of whether or not he was treating the president and is that because she was not prepared sufficiently prepared for the briefing um that could be you know sometimes she has not been prepared for for briefings and so um but all is it also possible that he has been treating the president or has been Consulting with the president's doctor you know as a way of you know of sort of gut checking potential symptoms that that could be possible too we we don't know yet and that's why it's going to be you know important for for reporting and and so the Democrats Goose to the White House they they they say they can't figure out if it's just White House you know Communications incompetence or if there's actually a scandal here like I have I have Democrats you know Democratic operatives working on swing state races you know gut checking with me saying like do you think do do you think he really is there like a scandal or is this just them being at their jobs and so um there's a lot of nervous Democrats uh around because you know they also feel the White House wasn't hasn't been candid with them about the president's health for over a year now and so they also don't totally believe what the White House is telling them Alex I've actually been pretty shocked at the reaction to not only politicians but some media figures um Alexandria kazio Cortez uh endorsed Biden this morning and said the matter is closed uh quote I support him I have spoken to the president extensively he has made clear that he is in this race uh we have uh MSNBC host Joy Reed saying she would vote for President Biden if he was in a coma you have my old uh co-host whoy Goldberg saying and excuse me it's disgusting that he could uh poop his pants in public on television and she would still vote for him um look I I think president Trump is an existential threat I think this is an existential threat I would not vote for someone who you I'm disgusting defecated themsel in public or was in a coma um I think the matter is not closed I think this is these are honest questions the American public should have answered why why the circling the wagons in this way of so many people because his poll numbers are in the toilet it's not like it looks like he I mean I guess he could win betting in Vegas I don't think he will why are they behaving this way this gaslighting that having these normal questions about our president's mental decline why are we acting like this is something that's out of out of the realm of normaly a few things to that I mean one is there are tens of millions of people in America that would vote for Joe Biden at 130 years old um rather than vote for Donald Trump and I don't I don't think that's going to change um I think the Trump polarization you can maybe say it's it's a reflection of how hatred or fear of trump has really is really in some ways the the main mobilizer of the democratic party it's in some ways the glue that holds this Coalition together and I think that's part of it the other thing that that's happened especially in recent days is that Joe Biden has expressed that there's no way he is leaving um and there's not really a mechanism to get him to for him to not be the nominee Beyond his own decision right so you know if you're a Democrat and the and and Joe Biden has made clear that no way no how is he gonna leave then what good does it do you know if if you're only thinking about the politics of it not whether or not not sort of the mental Fitness of it but if you're only think about the politics of it what good does it do to go public if he's not going to get out anyway um it's just going to create um a firestorm and so this is sort of this you know I I I would call it like this morally gray calculus that you know and that's also what some even longtime Biden AIDS have called it this morally gr calculus where essentially you're saying you know Joe Biden like they're saying I don't even know if Joe Biden can be president two years from now but I'm also going to Rally be behind him anyway because uh because I think it's still better than Trump and I don't believe he's going to get out those are sort of this weird you know calculus that's going on because then they'll really admit it you know there's there's no good options now can I ask you there's a lot of uh rumors and gossip about the role of Jill and Hy Hunter Biden uh our first lady is said to be the main person uh promoting President Biden to stay in the race she just want him to step down uh there's a new report that Hunter Biden has actually moved back into the White House and is attending official meetings and has never done that before uh how much of a role is his family playing and keeping him in the race and you know I'm not trying to sound like an [ __ ] here but Jill Biden is sort of turning into a very strange lady MCB figure right now to many people in the American public um at what point are they going to have to answer for for their role in this and again I well it's it's a little tricky for me because when my dad got sick the American public was told within 48 hours and he died relatively soon after so but I never would have been able to live with myself lying to people about his condition so I I don't understand and to me I think there's some elit happening that's a lot of questions for you but I just want to know your take on that the family is heavily heavily involved and you have to remember that you know when it comes to Biden his polit his political career is always been a family affair a family business in some ways you know his his family always had big roles in every one of his campaigns his sister famously managed every single one of his campaigns until the 2020 race and when things are in crisis mode you know the Biden family really does hunker down and it's sort of this you know this the they definitely um sort of unite and they they see themselves there sort of a Biden mythology of you know it's us against the world you know you even heard it on Joe Biden say it uh on Morning Joe yesterday where he was railing against the elites um and the Elites in his party and it's just sort of striking that a man that was Senator elected Senator at 29 years old who has been vice president um does not see himself as an elite I think it is telling about how they do view themselves and I think it's authentic I I don't think it's just like a political tactic um and you know so and that's why they've really ascended I'd also say that you know Jill Biden was a very you know it's been really striking to see see her Evolution because Jill Biden you know in 1988 1984 2004 she was a reluctant political spouse in fact she was the reason he did not run for president in 2004 um and and she is and you can see it and I I think that's what you're Ling to she has now become an enthusiastic political spouse and uh I can tell you A lot of people who worked for Joe Biden for a long time who you know I think would consider themselves Biden loyalists you know are really angry with her right now because they feel that you know she could that they feel that her enthusiasm for the reelection could end up you know costing him his legacy or or you know end up being a huge blow to his legacy because if he runs and loses to Donal if he stays in and loses to Donald Trump you know that could end up being the first line of his obituary and they feel that she you know is pushing him now some people in defense of her think that by that people are just blaming her and not giving enough agency to Joe Biden and this is also sort of this gets to your other question of like you know are they lying and or they lying to themselves right like and and Joe Biden I have a lot of and this goes back well before this presidency Joe Biden has always sort of had an age denialism to him has always sort of you know will often like when he turned 70 he would be like I feel like I'm 50 when he turned 7 he's like I feel like I'm 50 you know he like he constantly always always thought of himself you know even behind closed doors um you know during this presidency he's like I Fe you know he often says some version of like you know I feel so much younger than my age so I do think that Joe Biden doesn't necessarily see himself in his age in the same way that every a lot of people around him and outside of that Circle do now I don't the question really is what does Jill see and what does Hunter see you know that do they do they see his his slippage his limitations or are they also sort of in the age denialism camp and that I think is a more interesting question now and then beyond that the AIDS that see him on a day-to-day basis you know there's that question too because I do think some of the people closest to Joe Biden are also in a little bit of denial about how he has aged especially over the last year and a half can I ask you you did some interesting reporting about how closed off the White House is that like traditional White House staff aren't near the president and that they keep him very secluded um I do not buy that he's just quote not comfortable with servants I think was the quote I'm sorry I don't buy that that no family they seem to really love The Spoils of the White House and being president and like you know whatever let other people make those kind of judgments calls but I I just don't buy that we have seen behind the curtain with the debate I still have a lot of questions I think you know seven and 10 voters don't think he should be running for re-election because of his age um how secluded can they continue to keep him now that people are sort of on to this um I I'm I'm very curious how they're going to produce the convention coming up how the DNC is going to look there are just certain things he's going to have to do that you can't just do between 10 and four that you can't insulate maybe there'll be a few things but there will still be things how protected and protective do you think they continue being with him you know you would think after the debate that they would shake things up right that they would recognize that the politics of the moment calls for him to be everywhere um but so far they really have not changed that much I mean and and all of the moves they've been doing have been you know a lot of Democrats feel too little too late very slow moving the that he didn't do a single televised interview or exchange with reporters until eight days after the debate was infuriating for even many people in the White House they feel they and people that are very close to Joe Biden they they feel that you know that there's this this very closed circle at the top that not only has you know I think protected him and shielded him but also um does not really uh move quickly um and doesn't really change the way they do things so you know to your qu like I don't know if they're actually going to change they they may still do it and the reporting you were talking about about the the resident staff it it was you know some of this was honestly because of covid some of these early habits of insulating him and not many people see him on a regular day-to-day basis and those habits continued but there also was this protective cone you know especially by these sort of of nameless longtime loyal AIDs that basically even people like the resident staff were very cordoned off um of how often they could see them they were treated with suspicion there was especially a lot of what you know I talked to one former residence official you know feeling that they were um that that they were you know especially after the debate the feeling was even more so that they were hiding him and and I think the debate you know they there was always like sort of plausible deniability for what the some of the things that the White House was doing like maybe he just doesn't like to be waited on maybe he doesn't um maybe he just wants to see a few people maybe he just you know is just using the teleprompter like everybody else um but in after the debate so many people are rerunning things in their heads and feeling that there was something you know bigger going on to protect and shield him from um you know from potentially having a moment like that that he had on the debate stage yesterday in the press conference he referenced of Ken Jean Pierre getting in the argument with Edo Keef CBS News is Edo Keef who I always have found a very like you know respectful and quite frankly mellow man um I was actually surprised to see him as revved up as he was he's clearly angry uh she said to him like that you need to be respectful I've never found Edo Kee nothing but respectful like he's like the last person in that press Corp I would like accuse of not being respectful are they aware of the anger and confusion and the questions that so many people in the American public and the Press still have because uh she she I I've never found her that impressive but she seemed a little surprised that there's still so many questions about President Biden's age in health yesterday I felt the same way I was I was surprised that she was surprised I think there is a little bit of a bunker mentality in this white house um and just this feeling that people underestimated them from the beginning and we always underestimate them and is you know can come across as dismissive now the you know of of these concerns you know I will say that that same bunker mentality also gives them a bit of an ability to just stick to the plan it gives them some sort of stability but it also makes them you know un agile and and I do think um that you know you've seen every single day there's been a briefing it has been a tough briefing for Karen jeanpierre and she um you know I I don't think there's a recognition of how much anger I think um you know uh I think Marine DED a good line of like like the White House is in Bunker mode and the Press is in fret mode you know there just like the the Press both I think because press people feel deceived and also they feel competitive and they feel like they I think some feel like they missed some parts of the story so that's it's a combination of being you know pissed off and competitive you know I think uh is is part of the motivation here well you have Matt glacius yesterday coming out saying like I got this wrong and I'm embarrassed uh to paraphrase the column he just wrote um I in that vein uh has your reporting gotten easier since what you've been reporting for a long time has obviously come out we all see with our eyes and ears exactly how bad this is has reporting gotten easier and is there I know you can't you know reveal anything that you haven't printed yet but is there anything you can say to the people watching and listening to give any kind of but I let mean just put it this way I was just at home in Arizona with old friends of mine that don't work in politics at all and there's still the level of anxiety and fear not only just about like a possible Trump re-election but just about you know questions is President Trump going to die if he gets reelected or President Biden going to die if he gets reelected how sick is he how much are they lying to us like I can't emphasize enough anecdotally in my life friends on the left and the right how upset and scared they are about this is there any anything you can give me about you know what Democrats are saying what you think will happen going forward are we just honestly in this hellscape right now and there's no there's no exiting it we're just got to why knuckle it together so in terms of stuff that's coming you know there's going to be two veins of reporting uh and you're already seeing it and um I guess in terms of the future that the two you you you are going to see some donors continue to like either outright just quit the Biden campaign like go elsewhere um or sort of like quiet quit the campaign you know they'll maybe give a little bit of money um but they're not going to even go close to as much as they would so you're going to see a cash crunch probably for the Biden campaign in the next month the other thing you're going to see is what does the polling do that will affect some of the narrative here and also what other Democrats do um and then the other thing is reporting um not just about this election but about what Biden has been like behind the scenes you know your your first question was has reporting gotten easier 100% it's gotten EAS I mean I've never been able to get um you know I've had people reach out people that I've been trying to reach for years finally reaching out to me and and you have a lot of angry disillusioned people in this White House on the campaign people are even like cold calling me uh which is something that's never happened with this white house and um it's certainly gotten easier now some of that is motivated by the fact that some people you know I think think aren't sure Biden's the right candidate to go forward some of it just motivated because they're angry and scared you know the word I remember that came AC cross in a few conversations with Curr and former Biden AIDS when they watched the debate was that was scary you know they were scared for him they were scared for what this means for their future they were scared you know what it means of like what's going on in the White House and the last bit of reporting that you're going to see is what he was what he has been like and was this the first time what were the signs beforehand um you know the Wall Street Journal um you know they're current they have like a a great crew of people um in Europe and also in Washington and they've done two really pretty big swings in the last week about you know signs and meetings um of Biden sort of having limitations reading from note cards Tony blinkin sort of swooping in and and seeing appearing to sort of try to help the president along um there was uh a report just uh just the other day about how um in you know the the German government wanted to hold a reception earlier in the evening because they knew that Joe Biden would often get tired and then Joe Biden still didn't show up and Tony blinkin came and Tony blink's people denied this but according to two people the dinner said that the the president had gone to bed um and you I think you're going to increasingly see those those anecdotes now at the end of the day that might change Democrats mind it might you know force people that might actually have real you know PLL with the president like Nancy Pelosi to try to intervene but you know I think um you know if Joe Biden Joe Biden is dug in right now and there's not really a mechanism to undig him um and this there is this I think Theory out there that oh well you know Obama can come in and and and move but I have to tell you that there is a real chance of OB you know if Obama goes to Joe Biden there's a real chance that could complete backfire um because they ha someone they don't hate each other it's just very complicated and Joe Biden deeply resents now Obama's Obama has a different memory of this in a different version of events but Joe Biden deeply resents what he feels was Obama picking Hillary over him in 2016 and you know as someone put me like a long time byen it was like Obama already convinced Joe Biden of talked him out of you know running for president once he can't he's not gonna be able to do it twice and so you know there's not you know if you are a Dem like this is what every Democrat says there are no good options every the every every door there are potential risks and downfalls at this point the one person put it to me this way it was like the original sin was that he ran for reelection and that the and the people around him either weren't honest themselves or weren't honest about his limitations and so now they're in this situation I only have a few more questions for you which just or just two more because I know we're running on time but uh you just put out a report about how President Biden has to see flashcards basically of like stages and things that advanced people give him beforehand uh I saw some people on social media saying this is common and candidates do this all the time I've been around my dad and many other presidential C I've never heard of someone needing visual flash cards before they enter a space to give a speech or to meet with people I think it's ridiculous I think it's another sign that something is wrong um how much of the gaslighting on the other side is working it's not working on me but I'm not the Right audience how much do you think that they're able to turn the narrative right now and say that this is you know this isn't really happening don't believe you're lying eyes the truth is we don't know yet if they're going to be effective in terms of the gaslighting you definitely saw I mean Twitter is not real life so I don't know if like the Twitter backlash really to that story that you're talking about really mattered you know and that reporting that story was was interesting because um you know it is it's one of those things like I said before that there was plausible deniability right like yeah sometimes people want like Q cards everyone is Advanced differently um but what happened was after the debate people who had staffed Joe Biden recently at events reached out to me first of all gaming that sort of document as like a sign this was the template for what they would give Advanced people and say make your make your document like this um and they reached out to me and they they were the ones that CA that told me um anonymously they said listen like they one staffer said I staffed a simple fundraiser at a private home and his movements were treated like it was a NATO Summit and it's again it's like not necessarily unusual to have a very detailed Advance document but in retrospect people thought it was unusual the the amount of preparation and that the advance instead of just preparing and helping the president with his movements it felt more in retrospect like a crutch and that's why people reached out in the same way you know the teleprompter didn't get a lot of coverage I mean it got some especially in more conservative media but the fact that you know Joe Biden wasn't just using a teleprompter which every president does but he was also using it for very brief remarks at fundraisers you know again suggests it's not it it was more of a crutch than um to maybe perhaps obscure limitations that's how some people in the White House who have worked for Joe Biden now feel well Alex I really appreciate all your deep reporting I know you're going to continue weirdly I have known Hans Nichols since I was like 21 years old uh he was an ined on my dad's campaign when he worked for Bloomberg he's an incredible reporter as well I really wish both of you the best of luck um I'm probably hurt to you that conservatives are happy about all the reporting you're doing but I think Americans at large just are you're very brave I think you're going to win a politzer when all of this is over and we find out that Biden does in fact have Parkinsons you didn't say it I did uh follow Alex on X Alex T MP and on Instagram Alx TMP and Alex like I said I just really appreciate you coming on speaking to me and uh you probably are getting no sleep right now but I really appreciate all the reporting you're giving the American public as well thank you that means a lot and High Praise thank you and I'll tell H you say hi he is the best he's sort of my work husband so um and he's uh he's awesome too so if people haven't followed him they should definitely follow him too yeah he's a really wonderful reporter uh all right thank you so much Alex uh I'll be watching and reading you know me extremely well one of my best friends I have been really emotionally distraught about all this Biden stuff for several reasons number one and please don't like for people listening I know how this sounds but I I've actually found it very triggering to have to monitor someone's Health uh you know our a president a public figure because I had to do the same thing with my dad um and I there's something about it that just feels like this is not the role the American public should be playing like we should not have to monitor whether or not we think President Biden is has dementia or not has Parkinson's or not which is you know there's a report in the New York Times that eight uh in eight times in the past year the number one Parkinson's expert in the country has met with President Biden I have questions about this um I feel like for the first time I actually do feel like maybe we are an empire in decline because president Trump is obviously completely unacceptable for a whole other variety of reasons to be president I think they're both wholeheartedly unacceptable and RFK apparently ate a dog and has a brain worm so I don't I feel really really a the the most downtrodden I've been that I can remember even when Trump was elected um and I find a cravenness to so many Democrats saying there's nothing to see here it's fine he's our nominee there seems to be like we we were talking earlier like there's just a political miscalculation and an ethical miscalculation they're making what is your reaction since the debate now all the information that's been filtering towards all of us how are you feeling about this election oh gosh um we were speaking and we were speaking privately about this and I was telling telling you after the debate I felt physically sick like I had we Nick and I had ordered food to go CU we were getting ready to go out of town for a wedding and I thought I got food poisoning because of how ill I felt and he and I ended up eating the same thing and we spoke about it later and I realized that what was making me sick was like my own anxiety like your emotional like my my reaction and I had a physical reaction to the debate because I think it was triggering me back to how messy it was in 2016 when the election happened and just what those years were like after um and it's not necessarily because Trump was such like a horrible president but it's more about how divisive he is and just like the anger um that he brings to just people in the country and it's like you're either with us or against us and there's no Common Ground um and I was like felt tingling in my mouth I like honestly felt like I was going to throw up um uh which is just a terrible way to feel about just another person that they can elicit that reaction I didn't think that that was possible but it happened um so I'm not feeling great and the more this happens I felt a little bit more hopeful when I thought sincerely that President Biden was going to step aside or maybe that they're getting themsel that the DNC is getting themselves aligned to put up another nominee especially with all these numbers coming out that kamla is polling than Biden better than Trump not that I'm like in love with KLA and I want her to be the president I think she's going to save the world um but I do think that she is matches Trump's crazy in a good way so her not being 80 is a real Plus for her right now yeah and I'd like to see who she would come up with as a running mate because you know she was a senator from California she was really like the reason why Progressive Democrats don't like her is because she's pretty moderate and has a lot of like conservative stuff when it comes to like Law and Order you know what I mean like she put a lot of people in jail and she was really tough on crime so I want to see what her platforms would be if she were given more control and more room to be herself um because she's been under the Biden Thum this whole time the thing I don't understand is and a I agree with you that I'm questioning a lot of things about what's been reported recently and she is not she does not have the Great instincts of normally someone at that level being a politician but that being said there are rumors that the B there's a lot of tension between her team and the Biden team and now I'm like have they been throwing her under the bus more have they been helping create this narrative that she's just a psychotic crazy person who can't you know govern because it's to their benefit I actually have found a lot of sexism and I would go so far to say even like a twinge of racism in the way they are talking about her being in capable of of filling the role as president at this point she has never shown me any proof that she has any kind of cognitive decline I think she's like 56 or 57 she's young and she was a Senator and she was the Attorney General of California I do not like her nor do I like her politics but these are extremely desperate times and I am flabbergasted that Democrats aren't aren't trying to trying to put her up instead because as you said there's just new polling out I'm sure we'll get more intense as time goes on the show she actually is doing better than President Biden I think that we can foresee him declining more and I just I'm I'm shocked that they're not trying to put her and I know he's earned he also I want to make one thing clear yes he has earned the nomination the the delegates he is not the nominee yet delegates can Mutiny it has happened several times in American history by the way including uh with Barry gwat the former senator from Arizona you can have contested conventions it has happened in American history this is not new so again there are still Pathways but we're being told by the media and people like AOC Is that shut the up get in line and there's no other options I think the reason we haven't seen a lot of Kamala these last four years and that's what people are saying it's like oh we haven't seen anything from her what has she done can you name any policies that she's affected I cannot for whatever that's wor I think there's a reason I think it's because Biden and whoever is so like you said they're so hungry for control he will not back down I don't think they allow her to do anything or what she does is so like lame that they're not it doesn't make it doesn't get pressed it doesn't make any headlines it doesn't get coverage and so maybe they've done stuff to make her feckless weak and effective so why aren't we getting a chance to see what she can do they don't want they don't want her to look good or outshine him probably for this exact reason that we're seeing right now she's so incompetent why was she chosen exactly that's my question to Democrats was it was it we need a woman yeah but I mean it which there's lots of women in politics I feel it's it's really incredible I feel really actually feel bad for vice president Harris right now and I think that it's really untour what is being said about her and done she hasn't done anything wrong and to my knowledge she has not lied about her health which automatically puts her for me my perspective in the front running of someone who should step in yeah I'm 100% comfortable with K being the the nominee at this point I I don't think President Biden will physically survive for more years and I'm not a doctor but I am a human with eyes and ears and you know I just don't think he'll survive um I were we're asking our viewers what to do about losing hope about our country's future uh my advice is just vote down ballot and it's always darkest before it's totally Black America we my husband said this morning that um our presidents used to duel each other and shoot each other like not that many generations ago to keep that in perspective and I do think the foundation of our country is still very strong I actually think Americans are extremely smart and Savvy and will survive no matter what but I do think there needs to be a real reconciliation among the American public about age and office across the board I think we have to have age limits and term limits I think it's the rot that is destroying the country from the inside out I think it is is it is unconscionable and it is untenable and for whatever reason the boomer generation is just obsessed with power and they don't believe that they age and it is it is I think it is the the original sin rot that is that is destroying the country right now and I blame theing Boomers and I don't care could you imagine Trump and Biden in a duel I think Trump wins like sorry it's I think that' be like the slowest that'd be the slowest draw Ever neither of them know how to use a gun they don't just the Optics of that stilling Trump wins you think so yeah yeah I I don't know after that debate yes yes his ey he just Squints his eyes so much not saying it's great probably shoot in the leg but like I yeah I agree with you as far as voting down ballot vote local like what local is what actually affects like your dayto day so just choose your mayor choose your um local people that's what's going to actually impact your real life um like I live in LA and we need to get rid of a lot of people um that's the best advice also just try to find stuff that makes you happy because this is just all too much to be like carrying on your shoulders I should not be almost throwing up because of a debate that's Insanity that's like actual crazy person stuff so I don't know what else to say because it's just a few months away and thank God it's supp to be over I I do and I don't because then once it's over I want we have to face the reality of what whoever is in office whether it is it's both hideous for different reason or more Trump it's so GH um we are going to play a game about so Biden and Trump are both you know older than the hills so we're going to do are they older than uh Ashley you're going to help lead us down this path right so I'm going to ask you first Miranda do you think that Trump and Biden are older than color TVs yes they are definitely older than color TVs I think so too wasn't the color TV in like the 60s 50s or 60s they are older than thanks Olivia I'm not surprised they are older color TVs are Biden and Trump older than instant coffee yes false they're younger than instant coffee coffee was invented in 1909 interesting all right okay wait can we get can we get one year can we get the year that they were born what year was Trump born because then you'll know the aners I don't know what your stuff was invented actually I just want to know for context Biden was born in 1942 okay and Trump was born in 1946 okay Jesus so around World War II got it are Trump and Biden older than mobile phones obviously they're older than mobile phones which were invented in 1946 that's what I'm saying like they've had them for a while so but but Trump was born in 1946 so he all of made the cut off are Biden and Trump older than velcro I think that they are older than velcro think they're older than velcro that is correct velcro was invented in 1948 wow they barely older than velcro older than velcro sort of older a little okay are Biden and Trump older than bubblegum no they had bubblegum in like the 1800s did they yeah like little orphans had bubble gum no I'm not they chew they chewed on softs they are not older than bubble gum correct they are younger than bubble gum which was invented in 1928 oh oh so Biden's barely younger than bubble gum are Biden and Trump older than cake mix no no yes no I'm goingon to say yes for you no for you Miranda's correct they are older than cake mix which was invented in 1949 they never had birthday cakes those first few years God not not instant cake mix they had to make it themselves 40s is so long ago are they older than crossword puzzles no uh the crossword puzzles are old no man they are older than crossword puzzles I don't think they're older than cross older okay they are younger cross puzzles crossword puzzles were invented in 1913 okay how about helicopters they're older than helicopter no yeah yeah older I mean I Feel Like the Model T had barely come out when they were born so definitely they're not older helicopters airplanes were yeah when were the right Brothers was that like 1912 they're older than helicopters yeah no they're younger it was a helicopter invented 1936 what really all right this is another tough one because it's right on the cusp Tupperware like like legit the brand of Tupperware or just like plastic casing see I thought that [ __ ] happened in like the 50s so yeah like moms who need a job like multi-level marketing [ __ ] I'm going to say yes they are old they are older than Tupperware that's correct it was invented in 1946 okay all right and the last one are they older than Barbie yes they are older than Barbie no Barbie came out in like the 28 or something right Barbie came out in 1988 something like that is that right or no did you watch the Barbie movie they're old not watch the Barbie movie why would I watch the Barbie movie it was good Miranda's correct Barbie was invented in 1959 I don't think you guys did too good at that game no I think I did really well Miranda did good I think I was slagging us behind Okay uh Biden Trump are ushering us into the great beyonde look Terra pal Maria has a podcast our friend Terra pal Maria says some somebody's got to win somebody does have to win and at some point somebody's got to be out of power and at some point these people will no longer be out of power maybe we will just like tredge through this for the next few years but at a certain point they literally will not be capable of being in power like at a certain point age comes for us all you and me as well God willing like but for f sake retire retire please love of God retire yeah all right thank you so much for listening we'll be back again same time same place this week bye thanks for watching citizen McCain