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Hunter Biden gives explosive interview about father Joe’s decline during Trump campaign

The son of Joe Biden has made a stunning claim about the reason for the former US president’s disastrous performance in his election debate with Donald Trump.

Former first son Hunter Biden claimed in a new interview that his father’s disastrous performance in last year’s debate with Donald Trump was due in part to the 46th president taking Ambien — which there is no record of him being prescribed.

“I know exactly what happened in that debate,” Hunter, 55, told YouTube personality Andrew Callaghan in an interview released on the anniversary of Biden prematurely ending his re-election bid.

US President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden step out of a bookstore while shopping in Nantucket, Massachusetts in November. Picture: AFP
US President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden step out of a bookstore while shopping in Nantucket, Massachusetts in November. Picture: AFP

“He flew around the world. He’s 81 years old. He’s tired. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep and he gets up on the stage and looks like a deer in the headlights.”

A note released by Dr. Kevin O’Connor following Biden’s physical exam that February makes note of six medications the commander-in-chief was taking — but the popular sleeping aid is not one of them.

The former first son also downplayed the extent of the Democratic revolt against his father that led to Joe Biden giving up the Democratic nomination.

“The people who came out against him were nobody, except … Speaker emeritus (Nancy) Pelosi did not give a full-throated endorsement,” he said.

“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.”

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POLLS SHOW SUPPORT FALLING FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MEASURES

Polls released on Sunday showed falling support among Americans for Donald Trump’s hard line measures against illegal immigration, as the Republican president celebrated six months back in the White House.

Mr Trump won last year’s election in part with promises to launch a historic deportation drive, riling up his base with exaggerated claims of mass violence committed by undocumented migrants, whom he referred to as “savages” and “animals.”

But new polls from both CNN and CBS show that Mr Trump has lost majority support for his deportation approach.

Fifty five per cent of respondents feel the ICE raids – frequently seen online in viral videos of masked, unidentified agents seizing people off the street – have gone too far, CNN said.

This was up 10 per cent from a similar poll in February, shortly after Mr Trump took office.

Protesters demonstrate against ongoing ICE raids while blocking the Sixth Street Bridge between Boyle Heights and downtown L.A. Picture: Getty Images via AFP
Protesters demonstrate against ongoing ICE raids while blocking the Sixth Street Bridge between Boyle Heights and downtown L.A. Picture: Getty Images via AFP
Portraits of people taken by immigration authorities are displayed on a board in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California. Picture: AFP
Portraits of people taken by immigration authorities are displayed on a board in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California. Picture: AFP

A majority – 57 per cent – said they oppose plans for construction of mass detention facilities, with only 26 per cent supporting the idea, CNN said.

A CBS News poll found that 56 per cent of Americans believe President Trump’s administration is targeting migrants who do not represent a threat to public safety, up from 47 per cent last month.

According to the poll, only 49 per cent of Americans approve of Mr Trump’s immigration policies, down from 54 per cent last month and 59 per cent in February.

Support remains nearly universal among Republicans, however, with 91 per cent in favour of the deportations.

Opposition among independents is nonetheless at 59 per cent and among Democrats at 86 per cent.

Donald Trump drinks a Diet Coke at Trump National Doral Golf Club in 2022. The US President celebrated six months in office with a golf game on Sunday. Picture: AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Donald Trump drinks a Diet Coke at Trump National Doral Golf Club in 2022. The US President celebrated six months in office with a golf game on Sunday. Picture: AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Mr Trump marked the six-month mark of his second presidency by heading out to his golf club in Virginia, near Washington DC, and posting on social media that the period was “being hailed as one of the most consequential periods of any President.”

“Six months is not a long time to have totally revived a major Country,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“One year ago our Country was DEAD, with almost no hope of revival,” he said, adding that now the United States was the “most respected Country anywhere in the World.”

In keeping with other surveys, the CBS News poll found Mr Trump’s overall approval rating is underwater.

Currently only 42 per cent of Americans approve of his job, compared to 53 per cent in February.

TRUMP SIGNS HISTORIC CRYPTO BILL

US President Donald Trump has signed a landmark act which legitimises the cryptocurrency industry in America.

As he signed the bills into law, Mr Trump thanked crypto’s earliest supporters who he said were “mocked, dismissed, counted out.”

“This signing is a massive validation of your hard work, your pioneering spirit and your ability to never give up,” Mr Trump said adding America was now the “crypto capital of the world.”

Mr Trump vowed to keep the US dollar strong.

“No, we’re not going to let the dollar slide. If we have a smart president, you’re never going to let the dollar slide,” President Trump said

“This will increase demand for US Treasurys, lower interest rates and secure the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency for generations to come.”

US President Donald Trump displays the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act), which codifies the use of cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar or US bonds. Picture: AFP
US President Donald Trump displays the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act), which codifies the use of cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar or US bonds. Picture: AFP

The signing comes after Mr Trump posted to his Truth Social account celebrating the success of the bills.

“Congratulations to our GREAT REPUBLICANS for being able to accomplish so much, a record, in so short a period of time,” Mr Trump wrote.

House politicians passed the most significant legislation regulating digital currency to date yesterday, approving a trio of bills aimed at revamping the nascent industry.

Politicians approved the bipartisan Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which establishes a framework for overseeing the A$364 billion stablecoin market – cryptocurrency that is pegged to hard assets like the US dollar – in a 308-122 vote.

The measure is intended to pave the way for banks and other financial institutions to issue stablecoins, giving consumers more options about where to put their wealth.

Critics have warned that the new regulatory framework gives the government too much power over crypto, may endanger the industry’s decentralisation, and could lead to certain stablecoins getting unfair regulatory treatment over others.

The bipartisan bill breezed through the Senate in a 68-30 vote last month after weeks of negotiations.

A sign advertises a Bitcoin ATM at a gas station near Pasadena, California. Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high, reaching $122,000 this week, as Republicans have nicknamed the week “crypto week.
A sign advertises a Bitcoin ATM at a gas station near Pasadena, California. Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high, reaching $122,000 this week, as Republicans have nicknamed the week “crypto week." Picture: AFP

But House Republicans had splintered over the measure despite President Trump’s support due to fears that it could pave the way for a central bank-issued or regulated digital currency.

Critics say the Federal Reserve or other government entities could impose massive surveillance capabilities to monitor crypto transactions, similar to practices in countries like China that have central bank digital currencies (CBDC).

In response to opposition from some Republicans, House Republican leadership agreed to take up a separate measure called the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which passed 218-210 in a near-party-line vote.

THREE DEPUTIES KILLED IN EXPLOSION AT LA SHERIFF ACADEMY

Multiple people were killed Friday after an explosion rocked a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department compound where the agency’s arson explosive detail and bomb squad are based.

The blast was reported at the Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility in East Los Angeles at about 7.30am local time., KTLA reported.

Three deputies are believed to have died, sources told the outlet.

Authorities have not said what caused the blast, but law enforcement sources told the LA Times that a bomb squad had been moving explosives around that time.

Aerial footage from local news helicopters appeared to show a sheriff’s vehicle inside the complex with its rear windshield broken. A backpack and explosives trucks could also be seen close by.

No further details about the blast were immediately available.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had spoken to LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, as well as US Attorney Bill Essayli, to provide federal assistance.

“We have FBI and [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] agents on the ground to support,” she said in an X post.

“Please pray for the entire Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”

TV HOST BLASTS CBS OVER CANCELLATION AFTER TRUMP SETTLEMENT

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” a staple of late-night US television, will end in 2026, the CBS network said, days after the comedian blasted parent company Paramount’s US$16 million settlement with President Donald Trump as “a big fat bribe.”

US comedian Stephen Colbert and The Late Show have been cancelled by CBS after a settlement with Donald Trump. Picture: AFP
US comedian Stephen Colbert and The Late Show have been cancelled by CBS after a settlement with Donald Trump. Picture: AFP

CBS said in a statement the cancellation was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” and was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

“Next year will be our last season,” the host announced on Thursday’s episode, to boos and shouts of disbelief.

Paramount reached the settlement with President Trump this month in a lawsuit the entertainment giant had described as meritless.

Mr Trump had sued Paramount for US$20 billion last year, alleging that CBS News’ “60 Minutes” news program deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, in her favour.

Colbert said on Thursday the cancellation was not just the end of his show but the end of the decades-old “Late Show” franchise, which has been broadcast continuously on CBS since 1993 and was previously hosted by David Letterman.

Mr Trump celebrated the cancellation, writing on his Truth Social platform, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”

Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” and one of Colbert’s rivals, posted on Instagram that “I’m just as shocked as everyone.” “I really thought I’d ride this out with him for years to come,” wrote Fallon, whom President Trump had earlier referred to as “the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”

With The New York Post.

Originally published as Hunter Biden gives explosive interview about father Joe’s decline during Trump campaign

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Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/news/world/north-america/us-president-donald-trump-signs-landmark-cryptocurrency-bill/news-story/094dcdd6aae7cec6396ccff0c8c7a091