Concha: China hears Biden, not the White House
Fox News contributor Joe Concha weighs in on the fentanyl crisis, the White House's move to walk back Biden's comments on defending Taiwan and the noticeable gap since Biden's last media interview.
"Real Time" host Bill Maher pushed back against the notion that President Biden has had a mental decline in recent years, suggesting he's "actually better" than ever.
On Friday's "Overtime" segment on YouTube, Maher read a viewer question directed to former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile, who was asked who was going to be the Democratic candidate in 2024. Brazile responded by pointing to the president's previous remarks asserting he intends to seek a second term.
BIDEN GOES MORE THAN 100 DAYS WITHOUT MAINSTREAM MEDIA INTERVIEW: ‘HIS HANDLERS ARE PETRIFIED’
"He's not going to be worried about running-he's going to be worried about walking in two years," comedian Adam Carolla quipped. "He can't run now."
"That's ageist," Maher reacted after chuckling.
"It's ageist, but you're allowed to be ageist if the guy's the pilot of an airplane that you're in, right?" Carolla doubled down.
President Biden speaks after exiting a meeting with the Senate Democratic Caucus in Washington, on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. (Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Maher pushed back, accusing Carolla of pushing a "self-fulfilling prophecy."
"Lot's of people have it in their interest that he is gonna act senile and- I mean, everybody who is on-camera that much is gonna make some gaffes," Maher said. And let's be honest, he was a gaffe machine when he was forty!"
He continued, "He's actually better! He makes less gaffes now- probably because he's aware of it more, and he's president, but I just don't see this that he is that different than he was 10, 20 years ago."
When Carolla floated a Michelle Obama candidacy, Maher conceded "of course" she'd be a stronger nominee than Biden but both Maher and Brazile insisted "she's not running."
"And I don't blame her," Maher said. "They put in their time for eight years. They paid the price… They served the country."
"Real Time" host Bill Maher. (HBO)
What wasn't mentioned during Maher's panel discussion was that President Biden has officially gone over 100 days since doing an interview with a media outlet, the last being his pre-Super Bowl sit-down with NBC News.
Following Maher's show, Biden made international headlines during his overseas trip to Asia when he was asked if the U.S. was willing to "get involved militarily to defend Taiwan" from China, which he replied "yes." The White House then walked his comments back, saying U.S. policy "has not changed" and that it would provide Taiwan "the military means to defend itself."
The president made similar remarks twice last year, both times were walked back by the White House.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks while attending a news conference at Akasaka guest house, in Tokyo, Japan, May 23, 2022. (Nicolas Datiche/Pool via REUTERS)
Earlier this year, Biden made a series of remarks about the Russia-Ukraine crisis, all of which were rolled back by the White House. He suggested that the U.S. would retaliate "in kind" if Russia launched a chemical attack on Ukraine. The White House issued a statement that the U.S. "has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstances." Then while speaking to American troops stationed in Poland, Biden suggested they would be sent to Ukraine as he was describing what they would witness on the ground. The White House issued a statement saying, "The president has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position."
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That was then followed by Biden's unscripted declaration that Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power," which was also walked back by his staff.
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