April 11, 2025

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD: Stephanopoulos Described Biden as ‘Heartbreaking’ After Interview.

They all knew. They. All. Knew.

We knew they all knew, too. It’s infuriating.

In his new book Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History, Chris Whipple claims that ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos described former President Joe Biden as “heartbreaking up close” after an interview in July.

The interview happened one week after Biden debated then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Biden dropped out of the race on July 21. He immediately endorsed his VP Kamala Harris.

More from The Washington Examiner:

The book’s author, Chris Whipple, described Biden’s appearance as “hoarse and semi-coherent” during the interview, in which Stephanopoulos asked his questions “gently, like a grandson.”

“Afterward, when I asked the ABC anchor by email for his impressions, he replied: ‘Heartbreaking up close,’” Whipple wrote.

—

Whipple’s statement mirrors a story that spread after the Biden interview when a passerby asked Stephanopoulos if he believed the president should step down. The anchor appeared to respond, “I don’t think he can serve four more years.” The Washington Examiner’s Sarah Bedford contended that most people agree that Biden was not fit to serve another term and that such an assessment is “pretty apparent.”

Related: Stephanopoulos in June of 2024:

“We had a dry run in 2016, we saw more of it in 2020, it’s going to be worse than ever here in 2024,” George Stephanopoulos told the Deadline ElectionLine podcast this week regarding disinformation campaigns and tactics that are going to be unleashed on America as we get closer to this year’s general election in November.

Stephanopoulos was certainly correct; if only he know how accurately he described his industry during every presidential election year.

Posted at 8:14 am by Ed Driscoll

SUNLIGHT IS THE BEST DISINFECTANT:

Kudos to The Federalist for making these files available to all.

Posted at 7:50 am by Stephen Green 18

COVID FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY:

As Ross Douthat wrote in the New York Times a few days later in 2020: When Coronavirus Lockdowns Go Too Far. The closures were necessary. Chasing picnickers and closing paint aisles is petty overreach.

The tweet shows two silhouettes, extending in familiar policeman shapes. The text is as cheery as a beat-walking bobby in an Edwardian children’s book: “If you think that by going for a picnic in a rural location no one will find you, don’t be surprised if an officer appears from the shadows!” And the message, directed in this case to the inhabitants of Central Bedfordshire in England, is an example of how even when they’re essential, anti-pandemic policies are always at risk of going a little bit insane.

I’m a skeptic, to put it mildly, of the skeptics of lockdowns and social distancing requirements. At best they make an argument for more speed and optimism in reopening*, not a case that there’s an alternative world where the American economy stayed open** and steady while the virus was killing more people weekly than car crashes, flu or cancer and New York’s monthly death toll was climbing above that of September 2001***.

But the skeptics’ determination to catalog every petty tyranny inflicted in the name of quarantine is an important public service — not just because overreach always needs critics, but because petty tyrannies today are obstacles to the adaptation we need to get to semi-normalcy tomorrow.

In response to the overreach of the Central Bedfordshire rozzers, James Lileks noted:

If you sneak off into the woods for a picnic, you could be killing people and crippling the NHS, so shadowy peelers should manifest themselves and issue tickets.

Turns out this wasn’t well received:

Utter nonsense. Huge stonking heaps of bollocks. Walking to the dunes for a picnic, or heading to the field off Potter’s Lane to enjoy the sun, is absolutely harmless, and everyone knows it, and it’s corrupting the trust people would normally grant the authorities. As I once wrote about small-minded public officials: “I don’t make the laws, sir, I just enforce them with a great deal of enthusiasm.”

Back in 2018, when British cops were threatening social media critics after the NHS banished 23-month-old Alfie Evans to the Spartan hillside, British ex-pat Charles Cooke tweeted, “Michael Brendan Dougherty pointed out to me that police in the U.K. spend all their time on Twitter threatening people with jail time for frivolous things, and now I can’t stop seeing it.” The lockdowns gave the British police all the excuse they needed to get their inner Mosley on.

* In retrospect, Sweden would like a word here.

** As John Hinderaker wrote at Power Line last year, “The New York Times looks back on covid, four years down the road, and says ‘Here’s what we’ve learned.’ I would say we have learned some things that the Times doesn’t touch, like the idiocy of shutting down stores, businesses, churches and, especially, schools.”

*** New York Times quietly admits COVID deaths were overcounted by ‘almost one-third.’

Posted at 7:45 am by Ed Driscoll 31

GOVERNMENT. NEXT QUESTION? NASA nominee asks why lunar return has taken so long, and why it costs so much.

Cruz opened the hearing by stating his priorities for NASA clearly and explicitly: He is most focused on ensuring the United States does not cede any of its preeminence to China in space, and this starts with low-Earth orbit and the Moon.

“Make no mistake, the Chinese Communist Party has been explicit in its desire to dominate space, putting a fully functional space station in low-Earth orbit and robotic rovers on the far side of the Moon,” he said. “We are not headed for the next space race; it is already here.”

Cruz wanted Isaacman to commit to not just flying human missions to the Moon, but also to a sustained presence on the surface or in cislunar space.

In response, Isaacman said he would see that NASA returns humans to the Moon as quickly as possible, beating China in the process. This includes flying Artemis II around the Moon in 2026, and then landing the Artemis III mission later this decade.

The disagreement came over what to do after this. Isaacman, echoing the Trump administration, said the agency should also press onward, sending humans to Mars as soon as possible. Cruz, however, wanted Isaacman to say NASA would establish a sustained presence at [sic] the Moon. The committee has written authorizing legislation to mandate this, Cruz reminded Isaacman.

“If that’s the law, then I am committed to it,” Isaacman said.

Maybe the biggest obstacle to establishing a sustained presence is Artemis. Flying on SLS at $4 billion per launch — just for the SLS rocket — is too expensive, and its launch cadence is too slow to do what it’s supposed to do.

Posted at 7:36 am by Stephen Green 13

HOW IT STARTED: Space Force Commander in Greenland Sent Out Email Breaking with Vance After His Visit.

Just days after Vice President JD Vance’s March visit to Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, the installation commander sent out an email to the base distancing it from Vance’s criticism of Denmark and its oversight of the territory, Military.com has learned.

Col. Susan Meyers, the commander of the 821st Space Base Group who also oversees the Pentagon’s northernmost military base, sent a March 31 message to all personnel at Pituffik seemingly aimed at generating unity among the airmen and Guardians, as well as the Canadians, Danes and Greenlanders who work there, following Vance’s appearance. She wrote that she “spent the weekend thinking about Friday’s visit — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you.”

“I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base,” Meyers wrote in the email, which was communicated to Military.com.

The emailed remarks, confirmed as accurate to Military.com by the Space Force, mark a rare pushback within the ranks of the Trump administration’s repeated criticism and critiques of NATO members and longtime allies. A source familiar with the email said it was sent to all base personnel, including those from Denmark and Greenland on the installation.

How it’s going: “Colonel Susannah Meyers, commander of Pituffik Space Base was removed from command by Colonel Kenneth Klock, commander of Space Base Delta 1, on April 10, 2025 for loss of confidence in her ability to lead. Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties. Colonel Shawn Lee has assumed command.”

Posted at 7:14 am by Ed Driscoll 103

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE:

Whom the gods would destroy, they first make ridiculous.

Posted at 7:00 am by Glenn Reynolds 22