WHO IS RUNNING THE COUNTRY?

News release from Seymour Hersh

Biden’s decline has been known to friends and insiders for months

Readers of this column know that President Joe Biden’s drift into blankness has been ongoing for months, as he and his foreign policy aides have been urging a ceasefire that will not happen in Gaza while continuing to supply the weapons that make a ceasefire less likely. There’s a similar paradox in Ukraine, where Biden has been financing a war that cannot be won and refusing to participate in negotiations that could end the slaughter.

The reality behind all of this, as I’ve been told for months, is that the president is simply no longer there, in terms of understanding the contradictions of the policies he and his foreign policy advisers have been carrying out. America should not have a president who does not know what he has signed off on. People in power have to be responsible for what they do, and last night showed America and the world that we have a president who clearly is not in that position today.

Seymour Hersh is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Upgrade to paid

The real disgrace is not only Biden’s, but those of the men and women around him who have kept him more and more under wraps. He is a captive, and as he rapidly diminished over the past six months. I have been hearing for months about the increasing isolation of the president, from his one-time pals in the Senate, who find that he is unable to return their calls. Another old family friend, whose help has been sought by Biden on key issues since his days as vice president, told me of a plaintive call from the president many months ago. Biden said the White House was in chaos and he needed his friend’s help. The friend said he begged off and then told me, with a laugh: “I would rather have a root canal procedure every day than go to work there.” A long retired Senate colleague was invited by Biden to join him on a foreign trip, and the two played cards and shared a drink or two on the Air Force One flight going out. The senator was barred by Biden’s staff from joining the return flight home.

I have been told the increasing isolation of the president on foreign policy issues has been in part the doing of Tom Donilon, whose younger brother, Michael, a key pollster and adviser in Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign and in the current re-election effort, was part of the team that spent much of the week briefing Biden for last night’s debate. Tom Donilon, who is 69, was President Biden’s national security adviser from 2010 to 2013 and sought unsuccessfully to be named as Biden’s director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He remains very much an insider.

Given Biden’s obvious decline in recent months, it is impossible for an outsider to understand why the White House agreed to any debates with Donald Trump before the election, let alone committing to the earliest presidential debate, the first of two, in modern history. One thought, I was told, was that if Biden performed well, as he had in his State of the Union speech in March, the issue of his mental capacity would be tabled. A poor performance would give the Biden campaign time to do a better prep job for the scheduled second debate.

There also was pressure from the major Democratic fundraisers, many of them in New York City, for the campaign to do something to counter the perception of the president’s obvious growing impairment, as reported and filmed by major media. I have been told that at least one foreign leader, after a closed meeting with Biden, told others that the president’s decline was so visible that it was hard to understand how, as it was put to me, “he could go through the rigors” of a re-election campaign. Such warnings were ignored.

What now? One of Washington political savants told me today that the Democratic Party is now facing “a national security crisis.” The nation is backing two devastating wars with a president who clearly is not up to it, he said, and it might be time to start drafting a resignation speech that would match or outdo the one given in March of 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson after his narrow victory over Senator Eugene McCarthy in the New Hampshire primary.

Upgrade to paid

“They’re trapped,” he said of the senior advisers in the White House who hoped that Biden would somehow do well enough in last night’s debates to carry on, with the much-needed support of the more skeptical financial supporters in New York City.

Upgrade to paid

Not everyone I talked to today agreed that it is time to force a Biden resignation and hope for the best at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August—to dump the ticket and seek new candidates. “My humble opinion,” one longtime contributor to the Democratic Party told me, “is to let the dust settle. Must examine the realistic options before some quick reaction creates an internal Democratic Party split with far-reaching consequences beyond 2024. Accept reality . . . 2024 is likely beyond recovery at this point. Too steep a hill to climb. Plan and execute a long-term plan to counter Mr. Orange and build a moderate platform for the recovery . . . and let Biden wander off to the Jersey Pine Barrens.”

A differing view was expressed by another political guru. “This is the age of social media—TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X—and a political campaign can go very far very fast.”

Whatever happens, we have a president—now fully unveiled—who just may not be responsible for what he does in the coming campaign, not to mention his actions in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Whatever happened to the 25th Amendment that authorizes the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president incompetent? What is going on in the Biden White House?

Seymour Hersh is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Upgrade to paid

Related Topics:#JoeBiden #SeymourHersh #WhoIsRunningTheCountry?feature

Up Next

The dangerous slippery slope of activist-driven climate lawsuits

Don't Miss

Biden defends disastrous debate performance as Democrats panic

Todayville

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

UK finally admits clear evidence linking Pakistanis and child grooming gangs

Business / 4 hours ago

Trump family announces Trump Mobile: Made in America, for America

conflict / 5 hours ago

Trump leaves G7 early after urging evacuation of Tehran

Crime

UK finally admits clear evidence linking Pakistanis and child grooming gangs

Published on June 17, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

After years of denial and political cover-ups, the UK government has formally acknowledged a disturbing link between Pakistani-heritage men and child grooming gangs. A scathing new review has prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reverse course and launch a full national inquiry into the widespread abuse.

Key Details:

The Casey Review found “clear evidence” of Pakistani men’s overrepresentation in grooming gangs and accused authorities of ignoring the abuse to avoid accusations of racism.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed over 800 historic child sex abuse cases will be reopened and prosecuted where possible.
The Labour Party and Prime Minister Starmer were previously opposed to a national inquiry, with critics calling this reversal a politically motivated “smokescreen.”

Diving Deeper:

The British government has finally acknowledged a link between Pakistani-heritage men and the grooming gang epidemic that has plagued communities across England for decades. The admission comes following the release of a damning public review led by Baroness Louise Casey, which uncovered years of institutional failure, racial sensitivity, and political cowardice.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper presented the findings in Parliament, confirming that the Casey Review had “identified clear evidence of over-representation among suspects of Asian and Pakistani-heritage men.” She condemned the systematic rape of vulnerable girls—some as young as 10—and the authorities’ “unforgivable” failure to act.

“The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes,” Cooper said, noting that too many warnings had been ignored over the last 15 years. She announced that the government would adopt all of Baroness Casey’s recommendations and reopen more than 800 historic cases.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who previously dismissed calls for a national inquiry as “far-right misinformation,” abruptly changed course over the weekend and agreed to a full inquiry with legal authority to compel testimony. This reversal followed mounting pressure from campaigners like Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, Elon Musk, and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage.

Labour MP Sarah Champion, once ousted for raising alarms about Pakistani grooming gangs in her Rotherham constituency, welcomed the inquiry. “There’s a real sense justice has not been handed out fairly,” she said, accusing officials of failing victims for fear of “causing offense.”

The Casey review also pointed to illegal immigration as a contributing factor and called for mandatory ethnicity data collection in child exploitation cases. Critics argue that authorities in Labour-run areas turned a blind eye to the abuse—some allegedly in exchange for votes—treating white working-class girls as expendable while shielding perpetrators.

Former detective and grooming whistleblower Maggie Oliver expressed skepticism, warning that unless the inquiry is led by Baroness Casey, it risks becoming another whitewash. “This is about gross criminal neglect at the top of policing, at the top of government, at the top of social services,” Oliver said.

While the inquiry marks a long-overdue step toward accountability, some warn it may be politically perilous for Starmer. As former head of the Crown Prosecution Service, he held a central role when many of these abuses first surfaced. And with many of the cover-ups tied to Labour councils, the fallout could deepen public distrust in the party.

Business

Trump family announces Trump Mobile: Made in America, for America

Published on June 17, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

On the 10-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s iconic campaign launch, the Trump family announced the debut of Trump Mobile, a new wireless company offering American-built smartphones, 5G coverage, and a values-driven alternative to Big Tech carriers.

Key Details:

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump introduced Trump Mobile’s flagship service Monday, calling it a “transformational” alternative aimed at “our nation’s hardest-working people.”
The “47 Plan,” priced at $47.45/month, offers unlimited talk, text, and data, free international calls to U.S. military families, telehealth, roadside assistance, and no credit checks.
Trump Mobile’s customer support is fully U.S.-based and live 24/7—“not automated,” the company says—while a new American-made “T1 Phone” is slated for release in August.

Diving Deeper:

Marking ten years since President Donald Trump descended the golden escalator to launch his first campaign, the Trump Organization on Monday announced its boldest private sector move yet: Trump Mobile.

Flanked by company executives, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump unveiled the new cellular service, touting it as a patriotic, people-first alternative to legacy providers. “We’re building on the movement to put America first,” Trump Jr. said in a statement. “We will deliver the highest levels of quality and service.”

The cornerstone of Trump Mobile is the 47 Plan. Offered for $47.45/month, the plan includes unlimited data, full 5G coverage across all three major carriers, and a suite of benefits tailored to middle-class families, truckers, veterans, and anyone tired of paying premiums to companies that don’t share their values.

Among the key perks: 24/7 American-based customer service (with “real people,” not bots), comprehensive device protection, roadside assistance through Drive America, and telehealth services including mental health support and prescription delivery. Most notably, the plan includes free international calling to over 100 countries—an effort the Trump family says honors U.S. military families stationed abroad.

“We’re especially proud to offer free long-distance calling to our military members and their families,” said Eric Trump. “Those serving overseas should always be able to stay connected to the people they love back home.”

Unlike traditional providers, Trump Mobile advertises no contracts and no credit checks, appealing to a demographic long underserved by mainstream telecom giants. “Hard-working Americans deserve a wireless service that’s affordable, reflects their values, and delivers reliable quality they can count on,” Eric Trump added.

The company is also preparing to launch the T1 Phone in August—a sleek, gold smartphone “engineered for performance” and “proudly designed and built in the United States.” With that, the Trump Organization is not just entering the mobile market—it’s staking a claim as a direct competitor to Apple and Samsung.