Biden repeats the same word during press conference while trailing off

President Biden held a high-stakes press conference Thursday evening where he doubled down on his earlier pledge to remain in the presidential race while making a few gaffes, including trailing off on his thoughts and using the word “anyway” at least nine times. 

“I just got to just pace myself a lot more, pace myself. And the next debate, I’m not going to be traveling in 15 time zones a week before. Anyway, that’s what it was about,” Biden said after reporters asked him about reports he needs to go to bed earlier in the day.

“That’s what it was about. And, by the way, even with that, I love my staff. But they add things. They add things all the time. … I’m catching hell from my wife for that. Anyway,” he continued.

Biden said “anyway” at least nine times throughout the roughly 58-minute press conference, according to a transcript of the press event, sparking some on social media to joke about an “anyway drinking game.”

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Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” aired a compilation of Biden’s repeated use of “anyway,” including six of the instances out of the nine found in the press conference’s transcript. 

Biden’s press conference comes as concerns mount he is not mentally fit to serve another four years in the Oval Office, including 17 elected Democrats calling on the president to bow out of the race as he prepares to square off against former President Trump in November. 

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“Joe Biden’s record of public service is unrivaled,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on X after the press conference. “His accomplishments are immense. His legacy as a great president is secure.

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“He must not risk that legacy, those accomplishments and American democracy to soldier on in the face of the horrors promised by Donald Trump.” 

Conservatives slammed Biden on social media throughout the public event for his handful of gaffes, including holding up a list of reporters he planned to call on and appearing to confuse Vice President Kamala Harris with former President Trump, in addition to repeatedly saying “anyway.”

“This NATO press conference with Biden is another disaster. It is inexplicable the people advising this man continue to think that somehow he’s not going to humiliate himself and this country. Why do they continue to allow this to happen?” Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce posted to X during the press conference. 

Allies of the president, however, considered the press event a success, remarking on social media that Biden’s delivery while answering reporters’ questions was “strong.”

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“This is a very strong performance. Quite frankly. ⁦@POTUS⁩ is putting on a master class in how foreign policy and domestic policy intersect, explaining how crucial American global leadership is to our people here at home. Well done, Mr. President,” Democratic strategist Joel Rubin posted on X. 

“Tonight Joe Biden offered a lengthy, detailed dive on the major national security issues he’s juggling combined with a comfortable but forceful defense of his view of where this race stands. 50 minutes of Qs. He needed to show up big tonight and he did,” former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield posted to X. 

The president again addressed concerns about his mental acuity during the presser, defiantly defending his record in office. 

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“Am I getting the job done? Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in 3½ years, created 2,000 jobs just last week. So, if I slow down, I can’t get the job done. That’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication of that yet … none,” he said. 

Biden also addressed whether Harris could serve as president, elaborating that he would not have chosen her as his running mate in 2020 if he thought otherwise. 

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“First of all, the way she’s handled the issue of freedom of women’s bodies to have control over their bodies. Secondly, her ability to handle almost any issue on the board. This was a hell of a prosecutor. She was a first-rate person, and in the Senate, she was really good. I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be president. From the very beginning. I made no bones about that. She is qualified to be president. That’s why I picked her,” he said. 

Biden addressed the media as he hosted NATO world leaders for the 75th anniversary of the defensive military alliance this week. 

White House’s narrative about President Biden’s condition completely crumbles

The narrative aggressively pushed by the Biden campaign and White House in recent weeks about President Biden, which included trying to quash concerns about his mental fitness by calling videos of him struggling “cheap fakes,” took a significant hit on Wednesday after a top Hollywood actor and a former Obama aide spoke out.

On Wednesday, actor George Clooney called on Biden to leave the 2024 race, citing what he witnessed at a Hollywood fundraiser in late June where the president was criticized for seemingly needing to be led off the stage by former President Obama.

“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” Clooney, a longtime friend of Obama, wrote. 

That conclusion was backed by former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, who also attended the Hollywood fundraiser.

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“It was not surprising to any of us who were at the fundraiser,” said Favreau, a member of the group of staffers often referred to as the “Obama bros” during their tenure in the White House. 

“I was there. Clooney was exactly right, and every single person I talked to at the fundraiser thought the same thing, except for the people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn’t say that.”

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Favreau’s blunt comments come just a day after he joined two of his fellow advisers and members of the “Obama bros” in dedicating the majority of their latest “Pod Save America” episode to ganging up on Biden following his poor performance in the first presidential debate and in a subsequent interview.

Immediately following the June 18 fundraiser where videos circulated of Biden being led off the stage by Obama, the Democratic Party along with the media launched a coordinated effort to dispel any questions about Biden’s age.

“CLAIM: Biden froze onstage during his fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday night and had to be led away by Obama,” The Associated Press wrote. “THE FACTS: Biden paused amid cheers and applause as he exited the stage with his predecessor following an interview moderated by late-night host [Jimmy] Kimmel.”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates described the moment as “the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds.”

Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer attributed the negative characterizations as a distraction tactic from those who “are so scared of losing to Joe Biden, they’ll make anything up to distract from the fact that their candidate for president, Donald Trump, has been convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for sexual assault, committed financial fraud, and only cares about himself.”

In response to a question at a press briefing the following Monday about videos that have been edited to make Biden appear frail or confused, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called such footage “cheap fakes video” that are “done in bad faith.” She added that they demonstrate “everything that we need to know about how desperate, how desperate Republicans are here.”

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A source who helped organize, and attended, the fundraiser told the AP that there was nothing noteworthy about this moment and that Obama wanted to be “chummy” by walking offstage with Biden.

Lewis Kay, a spokesperson for Jimmy Kimmel, who was also at the event, called the claims spreading online “nonsense.”

“Attendees in the front were shouting at him, and President Biden was trying to hear them,” he wrote in an email to the AP. “It’s as simple as that.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Biden campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

Biden aides and Democratic officials admit ‘this is going to get worse’ in bombshell report

Democrats are reportedly furious over Biden’s advisers shielding the president despite being aware of his physical decline, according to a new report.

CNN spoke with more than two dozen anonymous donors, Biden allies and current and former Democratic officials about the president’s mental ability, particularly after George Clooney called out his demeanor at last month’s star-studded fundraiser in L.A.

“He was less cogent than usual,” one fundraiser attendee commented to CNN, adding that Biden left “virtually all of the talking to former President Barack Obama.”

Concerns over Biden extended to cabinet meetings and sources say the last full cabinet meeting was in October. The meetings are said to have become “increasingly stage-managed” with “lists of talking points, names of questioners and drawings of where he should walk presented to him by aides.” Officials are also told to submit their questions prior to the meetings.

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“The entire display is kind of an act,” one source told CNN. “They would come and say, ‘Hey, the president is going to call on you about 25 minutes in, and ask this question. What are the bullet points you’ll respond with?’”

Another source described the meetings as infrequent, “not free-wheeling and pretty well-orchestrated.” The report added that meetings were not structured in a “pre-scripted” way during the Obama administration.

Privately, Democratic sources and officials close to Biden’s advisers remarked that the president’s team is aware of his weakness and purposefully limits meetings and events. 

“There’s this general sense of just, unbelievable holding your breath every time he does an event, every time he’s with people,” one source said, according to CNN. They added that others have acknowledged, “This is going to get worse.”

Despite this, the source also said advisers have been strict about public criticism.

“Everyone who expresses any level of suspicion or contrary views? They call everyone and they beat the s*** out of them and say: ‘Stay on message,’” the source said.

As more Democrats, donors and media pundits call for Biden to step down, some sources expect an “erosion” of support “across the board” in the near future.

“Expect a drip, drip, drip,” a former Biden White House official said.

In a comment to Fox News Digital, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates defended Biden’s record both in public events and private cabinet meetings.

“The President frequently meets with a wide variety of diverse administration staff, ranging from policy experts to team members who engage with all manner of communities. Officials who meet with him frequently have spoken to his sharpness and command,” Bates said.

He added, “Since the debate, President Biden has been taking his message directly to the voters across battleground states as well as continuing his job as leader of the country.”

Regarding cabinet meetings, Bates quoted a White House official saying, “Since there is a lot of interagency effort and work on overlapping subjects, Cabinet Affairs coordinates in advance with speakers so that they know what each Cabinet Member may speak about in order to avoid duplicate briefings and redundancy. That information helps the Cabinet Affairs team keep meetings efficient and make sure the right breadth of topics are discussed. This is normal under different administrations.”

He also cited Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack who said, “This is standard practice for any administration. There should not be surprises in cabinet meetings, be it under President Obama or President Biden. If a cabinet member has a question, you should let people know you’re going to ask it.”

So far, over a dozen Democratic House members have publicly called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race.

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Solo press conference meant to instill confidence backfires: ‘Another disaster’

President Biden’s highly anticipated solo press conference Thursday evening was panned as a “disaster” on social media by conservatives, who criticized the president for a performance that they said featured Biden stumbling through answers to reporters’ questions about foreign policy and the 2024 presidential race.

“This NATO press conference with Biden is another disaster. It is inexplicable the people advising this man continue to think that somehow he’s not going to humiliate himself and this country. Why do they continue to allow this to happen?” Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce posted on X during the press conference. 

Biden joined the media Thursday afternoon while wrapping up a NATO summit in the nation’s capital, where the president made a series of gaffes, including confusing Vice President Kamala Harris with former President Donald Trump, trailing off while answering a question, and announcing to the room that he had a list of reporters he would call on. 

“This press conference is a disaster. Joe Biden is not answering the questions,” Fox News contributor Leo Terrell posted on X during the press conference. 

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“Crooked Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ Press Conference with, “I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president.” Great job, Joe!” Trump added on Truth Social. 

Conservatives and critics of the president unleashed on Biden’s press conference.

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Biden’s press conference comes as he faces heightened concerns over his health in the wake of his poor debate performance late last month, which opened floodgates of concern in the Democratic Party that the president’s 81 years of age and alleged slipping mental acuity will cost the party as the Biden campaign squares up against Trump.

Biden has vowed to remain in the race despite rising concerns and calls for him to drop out and let another candidate take on Trump. 

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“There’s been a lot of speculation: What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What’s he going to do?” Biden said Friday in a speech in Madison, Wisconsin. “Well, here’s my answer: I am running and going to win again.”

As speculation and calls for Biden to drop out, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said earlier this week that Democrats are keeping their thoughts on Biden quiet “until we see how we go this week.”

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“Let’s just hold off,” she said on MSNBC. “Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week.”

Thursday marks the first time Biden has held a solo press conference since November of last year. 

Two grocery giants aiming to sell nearly 600 stores as they prepare to merge

Kroger and Albertsons, who are looking to merge, have identified the 579 locations across the country that they intend to offload from their combined grocery store count.

The planned divestiture of the stores is linked to the grocery giants’ efforts to assuage concerns voiced by regulators related to their proposed deal for Kroger to acquire Albertsons. 

C&S Wholesale Grocers is the company slated to buy the stores. Their sale is supposed to happen after the completion of the Kroger-Albertsons merger, according to an April press release.

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Kroger and Albertsons first said in September 2023 that 413 stores would go to C&S and then, in April, upped the amount by 166 to its current count as part of a larger, updated divestiture plan.

Of the 579 stores, 18 are located in Alaska; 101 in Arizona; 63 in California; 91 in Colorado; one in Delaware; 10 in Idaho; 35 in Illinois; two in Louisiana; four in Maryland; two in Montana; 16 in Nevada; nine in New Mexico; 62 in Oregon; 28 in Texas; four in Utah; three in Virginia; 124 in Washington; one in Washington, D.C.; and five in Wyoming, according to the list published by Kroger and Albertsons.

The deal with C&S also involves Kroger and Albertsons parting ways with six distribution centers, a dairy plant, certain brands and other non-store assets, as FOX Business previously reported.

Those distribution centers are in four states (Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Washington), with the plant also located in Colorado, according to the newly-published list.

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Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said in April, as the company announced the updated divestiture plan, that it “continues to ensure no stores will close as a result of the merger and that all frontline associates will remain employed, all existing collective bargaining agreements will continue, and associates will continue to receive industry-leading health care and pension benefits alongside bargained-for wages.”

The merger between Kroger and Albertsons has been facing regulatory scrutiny for quite some time. In February, the chains were hit with a legal challenge from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that remains ongoing. 

The FTC has claimed the Kroger-Albertsons merger would cause “higher prices for groceries and other essential household items for millions of Americans” and reduce “consumers’ choices for where to shop for groceries,” among other issues. Meanwhile, the grocery giants have said it would “produce meaningful and measurable benefits for customers, associates and communities across the country.”

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Kroger and Albertsons are both publicly traded companies.

The former’s market capitalization hovered around $38.02 billion as of late Thursday afternoon. For Albertsons, it was $11.33 billion.

World leader departs NATO summit in DC to go meet with Trump in Florida

‘Mickey Mouse Club’ star makes allegation about what got some girls cut from the show

Success and scandal have been synonymous with the talent produced inside the Mickey Mouse Club back in the ’90s. Just look at former members Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

But Keri Russell, who managed to evade some of the unfortunate child-star narratives that others succumbed to, is shedding light on a scandalous story of her own: why she was potentially kicked off the show.

Stopping by Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast, “Dinner’s on Me,” Russell suggested that maturing was likely what got certain cast members, including herself, removed from the show. Ferguson prompted Russell’s startling admission, asking whether there was an age cut-off for being on the show.

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“Yeah, it’s usually girls who look like they were sexually active, which probably I was one of the first,” she admitted. “They’re like, “She’s out! She is out! That one is gone!” she joked.

“Meanwhile, the boys stayed ’till they were like 19,” Russell lamented. “I was like, ‘Um, by the way, I had sex with that person. I know that they’ve had sex.'”

“Pregnant musketeers aren’t on the roster,” she stated. “So I left at probably 17-ish.”

Russell also explained how she landed the role on “The All New Mickey Mouse Club,” having attended a Denver casting call with some friends.

“I think back then Disney was looking for kids that were kind of, like, normal,” she told Ferguson. In a candid interview with W Magazine last year, Russell claimed she was “the least talented” of the cast.

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“I was there at a time when there were a lot of famous kids there,” she told the outlet. “And I say this completely truthfully: I was literally the least talented one there. I’m not kidding. When I look at those kids, I’m like, why in the world did they pick me? Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling and Britney Spears. It was wild.” 

Speaking of how her career trajectory deviated from other big names, Russell told Ferguson, “I think what’s really the creepiest part of kid acting is usually it’s one or two kids with all adults. And so that really accelerates the adultification of everything. And for the ‘Mickey Mouse Club,’ there were 19 of us. The adults were invisible to me. You know what I mean?”

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All of the kids appearing on the show did have to have a parent with them, according to Russell. “I was 15 to 17. So I think that is what was unique about being a kid actor at such a young age. So I wasn’t completely alone with all the adults. And I think that was helpful.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Disney and representatives for Russell for comment.

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Former NBA player calls out LeBron James’ ‘abuse of power’ to get son drafted

Bronny James was the 55th pick of the NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, his father’s team, a couple weeks ago.

Scouts were not kind to Bronny during the pre-draft process, with at least one saying he was “not an NBA prospect” after he scored less than five points per game in his lone season at USC. Bronny’s cardiac arrest last the summer didn’t help.

On one hand, history will be made the first time they share the floor together. LeBron and Bronny will become the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time.

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There’s been a lot of conversation about nepotism, and an ex-NBA vet called it an “abuse of power” by the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, especially considering Bronny got a guaranteed four-year deal worth nearly $8 million.

“For those that don’t know… Late second round picks don’t get guarantees (especially before summer league ),” Steven Hunter wrote on social media, via OutKick.

“Typically late second round picks don’t get 4 year guaranteed roster spot deals either. This wasn’t earned, I’m sorry… And it’s an egregious abuse of power from LBJ [LeBron James] & Rich Paul. It’s a slap in the face to all of the kids out there who work their a–es off to get to the league. It’s sneaky hollywood s— like this that turns a lot of people off about Lebron. …

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“This is just another example of what they be talking about right when you try to like’em. This is why most people prefer [Michael Jordan] or Kobe [Bryant] over him because you know at least MJ or Kobe gone be straight shooters… Trust me MJ could’ve gotten one of his sons in the league if he chose to abuse his power like that…

“Not taking anything away from Bronny nor am I upset at Bronny… Just know that this is a manipulation of our league and the integrity of what it truly takes to get there.”

Bronny was invited to at least 10 pre-draft workouts but only attended two with the Lakers and the Suns. Paul said that was “by design.”

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James scored four points on 2-for-9 shooting in his NBA Summer League debut.

Archaeologists uncover 250-year-old items tied to the American Revolution

Archaeologists working at Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts, unearthed a piece of American history tied to the “shot heard round the world.”

Five musket balls were discovered and believed to be fired at British forces by colonial militia members during the North Bridge fight, Jarrad Fuoss, Minute Man park ranger and historic weapons specialist, confirmed to Fox News Digital.

The ammunition was found in an area where British soldiers formed up to resist the river crossing and analysis indicates that each one was fired from the opposite side of the river, not dropped during the process of reloading, according the National Park Service (NPS).

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The North Bridge battle site is located within the park and marks the moment when local militia leaders ordered members to fire upon their own government’s soldiers for the first time on April 19, 1775.

“These musket balls can be considered collectively as ‘The Shot Heard Round the World,’ and it is incredible that they have survived this long. It is also a poignant reminder that we are all stewards of this battlefield and are here to preserve and protect our shared history,” Fuoss said.

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Fuoss said the musket balls were made of lead, which was very common at the time period, as others could be comprised of different metals.

The fighting at the North Bridge lasted under 3 minutes, leaving 18 men dead or wounded, the NPS reported on its website.

Three British soldiers were killed in the battle, and they remain buried in Concord.

A Daughters of the American Revolution spokesperson told Fox News Digital the “news of the historic musket balls found in Concord is so exciting.”

“Discovery of important artifacts like this is a great way to help pique interest in American history. We love that this incredible finding has brought more attention to telling the story of the Revolutionary War, especially as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence,” said the spokesperson.

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Fuoss also shared his excitement about the timing of the find.

“We found them on the cusp of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, while much of the country is looking towards 2026 as the Declaration of Independence 250th, our anniversary is next April 2025,” he said. 

“So, we’re already in full swing commemorating the 250th anniversary of the revolution, and we will be continuing to do so all the way through next year and beyond, because this starts an eight-year war.”

The archaeologists who found the musket balls were conducting compliance activities in preparation for the park’s Great American Outdoors Act project.

“We were not expecting to find them. We weren’t looking for them. We were just trying to make sure there was nothing going to be damaged because the park is working on updating some of our infrastructure,” said Fuoss.

The Great American Outdoors Act seeks to address the maintenance and repair of national parks. The law helps make  enhancements to national parks to ensure “preservation and provide opportunities for recreation, education and enjoyment for current and future visitors,” according to the NPS.

Guests can see the musket balls themselves on Archeology Day at Minute Man National Historical Park on Saturday, July 13.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the NPS for additional comment.