The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 23rd, 2024: Biden's Mysterious Absence & Secret Service Director Resigns

Episode Date: July 23, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    Questions are swirling around President Joe Biden in the wake of his decision to bow out of the presidential race, as his office cancels at least nine official trips and he extends his stay in Delaware to recover from COVID. Embattled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned following a disastrous Congressional hearing and mounting bipartisan calls for her step down over the attempted assassination of former President Trump. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamavat Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. Start your day with a great taste of blackout coffee.

This is an American family-owned business, and they're focused on premium coffee, fresh-roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com, promo code PDB for 20% off your first-time purchase. It's Tuesday, 23 July. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world's stage. Let's get briefed. First, questions are swirling around President Biden in the wake of his decision to bow out of the presidential race as his office cancels at least nine official trips, and he extends his stay in Delaware to recover from COVID. Also, Embattled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheathel has resigned,

well, would you look at that, following a disastrous congressional hearing and bipartisan calls for her to step down over the attempted assassination of former President Trump. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Concerns are mounting over the condition of President Biden, following his decision to abruptly drop out of the U.S. presidential race on Sunday, which coincided with a bout of COVID that he contracted sometime last week. Speculation only increased on Monday after he cleared much of his schedule for the next two weeks and extended his stay in Delaware to recover from the virus. Now, he was supposed to depart back to the White House on Monday evening, but pushed his return to Wednesday at the last minute, canceling a major face-to-face sit-down

with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that was planned for Tuesday. In total, Biden canceled nine official events, and officials have not given any explanation as to why, and that's according to an exclusive report from the New York Post. To make matters worse, no one has seen President Biden in public since last Wednesday, despite the seismic news of his departure from the race, which was announced in a letter posted to the president's X account. As the post notes, the letter was not written official White House letterhead and Biden's signature appears to have been added electronically. That, of course, created all sorts of speculation. His conspicuous absence left many alarmed and prompted some Republican lawmakers to demand

that the White House provide proof of life regarding Biden. Now, President Biden ended up calling into a campaign event for Harris in Delaware on Monday evening to speak to staffers and encourage them to take his mission forward. If the call was supposed to ease the minds of anxious Americans, frankly it failed, as Biden could be heard at times, heavily slurring his speech. It appears the events of the past few days have thrown the White House into a bit of a chaotic state. After initially canceling the meeting with Netanyahu on Monday, with no word on rescheduling, officials then came back on Tuesday to announce that the pair would now be meeting at the White House on Thursday. officials also announced Tuesday that President Biden would finally address the nation regarding his exit from the presidential race in a primetime speech from the White House on Wednesday, though no further details were given.

While the meeting with Netanyahu is back on, according to the Post, most of the events he had planned for the next two weeks remained canceled, including a planned West Coast trip and a stop in Houston to discuss hurricane barrel recovery efforts. Adding to the mystery, President Biden's COVID-recovery recovery. is not thought to be the reason behind the cancellations, as his physician said Monday that the president had completed his treatment and all but recovered from the virus. An unnamed White House source told the post, quote, they started canceling stuff when he announced he wasn't seeking re-election, end quote. In his letter on Sunday, President Biden vowed to continue to focus on his duties as president and served through the remainder of his term, as well as assist Vice President Kamala Harris, endorsed on the campaign trail. With all that in mind, some Republicans are urging members of President

Biden's cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment against the President to remove him from office. Many Republicans have opined that if the DNC feels Biden is too old and unfit to remain as a Democrat candidate for president, well, then he is also unfit to remain in office. Representative Chip Roy of Texas first introduced a resolution calling for the 25th Amendment following Biden's disastrous debate performance back in June. He was joined on Monday by Senator Eric Schmidt of Missouri, who sent letters to members of Biden's cabinet, urging them to start the proceedings.

Roy told Politico on Monday, quote, for me it was never fully about the ticket. It was about the fact that he's very clearly not all there. What did Jill Biden know and when did she know it? What did the staff know? What did the vice president know? And when did she know what she knew? He's the sitting president. This is still important, end quote.

Now look, Biden's family, Kamala Harris as his VP, the White House staff, and campaign advisors have all engaged in a coordinated cover-up to hide the president's deteriorating condition and mental acuity issues for many months. They all lied about how sharp he is and how vigorous he is. They knew his situation, and they decided for their own selfish reasons to try and keep it a secret from the public. Once the public got to peek behind the curtain during the debate, well, only then did this little cabal and the previously compliant media decide to act. And now, with Biden sidelined, the same party elites have foisted Kamala Harris on the public. No vote necessary. All hail the anointed one. Now, sorry if that makes me sound churlish.

All right, coming up after the break. And battled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheel, has resigned following a disastrous congressional hearing and mounting bipartisan calls for her to step down over the attempted assassination of former President Trump. I'll be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points.

Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking it. bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. You tell yourself, no one wants your college-era band tease, but on Deep Hop, people are searching for exactly what you've got. You once paid a small fortune for them at merch stands. Now, a teenager who calls them vintage will offer that same small fortune back.

Sell them easily on Deepop. Just snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest. Who knew your questionable music taste will be a money-making machine. Your style can make you cash. Start selling on Deepop, where taste recognizes taste. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. In an update from this morning's PDB, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheetle has officially resigned following widespread outrage over her agency's failure to prevent the attempted assassination of former President Trump during a campaign rally on 13 July. Cheetah, appointed by President Biden back in in 2022, stepped down a day after she faced nearly five hours of intense bipartisan scrutiny during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing.

Cheatel initially refused to resign, despite overseeing what she called, quote, the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades. In her resignation letter to her staff, Cheatle stated, quote, the Secret Service's solemn mission is to protect our nation's leaders. On July 13th, we fell short on that mission. As your director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse, end quote. President Biden, well, he lauded Cheetah's dedication and integrity, emphasizing her long service to the nation. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson called her resignation, quote, overdue, and other lawmakers expressed relief, calling for a rebuild of trust in the Secret Service.

The agency remains under fire for its handling of rally security in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks managed to fire multiple shots at Trump from an unsecured rooftop about 150 yards away. It has since been revealed that the Secret Service had not extended its security perimeter to include the building where Crooks positioned himself. Investigations revealed failures in planning, commanding control, communications, and, frankly, basic operational protocols. The Secret Service and Pennsylvania law enforcement have been inconsistent in their accounts of the lapses. Cheedle had committed to cooperating fully

with the ongoing investigations into the agency's security measures on that day. However, she showed up for yesterday's hearing seemingly unprepared, answering questions with vague generalities or otherwise deflecting. Her lack of leadership and inability to respond in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt,

well, it should be a case study in crisis communications for years to come. The Oversight Committee, which played a pivotal role in pushing for Cheatel's resignation, vowed to continue its review to ensure such failures do not recur. Cheathel is the lone person who has resigned or faced repercussions since the assassination attempt, just one day after she called herself, quote, the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time. Now with a heated and fast-paced political season here, now, staring us in the face,

It is imperative that the Secret Service and the local authorities complete a thorough and immediate assessment of the security breakdowns on that day in order to ensure that they don't happen again. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, 23 July. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. To listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting pdb premium.com. It's just that simple. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe.

Stay cool. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day, like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With USAA, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at usa.com slash bundle. Restrictions apply.