Hunter Biden was furious with former President Barack Obama for leading then-President Joe Biden offstage with a guiding hand at a June 2024 fundraiser, according to a new book from ABC News’ Jonathan Karl.

An excerpt from the book, obtained by Axios, details how the younger Biden believed Obama had disrespected and embarrassed the president.

‘I almost jumped up on the stage and said, ‘Don’t ever f–king do that to the president of the United States again — ever,” Hunter told Karl in an interview.

‘The younger Biden insisted his dad was simply taking some time to acknowledge the crowd. ‘I knew that that was going to be a meme,’ Hunter recalled. ‘That really, really, really, really pissed me off,” the book reads.

The incident was one of many that contributed to criticism that Biden was too old to hold office, an opinion held by the vast majority of voters, according to polls from the time.

The clip was just one of many in the latter months of Biden’s presidency that showed an ally, aide or family member stepping in to seemingly direct or guide Biden off a stage or during an event.

The Obama incident came just days after Biden had to be redirected by another world leader during a G7 event in Italy. The former president was arrayed with other world leaders as he appeared to wander a few steps away from the group.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni then walked over to the president, touched his right arm and redirected him back to the group of world leaders.

The White House at the time dismissed the clip for having an ‘artificially narrow frame’ that only made it seem as though Biden was walking away from the crowd.

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. is ‘doing very well’ in Iran, nearly a week after the military coordinated with Israel on airstrikes in Tehran that left its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dead.

‘Somebody said, ‘How would you score it from zero to 10?’ I said, ‘I’d give it a 12 to a 15.’ Their army is gone. Their navy is gone. Their communications are gone. Their leaders are gone,’ Trump said. ‘Two sets of their leaders.’

The president made the remarks after Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked at the end of a White House college sports roundtable what was motivating Trump to hold the roundtable ‘because there is a lot of other stuff going on in the world.’

‘That’s right,’ Trump agreed, adding that Iran’s air force has been ‘wiped out entirely. Think of it. They have 32 ships. All 32 are at the bottom of the ocean. Other than that, they’re doing very well.’

‘Our military is doing phenomenally,’ he said. ‘The situation with a very bad and very sick group of leaders who were killing a lot of people. A lot of our people were being killed or were being maimed. … And we had a choice. We could take it and go on like that for years or do something about it. And we did something about it.’

Trump added that ‘people are very impressed with our military, and they admire our military with what happened in Venezuela, what’s happening now, what’s happened with the B-2 bombers before this, where they took out the nuclear capability or potential of Iran.

‘I think we’re, right now, we’re a country that’s more respected than we’ve ever been respected before.’

Doocy also told the president earlier, ‘It sounds like the Russians are helping Iran target and attack Americans now.’

‘That’s an easy problem compared to what we’re doing here,’ Trump said, referring to college sports, calling it a ‘stupid question to be asking at this time. We’re talking about something else.’

Earlier Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. won’t accept any deal with Iran ‘except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!’

‘After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,’ Trump wrote. 

‘IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’’

The Biden administration purchased a pulsed energy weapon suspected of being the type that may have caused ‘Havana Syndrome’ which caused a series of mysterious ailments for U.S. diplomats and government workers in Cuba. 

The weapon was bought at the end of the Biden Administration and has since been tested by the Pentagon, Fox News has learned. House Republicans are demanding answers amid reports of the purchase of the device.

In a letter to Homeland Security Kristi Noem, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., is asking for information on the procurement process for the weapon, its costs and the findings associated with its year-long testing related to Havana Syndrome, officially known as Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI). 

‘The device in question is described as capable of producing pulsed radio waves and containing Russian components, though it is supposedly not entirely Russian in origin,’ the letter states. ‘Following HSI’s successful acquisition of the device, it was reportedly transferred to DoW, which spent more than a year testing the device and its capabilities.’

Some U.S. intelligence agencies have said a foreign adversary could be behind the mysterious ailment. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that Adam, a former government employee whose identity Fox News agreed to protect, is considered to be ‘Patient Zero.’

He was first attacked in December 2016 while living in Havana on assignment. During his time on the Caribbean island, Adam experienced multiple attacks and described pressure to the brain that led to vertigo, tinnitus and cognitive impairment.

‘While assessments from the Intelligence Community (IC) do not conclusively identify the factors causing AHIs or any foreign actor responsible, an assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) presented a majority view concluding that it was ‘very unlikely’ that a foreign actor ‘used a novel weapon or prototype device to harm even a subset of the U.S. Government personnel,’ with five out of seven agencies agreeing with that assessment,’ Garbarino wrote in his letter. 

‘However, two agencies dissented from the majority view and assessed that there was a chance that foreign actors may have developed some sort of ‘novel weapon or prototype device’ that could have harmed U.S. personnel,’ he added. 

However, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released the report and held a background call with reporters on Friday explaining that new reporting ‘led two components to shift their assessments about whether a foreign actor has a capability that could cause biological effects consistent with some of the symptoms reported as possible AHIs.’

‘This shift consequently led two IC components to subtly change their overall judgment about whether a foreign actor might have played a role in a small number of events,’ the agency said. 

Fox News’ Liz Friden contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that construction has begun on a new, privately funded White House Ballroom – a long-envisioned addition designed to host state visits and large gatherings – as part of a modernization of the East Wing.

‘I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom,’ Trump said on Truth Social. ‘Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!

‘For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!’ he continued. ‘The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly. This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing in July that the construction of the estimated $200 million new ballroom would begin in September and be ‘completed long before the end of President Trump’s term.’

Her announcement came after a similar gesture earlier this year, when Trump personally financed the installation of two 88-foot American flags flanking the White House, each reportedly costing about $50,000.

‘The White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders in other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building’s entrance,’ Leavitt said at the time, adding the new ballroom will be ‘a much needed and exquisite addition.’

She also said the United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications during the construction.

The project is intended to provide a dedicated space for hosting official events, state dinners and large ceremonial gatherings.

The new 90,000-square-foot addition will accommodate approximately 650 seated guests and will stay true to the classical design of the White House.

The White House does not have a formal ballroom, and the new ballroom will take the place of the current East Wing of the White House.

Trump chose McCrery Architects to design the project, with Clark Construction overseeing the build and AECOM providing engineering support.

Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

While President Donald Trump and his administration brushed off the ‘No Kings’ nationwide protests rebuking the president over the weekend, Democrats lauded the protesters for standing up for democracy. 

The protest marked at least the second time ‘No Kings’ rallies have been organized across the country in major cities, including Washington, New York City and Los Angeles, since Trump took office for the second time, and organizers claim the protests are in opposition to his authoritarian policies. 

Meanwhile, Trump pushed back on the description of ‘king,’ as he and other Republicans poked fun at the millions participating in the rallies. 

‘I’m not a king,’ Trump told reporters Sunday on Air Force One. ‘I work my ass off to make our country great. That’s all it is. I’m not a king at all.’

Trump also characterized the protests as inconsequential, and said that those who participated didn’t accurately reflect the people who make up the U.S. 

‘The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective and the people were whacked out,’ Trump said Sunday. ‘When you look at those people, those are not representative of the people of our country.’

Despite Trump’s rejection of being labeled a king, the official White House social media accounts previously posted an image in February of Trump wearing a crown with a caption claiming ‘long live the king.’ Trump also reposted an AI-generated video that Vice President JD Vance originally shared, depicting Trump placing a crown on his head and drawing a sword. 

Additionally, Trump shared another AI-generated video of him donning a crown in a fighter jet over New York City, unloading what appeared to be feces on the protesters. 

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. needed a distraction from the government shutdown that started Oct. 1, although Johnson did admit that the protests turned out to be a ‘violent-free, free speech exercise.’ 

‘They needed a stunt,’ Johnson said in an interview with ABC Sunday. ‘They needed a show. Chuck Schumer has — needs cover right now. He’s closed the government down because he needs political cover, and this was a part of it.’

However, Democrats said the protests were an opportunity to stand up for democracy. For example, Schumer said that there are ‘no dictators’ in the U.S., and that ‘we won’t allow Trump to keep eroding our democracy.’ 

‘Dictators evolve when good people of all different beliefs and backgrounds stay silent,’ Schumer said in a social media post on Saturday. ‘This No Kings Day says we will not stay silent.’

Additionally, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi shared a video clip of her dismantling a plastic crown, appearing to harken back to when she ripped Trump’s State of the Union address in 2020. 

‘We’re gonna tear up the crown!’ Pelosi said in the brief clip, which she shared on social media with the caption: ‘No crown. #NoKings!’ 

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also weighed in, claiming ‘we said ‘hell no’ to kings, and reminded the nation and the world what patriotism looks like.’ 

‘From our nation’s capitol to cities across California, millions stood shoulder to shoulder to say that our democracy is worth fighting for, that our voices will not be silent, and that we will not sit back and let a wannabe king take our freedoms,’ Schiff said Saturday to accompany several photos of himself at the protest in Washington. ‘Proud to stand with you.’ 

Additionally, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the protests were reflective of the democratic process in the U.S. 

‘This is what democracy looks like!’ Murray said in a Saturday social media post. ‘We use our voices and our votes. NO KINGS IN AMERICA!’

Former President Joe Biden completed a round of radiation treatment for his aggressive form of prostate cancer on Monday.

Biden had been undergoing treatment at Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology in Philadelphia for several weeks. The former president’s daughter, Ashley Biden, hailed the milestone in a post on social media.

‘Rung the bell! Thank you to the incredible doctors, nurses, and staff at Penn Medicine. We are so grateful!’ she wrote on Instagram.

‘He rang the bell today,’ Biden spokeswoman Kelly Scully confirmed, according to CBS News.

‘Dad has been so damn brave throughout his treatment. Grateful,’ Ashley wrote in a follow-up post.

It is common practice for cancer treatment centers to have patients ring a bell when they complete a round of radiation treatment. It serves as both a mark of progress for the patient and a form of encouragement for other patients undergoing treatment in the facility.

It is unclear whether Biden will need to undergo further rounds of radiation therapy.

Biden announced his diagnosis with prostate cancer in May, saying it had already metastasized and spread to his bones. The announcement redoubled concerns that the White House was not being forthright about Biden’s health during his time in office.

Biden also underwent surgery Sept. 4 to remove cancerous skin cells through a procedure known as Mohs surgery.

During his presidency, Biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest, the White House previously said. Former White House physician Kevin O’Connor noted in February 2023 that a biopsy of skin tissue taken during a health assessment revealed cancerous cells, all of which were successfully removed.

Fox News’ Bonny Chu contributed to this report.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who visited with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem less than a month ago, said in a Thursday post on X he was going to Israel to meet with the foreign leader and his team.

‘I am traveling to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his team at this crucial time in the history of the Middle East. The goal is to build on the historic opportunities created by President Trump’s unprecedented leadership, to stand up to evil, and to support the people who are sacrificing for freedom,’ Graham wrote in the post.

‘The Trump-Netanyahu alliance has thus far been one of the strongest partnerships in the history of the U.S.-Israel relationship, and I am hopeful it will pay dividends in the near future. We live in a time of great consequence with the Middle East on the verge of previously unimaginable change. Standing together and following through on our commitments only makes us stronger,’ he added.

Graham’s announcement comes less than a month after he met with Netanyahu in Israel in December.

In a video posted to X on December 21, Netanyahu welcomed the senator, calling Graham ‘a great friend of Israel’ and ‘great personal friend.’

The lawmaker has been advocating for U.S. President Donald Trump to attack Iran.

‘President Trump’s resolve is not the question: Question is, when we do an operation like this, should it be bigger, or smaller? I’m in the camp of bigger,’ Graham said in footage he highlighted in a Thursday post on X. ‘Time will tell. I’m hopeful and optimistic that the regime days are numbered.’

In a Wednesday post on X, Graham wrote, ‘People often ask me what should we do next when it comes to the murderous, religious Nazi regime in Iran. It’s pretty simple. Stand by the protesters demanding an end to their oppression. But it’s going to take more than standing by them. We must stop those who are responsible for killing the people by any means necessary ASAP. Make The Iranian People Safe Again.’

A House Republican exploring higher office is predicting the ongoing government shutdown will make the 2026 midterm field a more difficult one for Democrats.

‘Once all the dust settles, I think people will think, ‘Why did the Democrats shut it down? What was their reason? What did they get out of it?’’ Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital.

‘And I think once this all passes over the next two, three months, I think people will think, like, ‘Shame on all these partisan antics the government did and shame on [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.] for going down this path, having no idea of how to get it reopened.’

Feenstra is expected to announce a run for Iowa governor, having already started gathering endorsements and creating a ‘Feenstra for Governor’ website.

He’s also one of the vast majority of House Republicans who voted to pass the GOP’s government funding bill on Sept. 19.

It was a seven-week extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal on FY2026 spending.

But in the Senate, where at least several Democrats are needed to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster, progress has stalled.

Senate Democrats have tanked the bill in the upper chamber 11 times since the House passed it.

Three members of the Senate Democratic caucus have been voting with Republicans, but under the current tally, at least five more are needed to hold a final vote on the bill.

Democrats are demanding that any funding bill be paired with significant concessions on healthcare, specifically an extension of Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

‘I think it affects people up and down the ticket, because you have the Democrats … who say, ‘Schumer is right.’ You have these liberal progressives that no matter what happens, they just want to spend more money, and they want to make sure illegal immigrants get healthcare,’ Feenstra said.

‘It’s very concerning, I think once people understand that, I think it could have a really catastrophic effect on Democrats next election cycle,’ he said.

Democrats have called GOP accusations that they want to restore healthcare for illegal immigrants a lie. A counter-proposal for a CR introduced by Democrats last month would eliminate healthcare changes in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, some of which are aimed at keeping certain noncitizens from accessing government-funded healthcare.

Feenstra also criticized Democrats’ counter-proposal because it would eliminate a new $50 billion rural hospital fund established in Republicans’ policy bill.

‘Everybody’s really worried about our healthcare. There’s $50 billion in the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ [President Donald Trump’s] big, beautiful bill, to help critical access hospitals in the Midwest and in Iowa. That’s in jeopardy right now,’ Feenstra said.

‘So there’s a lot of concern right now in rural Iowa. And everybody understands that you’ve got to get the government open so that we can negotiate and figure this out.’

The Iowa Republican, whose district skews heavily rural, said he was also worried about critical programs for farmers that are endangered by the shutdown.

‘This is really affecting the farm community over in the Midwest,’ he said.

Former Rep. Billy Long, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to be ambassador to Iceland, has apologized after privately joking to House lawmakers that the Arctic island would become the ’52nd state’ with him as its governor.

Long, a Republican who represented Missouri from 2011 to 2023 and served a brief stint as IRS commissioner last year, said he was just joking with his former congressional colleagues.

‘There was nothing serious about that, I was with some people, who I hadn’t met for three years, and they were kidding about Jeff Landry being governor of Greenland and they started joking about me and if anyone took offense to it, then I apologize,’ Long told Arctic Today.

‘I apologize and that’s my only comment, I look forward to working with the people of Iceland and I apologize it was taken that way, I was with a group of friends and there was nothing serious about it,’ he added.

Trump recently named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as a special envoy to Greenland.

This comes as Trump heats up his threats to acquire Greenland, a Danish territory, saying he plans to take the island ‘one way or the other.’

‘We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,’ Trump said last week. ‘Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.’

Trump administration officials are openly weighing options such as military force to take Greenland, a move that would violate NATO’s Article V, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all of them and could end the alliance of more than 75 years.

Denmark and other European countries have made moves, including sending additional troops to Greenland in case of a U.S. invasion, backing the territory as it reaffirms its position that it does not want to join the U.S. Iceland is among the NATO members that have expressed opposition to Trump’s repeated threats to take Greenland.

On Capitol Hill, most Democrats and even some Republicans have opposed the idea of taking Greenland, while other Republicans have voiced support for pursuing closer ties with the territory, including Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., who introduced legislation to make it the 51st U.S. state, although he said the best way to acquire Greenland is voluntarily.

Trump has also said he wanted to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.

Long was visiting former colleagues on the House Floor earlier this week when he made the controversial comment about Iceland, sparking some minor diplomatic backlash, with Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs demanding answers from the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavík.

‘There is no doubt that this is very serious for a small country like Iceland,’ Icelandic Parliament member Sigmar Guðmundsson told MBL. ‘We need to understand that all the security arguments made by the U.S. regarding Greenland, also apply to Iceland.’

Some Icelanders also launched a petition drive calling on their government to reject Long as ambassador if he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The petition has obtained 2,000 signatures.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Politico that Long was ‘probably having some fun’ and ‘I wouldn’t read too much into that.’

A pair of Senate Republicans plan to nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in fast-tracking the production and distribution of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., plan to introduce a resolution that would formally nominate Trump for the prize for launching Operation Warp Speed at the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

The executive action saw a large-scale collaboration among multiple federal agencies and private companies to fast-track the research, development and distribution of vaccines during the pandemic, and was funded by billions from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. 

The lawmakers’ push comes after Trump expressed his desire to win the Peace Prize for his involvement in striking a deal between Israel and Hamas, and shortly after the prize committee passed over him. It’s also the most recent in a string of nomination pushes from congressional Republicans. 

Both Cassidy and Barrasso, who were doctors before becoming legislators, lauded the massive mobilization effort and credited Operation Warp Speed for saving millions of lives during the pandemic.

‘When Americans needed a vaccine in record time to stop a once-in-a-generation pandemic, President Trump delivered,’ Cassidy said. ‘The Nobel Prize has been given for a lot less. He should receive the next one!’

Barrasso contended that Operation Warp Speed would ‘not have been possible without President Trump’s bold leadership.’

‘He bent an infamously slow bureaucracy to his will to bring a vaccine to market in under a year. Operation Warp Speed saved millions of lives in the United States and millions more lives around the world. President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his life-saving achievement,’ he said.

Other congressional Republicans have sought to nominate Trump for the award for varying achievements this year, including his involvement in striking a deal to see the end of the Israel-Hamas War. 

And Dr. Mehmet Oz, who Trump tapped as administrator for the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services, argued the president should win the prize for Operation Warp Speed, which he called a ‘a massive success for our country.’ 

But their push to nominate Trump for his role in vaccine development comes after both lawmakers sparred with Human Health and Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during a Senate hearing last month following turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and questions over his stance on vaccines.

Cassidy pressed Kennedy during his appearance before the Senate Finance Committee in September, where the HHS Secretary agreed that Trump should win the prize for Operation Warp Speed.

‘Absolutely, senator,’ Kennedy said.

However, at the time, Cassidy questioned Kennedy’s actions against vaccines prior to his role as HHS Secretary — and while leading the agency — that appeared to counter his support for Operation Warp Speed.

Kennedy countered that he began litigating against former President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates and not against Trump’s push with Operation Warp Speed.

‘First of all, the reason that Operation Warp Speed was genius is it did something nobody ever [had] done — I don’t think any president but President Trump could do it — it got the vaccine to market that was perfectly matched to the virus at that time,’ Kennedy said.