Posted on 05/08/2025 7:37:55 PM PDT by bimboeruption
With former President Joe Biden emerging from a the darkness after the Democratic defeat in November, Americans might have to get used to seeing the octogenarian meandering out in public for a while yet to come.
Now getting media advice from a high-powered former spokesman for the Pentagon, according to Politico, Biden did an interview with the BBC published Wednesday that was basically an attack on President Donald Trump and a defense of his own sorry record.
He sat for a meeting Thursday with the shrews from “The View,” in an appearance that even the Hollywood trade mag Variety called a “botched attempt to restore his legacy.”
And, according to veteran journalist Mark Halperin, who cited a source he described as “very familiar with the Bidens,” he could be doing it all because his family needs the money.
Halperin made the remarks Thursday on “The Morning Meeting,” a podcast he co-hosts on the 2Way social media network with former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer and Dan Turrentine, a Democratic operative who served as national finance committee chairman for Hillary Clinton while she was marking time in the Senate before running for president in 2008.
Check it out below:
A source “very familiar with the Bidens” tells @MarkHalperin that “Biden Inc.,” the family business that generated millions of dollars in revenue to support their lifestyle, has dried up. “The trough is empty, the spigot is turned off,” says Mark. “Biden Inc. needs a source of… pic.twitter.com/T1CVgO7p4Z
— 2WAY (@2waytvapp) May 8, 2025
It might sound rich to claim the Bidens are broke, considering that Biden himself is a former United States president.
It might puzzle those who remember that notorious first son Hunter Biden is a world-class grifter who used a late-life turn toward “arts” to sell paintings for obscene amounts of money that had nothing to do with his talents.
And for those Americans who know that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s investigation documented that multiple members of the former president’s extended family were on the receiving end of an influence-peddling scheme that netted millions of dollars from Biden’s “public service” as Barack Obama’s vice president, it might seem baffling.
But, Halperin noted, “Biden Inc. has collapsed.”
“All those Biden grandkids had a lavish lifestyle, which they very much liked,” he said.
“Hunter made hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars. Joe, as a former president, is not in position to get the same kind of paid speeches, corporate boards, book deal …
“Biden Inc. needs a source of revenue,” Halperin said.
“And Hunter, even though he was pardoned and is not going to go to prison, Hunter does not have great earning capacity.”
(As an aside, to say “Hunter Biden does not have great earning capacity” is an understatement on the scale of, “The Donner Party didn’t have a great plan for the Sierra Nevadas.” His “professional” experience was paved by his father’s name, his paintings were a joke from the get-go — no matter what The New York Times pretended. He probably couldn’t sell a sex tape these days, since anyone interested could have seen it all on his laptop by now.)
“The trough is empty. The spigot has shut down,” Halperin said. “They need a way to get back in the game to make big money.”
Halperin’s co-hosts agreed with the potential premise, with Turrentine noting that at Biden’s advanced age of 82 (and an old 82 at that), any kind of new gig is going to be questionable.
Spicer, meanwhile, started his comments with a succinct summation: “The grift is over.”
“I don’t see where the new source [of money] is,” he said. “No. 1, no one wants to know what he thinks. No. 2, he doesn’t know what he thinks, and that’s a bigger problem.”
After the furious activity of Trump’s first 100 days in office, and no signs that that activity is going to be slacking in the next 100 days, it might already feel to most Americans that the long, national nightmare of the Biden presidency is much further behind the country.
But for the Biden family itself, if Halperin and his source are to be trusted, the nightmare might only be just beginning.
Oh they’ll be begging alright. It will be fun to watch
She’ll definitely do it again. And again. And pay a ghostwriter peanuts.
Maybe they should hook up with the Kardashians?
Sell the corvette, Joe.
Hunter’s art falling out if fashion for same reason? Well certainly there are some energy companies that need a crack head in their board still?
In addition to the $30 million$ ‘book deal’ (money laundering for past favors). Jill was just named as Directoress of some shady ‘Woman’s Health’ NGO, (although I didn’t see any mention of what her compensation might be; but she doesn’t come cheap).
And I bet they have at least a billion stashed away after 55 years ‘on the grift’... If they are ‘broke’ it is probably because they dare not make any major withdrawals from the secret accounts until Trump is gone.
Someone should post a BidenGoFundMe just for fancies.
Wait now, didn’t Professor obama lecture us that at some point you have enough money? Doesn’t this apply here?
DOGE????
Yes that that book deal is about $35 Million less than Obama got.
When you’re living large the money can go fast.
Look for Joe to have to sell one of his homes in Delaware to cut back. Which house to keep????????
Will anyone contribute for his Library?
They don’t have that kind of money. never did. They spent as quickly as they got it.
With his pensions Joe will be fine, just not like the Obama’s.
they are pitching a book
surprise!
Thanks for the info on Jill’s appointment. I wonder who she’s been banging to get that position.
“Doctor” Jill can always go back to babysitting for old guys.
Joe Biden in Line for $413,000 Dual Pension Payout Post-Presidency
by Demian Brady July 18, 2024, Ntl Taxpayers’ Union
While serving in office, Presidents are paid an annual salary of $400,000. Due to the two separate federal pension programs that President Joe Biden is eligible for, he stands to collect taxpayer-funded retirement benefits worth $413,000 following the end of his tenure. Upon leaving the White House, presidents have generally been financially well-off and are afforded numerous opportunities for lucrative book deals, speeches, or other money-making endeavors. Regardless of the net worth of former presidents, they are entitled to an annual pension equivalent to the salary of a cabinet secretary, currently $246,400 in 2024 and often adjusted annually.
There is also a completely separate pension program available for members of Congress. President Joe Biden previously served in the Senate for 36 years and another eight years as Vice President, a role which serves as presiding officer in the Senate, making him eligible for a starting pension worth $166,374. Biden is eligible to collect both pensions, for a combined payout that could start at $412,774, before any 2025 adjustment of the presidential pension (which won’t be known until late December).
Congressional Pension
First established in 1946, the congressional pension benefit is determined by tenure in office, other federal service except for the presidency, age at retirement, and the average salary upon leaving Congress.
Members elected before 1984 are eligible to participate in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) which offers a generous 2.5 percent accrual rate. The starting pension amount is determined by multiplying the number of years in office by the average of the three highest years of salary, multiplied by 2.5 percent. The starting benefit cannot exceed 80 percent of the final salary. There is also a formula reserving a portion of the benefit for a spouse. After a former member begins collecting the pension, the annual amount can be increased through cost of living adjustments. Biden served in the Senate from 1973 to 2009 and then spent eight years as Vice President for a combined tenure of 44 years. His highest three years of salary were as Vice President. As an exception to adjustments for federal salaries noted above, from 2014 to 2018 Congress froze the Vice President’s salary at $230,700.
Without the cap on the amount of the starting pension, Biden’s total pension would have been over $254,000. With the cap based on his final salary, Biden’s starting pension could be as much as $166,374, including an $18,186 set aside in the program for the spousal portion of benefit. This estimate assumes that Biden sought to maximize the amount of the pension benefit.
A less generous pension program, the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS), went into effect in 1987 for members elected starting in 1984. The formula is generally the same as above, except that the accrual rate is 1.7 percent for the first 20 years of service and remaining years accrue at 1.0 percent, and there is no 80 percent cap based on salary. Members who were in CSRS had an opportunity to switch to FERS. For those who switch, the CSRS formula applies for years in office through 1986, the FERS formula applies for the remaining years, and these amounts are added together to determine the starting pension amount. If Biden opted-in to FERS his starting benefit would be $164,401 (and $17,967 for the spousal annuity reduction portion), just slightly smaller than the full amount under CSRS and the cap.
Presidential Pension
Benefits for former presidents are established in the Former Presidents Act of 1958 (FPA), a law enacted because of public concern about Harry Truman’s financial position upon leaving the White House five years earlier. For all former presidents, the FPA provided an office allowance and a pension equal to the yearly salary of the head of an executive department of the federal government. The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 provides that this salary level is adjusted each year based on the percent of change in the private sector wages and salaries portion of the Employment Cost Index, but minus 0.5 percent to incorporate modest reductions. The salary level is reported at the end of each calendar year by the Office of Personnel Management, and amounts to $246,400 in 2024.
The presidential pension benefit and additional office allowances are provided regardless of the individual wealth of former presidents. Although Truman’s post-presidential financial situation is now understood to have been less dire than he had represented, presidents in the modern era generally have had significant wealth. For example, according to GoBankingRates.com, the estimated wealth of the surviving former Presidents are:
Jimmy Carter: $10 million
Bill Clinton: $120 million
George W. Bush: $50 million
Barack Obama: $70 million
Donald Trump: $2 billion
The report also estimated Joe Biden’s net worth is $9 million.
To reduce costs to taxpayers for former presidents, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) has introduced reform legislation. The Presidential Allowance Modernization Act (S. 501) would limit the pension a president could receive to $200,000 annually, with the amount being indexed to inflation. A previous version of the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act was passed by the House and Senate in 2016 but was vetoed by President Barack Obama just six months before he was set to leave office.
Double-Dipping
There is also no additional cap on the congressional pension tied to the wealth of former members of Congress. Moreover, the presidential pension and the congressional pension systems were established separately. Previously, National Taxpayers Union estimated that President Gerald Ford’s congressional pension was worth $120,000 and President George H.W. Bush’s congressional pension was $65,000. Both were also eligible for the presidential pension.
There are no limits within each pension program that would curtail the taxpayer-funded benefit afforded to the elite few who have accrued substantial pension benefits in both the legislative and executive branches. Additionally, there is nothing to prevent double-dipping in these two programs. Given the substantial personal wealth of presidents, there should be some guardrails to protect taxpayer dollars.
The presidential pension system was originally designed for an allegedly down-on-his-luck Harry Truman. In this day and age, taxpayers are providing substantial subsidies to ex-president millionaires, and one billionaire. Joe Biden represents a unique situation. With his long tenure in Congress and subsequent years as Vice President and President, Joe Biden stands to benefit significantly from both systems, potentially receiving a combined payout starting at around $413,000. Lawmakers should re-examine this loophole that allows for double-dipping in two different yet generous pension programs.
So Jill and Hunter have to tighten their belts, Joe won’t even know.
“Anyone who believes The Biden Family is broke, hasn’t been paying attention.”
exactly ... collectively the biden crime family has grifted tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions ... the only possible problem is that joe biden has forgotten the account numbers and account keys of their Swiss banking accounts ...
Let them get tents at Walmart and live in the streets of LA.
Perhaps, at the time he uttered that, he hadn't yet met Jill.
Or perhaps he had, and was talking about her specifically.
Although somehow, he and Mooch also seem to have increased their wealth by tens of millions of dollars too, so perhaps he was just posturing for his political supporters.
You know that money is banked offshore somewhere.
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