Latest / Washington Post / 6.9.26
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- 0:00Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for to Day, Tuesday,
- 0:05June ninth, twenty twenty six. As a reminder, Radio I
- 0:09is a reading service intended for people who are blind
- 0:12or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
- 0:15printed material. Your reader for to day is Cindy Fraser.
- 0:19To day's front page headlines from the Washington Post are
- 0:23Epstein cultivated networks, far wide investigation modeling industry associates offered
- 0:31to provide women. Our next item Israeli's pushed net in
- 0:36Yahoo to resist US pressure. Trump is frustrated by Hasbalah conflict,
- 0:41but fight is likely to last. Next Nations signal end
- 0:46of strikes attacks were firsts and cease fire reopening straight
- 0:51remains a focus for U S twks. Next, Trump takes
- 0:57a different approach to his eightieth He Biden are the
- 1:01only presidents to become octagenarians in office. The next headline
- 1:07in Iowa candidate did the unthinkable attack agriculture Republican pulled
- 1:13off upset in governor's race after criticizing pesticides. The last
- 1:20headline from today's front page reads, judge tosses Trump's one
- 1:25hundred thousand dollars visa fee cost had been attached to
- 1:29program for highly skilled workers. In addition to those headlines,
- 1:33there is a photo on the front page titled workers
- 1:37at World Cup venue want Ice Out. The caption reads
- 1:42Union workers rally outside of Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles
- 1:45on May eighteenth, aiming to stop US and Immigration's custom
- 1:50enforcement from conducting deportation operations inside or outside the venue
- 1:55as World Cup matches near. The story associated with this
- 1:59photo is in the interior of the paper. The photo
- 2:03shows a number of people holding signs, all of which
- 2:06say kick ice out. Unite here Local eleven with a
- 2:11picture of a soccer player kicking an ice cube. Now,
- 2:15let's turn to the first item from to day's front page,
- 2:18which is titled Epstein Cultivated Networks Far Wide Investigation modeling
- 2:25industry associates offered to provide women by Amy Britton. Convicted
- 2:32sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had just been released from jail
- 2:35in two thousand nine when a friend suggested a possible
- 2:39quote coming out gift a five foot eleven inch model
- 2:43with a quote amazing body. I was blown away the
- 2:47first time I met her in person. Wanted to tear
- 2:50her clothes off immediately, the friend emailed Epstein, who was
- 2:54still under house arrest. I really want you to meet her,
- 2:58and now she is saying she wants to me you,
- 3:00so it would be a shame if you didn't see
- 3:03her before she leaves the country. The email came from
- 3:06Ramsay Alchoali, then a New York City modeling agent who
- 3:10was working toward his pH d in social anthropology after
- 3:14living among a remote Indonesian tribe. The expanse of Epstein
- 3:19files released by the Justice Department have exposed the financier's
- 3:22cozy relationships with high profile and powerful associates, leading to
- 3:27cascading resignations and public shaming. But a review of the
- 3:32files by The Washington Post also reveals how Epstein cultivated
- 3:36a network of lesser known associates, including Alkoli and others
- 3:41from the modeling industry, who offered to bring women into
- 3:44his orbit in the years after he was released from jail.
- 3:49The emails were often crude and sexualized, even if the
- 3:52purpose of the introduction was not explicitly stated. A Swedish
- 3:57modeling scout, for example, messaged about his efforts to find
- 4:01teen girls for Epstein. A Russian model told Epstein by
- 4:04email that another woman would quote be very easy if
- 4:09he told her that she too had potential to become
- 4:12a model. Others sent messages to Epstein describing models he
- 4:16could meet, promising to send photos. El Colly's interactions with Epstein,
- 4:21as detailed in more than one hundred emails spanning a
- 4:25decade starting in two thousand and nine and addressed by
- 4:28Alcolli in an hour long interview with a Post, provided
- 4:32insights into the reasons Alcoley and others repeatedly introduced young
- 4:37women to the financier. El Colly tried to capitalize on
- 4:41Epstein's fashion industry connections. He told the Post. Everybody wanted
- 4:46to be in the room with Epstein, he said, it's
- 4:49just the kind of thing where everyone's trying to get
- 4:51something out of it. El Coley, now a musician living
- 4:55in California, said he and the models he represented have
- 5:00a financial incentive to meet Epstein. He believed the finished
- 5:04seer could leverage his connections to help them get work,
- 5:07from which Alcoley would earn a ten percent commission. If
- 5:11a model gets victorious secret, then it's not just that
- 5:15I'm just going to get ten percent, which by the way,
- 5:18could be very significant, el Coley said, but if she
- 5:21gets Victoria's secret and means her career is made. Epstein
- 5:27had long managed the finances of Victoria's secret executive, Les Wexner,
- 5:31socialized with supermodel Naomi Campbell. Anne became close enough to
- 5:35designer Vera Wang that her publicist wrote in twenty ten
- 5:39that he was like family. El Coley told the Post
- 5:43that he introduced five or six models to Epstein and
- 5:46that he always chaper on them during visits to the
- 5:49financier's Manhattan mansion. The Post reviewed emails showing the men
- 5:54discussing potential meetings with at least two dozen women, including
- 5:58one as young as eighteen, but could not determine from
- 6:01the files how many of the meetings took place. In
- 6:05some of the emails, Acoli included photos of the women.
- 6:09When provided details from those emails, Accoli responded that an
- 6:14email about a meeting does not prove a meeting. He
- 6:17said many of the meetings did not happen. Lcolli said
- 6:22he's one thousand percent sure he did nothing illegal and
- 6:25that Epstein never paid him. He said he is ashamed
- 6:29of what he wrote, explaining that his crude emails were
- 6:32merely intended to impress or curry favor with Epstein. The
- 6:37reason why all of this boat so terribly for me
- 6:40is because of my potty mouth, said Accoli, whose appearance
- 6:43in the Epstein Files has drawn media coverage in Digital
- 6:46Music News and the BBC and scrutiny on social media.
- 6:51I was just being stupid, actually, because all of that
- 6:54language was not based on anything that was happening. He added.
- 6:59You know, this guy had like a thousand victims, and
- 7:02there's not one that's connected to me. A Polish model
- 7:06reportedly told The Wall Street Journal in twenty twenty three
- 7:10that el Colly introduced her to Epstein and that Epstein
- 7:13later sexually exploited her during the eight months they spent together.
- 7:17The Post was not able to identify the model, who
- 7:20was not named in the report, or confirm the details
- 7:23of her account. El Colly said he was not certain
- 7:26of the model's identity. Asked about her reported allegation, Alcolli
- 7:32said he should not be blamed if she chose to
- 7:34engage in a quote relationship with Epstein. Of the models
- 7:38that I've introduced to him, they've never come back to
- 7:41me and said they had any problems, el Coley said.
- 7:44Ol Coley said the explicit emails he wrote to Epstein
- 7:48give a skewed picture of reality models were sometimes hounding
- 7:52him to meet Epstein. He said. The models he introduced
- 7:55to Epstein were adults. He said. In one email to
- 7:59Epstein in two thousand and nine, Alcolli described a quote
- 8:03very hot blonde and suggested they could quote set up
- 8:07a quote casting of some sort, adding a caveat, I
- 8:12know twenty three is on the old side for you.
- 8:15Epstein was in his mid fifties at the time. When
- 8:19asked about why he put casting in quote marks, Alcolli
- 8:23said meetings with Epstein were often awkward because he might
- 8:26sit there like for half an hour with his buddies chatting,
- 8:30and then turn to the model and be like, Oh,
- 8:32what can I do for you? There were times when
- 8:35I was kind of softly complaining to him, like, look,
- 8:38this has to be legit. El Coolly said. The only
- 8:42person who has been charged with trafficking girls to Epstein
- 8:46is socialite Julaine Maxwell, sixty four, his former longtime romantic partner,
- 8:51who was convicted of child sex trafficking in twenty twenty
- 8:54one and sentenced to twenty years in prison. In March,
- 8:59dozens of my signed letters to Representative Rocana, Democrat from California,
- 9:04and Thomas Massey, Republican from Kentucky, who sponsored the Epstein
- 9:08Files Transparency Act, and New York Attorney General Letitia James,
- 9:13to call for an investigation of how their industry functioned
- 9:16as Epstein's recruitment channel. Sarah Ziff, founding director of the
- 9:21nonprofit Model Alliance, spearheaded the letters, which included the names
- 9:26of a handful of modeling agents and executives who were
- 9:29allegedly close to Epstein. The letter named Alkali and claimed
- 9:34he was quote luring women to Epstein's home under the
- 9:38guise of modeling. There's a reason why so many survivors
- 9:42were aspiring or working models, Ziff said in an interview.
- 9:46Hopefully people are starting to see that there's a glamorous
- 9:49veneer and there's a very dark reality for many of us.
- 9:54The Post contacted a dozen models mentioned by Alcoli in
- 9:57his emails to Epstein, seeking to learn more about the
- 10:00potential meetings. Al coolly learned of the inquiries and wrote
- 10:04to Top Post editors to complain of the outreach. When
- 10:07asked whether he would put a reporter in contact with
- 10:10models he represented. Elcholly declined, saying they would not want
- 10:15to participate in a story related to Epstein. During discussions
- 10:19with the Post, Alcolly insisted that the public should not
- 10:22believe everything they read in the Epstein files. In several
- 10:27email exchanges with Epstein in twenty twelve, for instance, Alcolly
- 10:31discussed a Russian supermodel, then in her twenties. He claimed
- 10:35he had poached the star from a rival firm to
- 10:37his agency, Eye Management, and told Epstein that the supermodel
- 10:42could come over to meet him. In daily schedules maintained
- 10:45by Epstein's longtime assistant, the supermodel is listed for a
- 10:49tentative appointment and described as Ramesay's friend. The supermodel's attorney
- 10:54told the Post his client had never met Elchoally or Epstein.
- 10:59When asked to ex Blaine ELCHOLLI acknowledged that he had
- 11:02fabricated the claims. There is a lot of stuff that
- 11:06you shouldn't take literally. El Coolly said, I was lying.
- 11:10Agents lie. All modeling agents will say what they need
- 11:14to say for whatever reasons. It's almost like a used
- 11:17car salesman. An introduction to Epstein. Elcoley was raised in
- 11:22New Jersey, wrestled in high school, then attended the University
- 11:26of Oregon. He initially said he was forty six years old.
- 11:30Public records, including two traffic tickets in Oregon and a
- 11:34tax ling in New Jersey, show that he was born
- 11:36in nineteen sixty eight, making him fifty seven. When asked
- 11:41about the discrepancy, he said he would reveal his age
- 11:44only if the Post agreed not to publish it. El
- 11:48Coolly said he had never planned to be an agent. Rather,
- 11:51he said he kind of stumbled into it when he
- 11:54dated a model and took an interest in helping her
- 11:57friends navigate the business side of the industry. A lot
- 12:00of it is kind of networking and word of mouth,
- 12:03he told the Post. By the early two thousands, he
- 12:06said he began running Eye Management, based in New York City,
- 12:10and described on his former website as a scouting and
- 12:13management company providing personal attention so that models would not
- 12:18get lost in the shuffle. El Coley said he allowed
- 12:22models rent free access to his Fifth Avenue apartment, which
- 12:25he shared with his girlfriend, as a place to rest
- 12:28between castings. Some stayed for weeks or even months. He
- 12:33taught others how to invest in the stock market to
- 12:36maximize their earnings, he said. Over nearly two decades in
- 12:40the business, el Coali estimated he represented at least eighty models.
- 12:45He said he made on average two hundred fifty thousand
- 12:48to three hundred thousand dollars a year through commissions. El
- 12:52Coolly said a model friend introduced him to Epstein in
- 12:54Manhattan in two thousand six. She was like, hey, do
- 12:59you want to stop up and my friend Jeffreys, he said,
- 13:01declining to name the model, and we went over there.
- 13:05At the time, Alcoali was working on his doctoral thesis
- 13:09for the University of Manchester in England, focusing on a
- 13:12tribe in Indonesia that hunted pigs with spears. Epstein, he said,
- 13:16already seemed to know about the language spoken by the
- 13:19Aurang Rimba when he met him, and it kind of
- 13:22blew my mind, Alcolly recalled in hindsight, he said he
- 13:27believes Epstein had researched his interests in the lead up
- 13:30to their introduction to appear knowledgeable. I feel stupid, he said.
- 13:36The year two thousand eight would prove to be tumultuous
- 13:39for both men. Epstein pleaded guilty to two charges of
- 13:43soliciting prostitution, including one involving a miner who was sixteen,
- 13:47and began his thirteen month stint in Palm Beach County
- 13:50Jail in Florida. Epstein told Alcoli that his legal troubles
- 13:55stemmed from a girl who had lied about her age
- 13:57during a massage and a group of parents trying to
- 14:00extort him. Alkoli said he did not know that Epstein
- 14:04was a sex offender. That summer, one of Alkolyi's top stars,
- 14:09Ruslana Koshunova, a twenty year old model from Kazakhstan, died
- 14:14in what authorities ruled suicide after she fell from the
- 14:17balcony of her Manhattan apartment building. Flight logs show that
- 14:21Koshunova had flown on Epstein's private plain to Little Saint
- 14:25James in the US Virgin Islands at age eighteen, about
- 14:28seven months before Elkoali signed a deal to represent her.
- 14:33Elkoli said he only learned after Korshunova died that she
- 14:36and Epstein had once quote dated, adding he did not
- 14:40know how old she was when she met Epstein. He
- 14:42described Epstein as distraught following her death. El Koali said
- 14:48he did not facilitate their introduction. It had nothing to
- 14:51do with me, he said. The two men talked about
- 14:54Korshunova in several emails after her death. In one note,
- 14:58they seemingly referenced her birthday. She would have been twenty
- 15:02three yesterday, Epstein wrote, two years after she died. Yeah,
- 15:07I know, still so very young, ol Coley replied the
- 15:11same day. Ol Coley emailed Epstein about an eighteen year
- 15:14old Russian college student he met at an Apple store.
- 15:18Only about five foot eight but beautiful, thin and curvy,
- 15:21he wrote, describing her as a summer worker at six
- 15:24Flags who was looking for opportunities. I think you will
- 15:28like her, he wrote. El Coolly told the Posts that
- 15:31he does not remember her. As his management firm grew,
- 15:35ELCHOLEI checked in with Epstein as he traveled to scout
- 15:38models and destinations such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Latvia.
- 15:44We'll be scouting in Russia in June July. Will death
- 15:46keep you in mind? He wrote in twenty ten. When
- 15:49asked about the trip, ol Coley told the Post it
- 15:52never happened. Good for favors. In one email, Alcoli explained
- 15:58to Epstein what was the core of their friendship favors.
- 16:03The reason I never ask for anything in return for
- 16:06introducing you to models is because I consider it more
- 16:09of a favor, and I know that you are also
- 16:12good for favors, he wrote to Epstein a few months
- 16:15after he was released from jail. El Colly asked Epstein
- 16:19to use his influence to secure modeling deals, particularly with Wang,
- 16:23the fashion designer. Epstein had known Wang for decades and
- 16:27counted her as a great friend. According to an email
- 16:30within the trove of files, Jeffrey, can I ask you
- 16:34a rhinoceros favor? El Colly wrote to Epstein in twenty ten,
- 16:38describing a twenty six year old model was runnering if
- 16:41you could arrange to have her see Vera Wang's people
- 16:44to see if they could use her for showroom. Showroom
- 16:48modeling involves wearing clothes so that prospective buyers, including major
- 16:52department stores, can see how the attire looks off the runway.
- 16:56I'll call Vera, Epstein replied. The spokesperson for Wang declined
- 17:01to answer specific questions, including whether Wang had ever hired
- 17:05a model recommended by Epstein. The spokesperson, however, referred to
- 17:10a comment about Epstein that Wang gave to The Wall
- 17:12Street Journal in twenty twenty three. I never knew he
- 17:16was using my name in any capacity, and it horrifies
- 17:19and repulses me to now hear that he did so.
- 17:23The two men also discussed telling women about potential work
- 17:26at Victoria's Secret, referring to it as VS in the
- 17:30two thousands, becoming a Victoria's Secret Angel, the brand's top
- 17:34runway models could make a career. She asked me in
- 17:38the car about VS and wanted to know about your intentions,
- 17:42Alcolli wrote to Epstein in twenty ten. Of course I
- 17:46said all the right things that you just being friendly,
- 17:48et cetera. Just over an hour later, el Coali followed up,
- 17:54if I have something for her, like a meeting with
- 17:56someone to add VS, then she will believe that last
- 17:59night's meeting was legit. In another email sent in twenty eleven,
- 18:04Alcolly suggested ways to convince a model to show more
- 18:07of her body. She told me that she would do
- 18:10lingerie if you asked her. She's too shy to suggest
- 18:14it herself, but there are a million and one ways
- 18:17to get her in her panties. Vera wang vs et cetera,
- 18:21Alcolly wrote to Epstein of one model, it would mean
- 18:24a lot to me if you could break down goodie
- 18:26tushoe smiley emoji. In his interview with The Post, al
- 18:30Coley said two models he represented secured Victoria's Secret deals
- 18:35after meeting with Epstein. Acoli declined to name the models
- 18:40when asked for a comment for this story. The spokesman
- 18:43for Wexner, the billionaire founder of the Lingerie brand's former
- 18:46parent company, referred a Post reporter to his testimony to
- 18:50the House Oversight Committee earlier this year. There, wextern testified
- 18:54that he was duped by Epstein, saying he cut ties
- 18:58with the quote con man into two thousand and seven
- 19:01after he misappropriated funds. Wexner said that he learned of
- 19:05one allegation that Epstein had falsely presented himself as a
- 19:08Victoria's Secret talent scout, but Epstein denied it. Wexterner testified
- 19:13he never discussed Victoria's Secret models with Epstein. A spokesperson
- 19:18for Victoria's Secret declined to answer specific questions from the Post,
- 19:23but instead issued his statement pointing out that as of
- 19:25twenty twenty one, Wexner is not employed by or affiliated
- 19:29with Wextern's Secret in any capacity. El Cooley also sometimes
- 19:34suggested that Epstein take advantage of the introductions email show,
- 19:39and in twenty eleven email to Epstein, he wrote, I
- 19:43want her to give you a lingerie show. You have
- 19:45been way too patient with her. Let me work on this, Jeffrey,
- 19:50Please just try her in bed, he wrote. In a
- 19:53separate email that year, Alcoley told The Post that the model,
- 19:57who was in her late twenties at the time, was
- 19:59with him when he wrote the email, which was intended
- 20:01to be sarcastic. The Post attempted to contact the model
- 20:05for comment, but she did not respond. Epstein once asked
- 20:09el Colli for the names of models who could join
- 20:12him and magician David Blaine for dinner in Paris in
- 20:15January twenty fourteen. Emails show Probably best to meet at
- 20:19your place first, so they see your home and know
- 20:22that David is your sidekick and not the other way round.
- 20:25El Coly wrote to Epstein, David just needs to mention
- 20:29my name to say that he knows me, so the
- 20:32girls don't think I lied to them. He can say
- 20:34he knows me from New York emails show that Epstein
- 20:38postponed his trip because of illness, and there is no
- 20:41evidence that the dinner occurred. A spokesperson for Blaine denied
- 20:45that he had arranged or attended any such dinner. The
- 20:49email you reference appears to reflect communications between two other
- 20:52individuals discussing the use of his name to facilitate meetings
- 20:57of which he had no knowledge and in which he
- 20:59had no involve blaine spokesperson said in an e mailed statement,
- 21:04it's weird and creepy. Over the decade they communicated, Alcoli
- 21:09sought Epstein's advice on his personal life, asking him about
- 21:13everything from alternative cancer treatments for a family member to
- 21:17his thoughts on investing in a fashion magazine. For the latter,
- 21:21Epstein waved him off print is dead. Sometimes he asked
- 21:25for help related to women. In one instance in twenty fifteen,
- 21:30Elklei was courting a female Russian painter and asked if
- 21:33Epstein had any connections in the art world. Epstein later
- 21:37followed up to ask what happened with your artists? Prey.
- 21:42In an exchange the following year, Alkoli described a romantic
- 21:46interest in a Ukrainian model on a yarn then in
- 21:49her late twenties, and asked Epstein to help facilitate a connection.
- 21:54If you help me with this, I will more than
- 21:56make it up to you, el Colly wrote, as a
- 21:58tentative suggestion, I would be willing to take a scouting
- 22:01trip to Europe for you, or something along those lines,
- 22:05Suffice to say that I would reciprocate with lots of
- 22:08time and energy. When asked about the proposed scouting trip,
- 22:12Acoli told the Posts that he did not work for
- 22:14Epstein and that he was telling him what he wanted
- 22:17to hear. Reached by phone, Erren said she came to
- 22:21know Epstein after Schlevana Posieva, a former Russian model, and
- 22:26his assistant, tried twice to recruit her to give him massages.
- 22:31Pojeyeva recently told The Wall Street Journal that she is
- 22:34a victim of Epstein's abuse and had since changed her name.
- 22:38She posted on her personal website that she is no
- 22:40longer accepting media requests. Erin said she had separately met
- 22:45Alcholy a few times and had considered him to be
- 22:48a kind friend. She said she did not know he
- 22:51had a romantic interest in her, nor does she remember
- 22:54Epstein contacting her about him. It's weird and creepy, she said,
- 22:59after reading correspondence between the two men slowed during the
- 23:04last few years of Epstein's life. Epstein was arrested on
- 23:07federal sex trafficking charges in twenty nineteen and died in
- 23:11federal custody. His death was ruled a suicide. By then.
- 23:15Alkoali said he had left the modeling industry and transitioned
- 23:18to music as a guitarist, producer, and founder of the
- 23:21band Monotronik. Since the release of the Epstein Files, he said,
- 23:26public outrage on Reddit and other social media over his
- 23:29emails has helped his band streaming numbers. For some reason,
- 23:33I'm getting more fans, he said. Does that mean I'm
- 23:36going to go on stage and perform in risk getting shot? No,
- 23:39So it's a mixed bag. So I just wish this
- 23:42would all go away. Andrew Niser and Anurrada Udawage contributed
- 23:47to this report by building an AI based tool that
- 23:50allowed reporters to more effectively search the Epstein files. Aaron
- 23:54Schaeffer and Casina Mironova contributed research. This article is accompanied photos.
- 24:01The first is an illustration by Natalie Weinberg of The
- 24:04Washington Post. Bobeto Matthews of AP a New York State
- 24:08sex offender registry is stock. The photo is a collage
- 24:12showing a building in the background. Supermposed on that were
- 24:16two photos of text and photo of a portion of
- 24:21Jeffrey Epstein's face superimposed over a photo of some women's legs.
- 24:27The next photo that is accompanying this. The other photo
- 24:33accompanying this item is captioned Ramsey Alchohally, a former modeling agent,
- 24:38is shown on a roller coaster in a photograph that
- 24:41he emailed to Jeffrey Epstein in twenty fifteen and was
- 24:44released by the Justice Department in the Epstein files obtained
- 24:47by The Washington Post. The next item from today's front
- 24:52page is titled Israeli's pushnet Yahoo to resist US pressure.
- 24:57Trump is frustrated by Hezbollah conflict, that fight is likely
- 25:01to last. By Jerry she and Heidi Levin from Batzet Israel.
- 25:07Ranee Bendov, one of the few farmers still left in
- 25:09this northern border town, was exhausted. Israeli artillery could be
- 25:14heard pounding away in the distance. Drones were humming overhead.
- 25:18Hours earlier, Bendove seventy seven was tired of seeking shelter
- 25:24from incoming husbial of fire. But even now, the last
- 25:28thing he wanted was for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahoo to
- 25:31pull the plug on the military offensive in Lebanon, just
- 25:34a mile away. We need to let the generals do
- 25:38what they need to do and eliminate Hesbolah, Ben Dove said,
- 25:42as the sound of shelling punctured the hot summer air.
- 25:45We can't just leave. The sentiment is pervasive in war
- 25:50weary border villages, on prime time talk shows, within the
- 25:54political opposition, and among Netnyahu supporters, Israelis are pushing their
- 25:59prime minister to fight and stay in Lebanon, which could
- 26:03undermine u S efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormus
- 26:06and end the war against Iran. For weeks, Iran has
- 26:10demanded an end to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the
- 26:15Shiaite militia it supports in Lebanon, as a condition of
- 26:18a comprehensive peace deal with President Donald Trump. Trump has
- 26:22voiced frustration about net Yahoo constantly fighting in Lebanon, but
- 26:27Israeli military and political analysts say net Yahoo almost certainly
- 26:32will keep forces in Lebanon for several more months, if
- 26:35not years, for tactical reasons and because of domestic political
- 26:39pressure ahead of a national election expected in September. On Sunday,
- 26:45Israel struck Beirut again despite warnings from Iran, which fired
- 26:49missiles at Israel for the first time since April and
- 26:52triggered a new cycle of escalation. The exchanges grew more
- 26:56perilous on Monday, with fresh ways of long range of
- 26:59missiles fired by Israel and Aaron, putting the peace talks
- 27:03on the brink of collapse before both countries announced they
- 27:06would stand down. After Trump chastised net Yahoo about his
- 27:10ongoing offensive last week, leaders from across the Israeli political
- 27:14spectrum warned the Prime minister not to buck under American pressure.
- 27:19A sign analyst said of the price net Yahoo might
- 27:22pay if he withdraws before the elections. For Hezbollah to
- 27:26agree to a cease fire, it would insist that all
- 27:29the troops that invaded withdraw before the Israeli government that
- 27:33might be perceived as a defeat. Sidiori Ayland, a former
- 27:37Israeli major general and ex head of Israel's National Security Council,
- 27:43we cannot accept that for good reasons, but also for
- 27:46political reasons. Ailand said, we are only a few months
- 27:49from an election. The situation, he added, was reminiscent of
- 27:54Israel's nineteen eighty two invasion of Lebanon, which led to
- 27:57a draining eighteen year occupation. Alan said it was unlikely
- 28:02that Hesbolah would be diminished sufficiently to enable an Israeli withdrawal.
- 28:07Is it going to happen in the next few months,
- 28:09Probably not, he said. Is it going to last ten
- 28:12years or more? I don't know. Since Trump opened negotiations
- 28:17with Iran in early April, netna who has escalated operations
- 28:21in Lebanon, seeking to pressure Hezbolah into submission, but also
- 28:25Annalys say to undermine Trump's talks with Tehran. Netnya, who
- 28:31has unleashed massive air strikes against Hesbolah targets in Beirut,
- 28:35displace the civilian population from Israeli designated combat zones that
- 28:40amount to one fifth of Lebanon's territory, and threatened to
- 28:43invade the Lebanese capital with troops. The Israeli offensive has
- 28:47killed more than three thousand people in Lebanon since March second,
- 28:51according to its Health Ministry. On Thursday, Israel and Lebanon
- 28:55announced a deal brokered by Washington calling for Israeli troops
- 28:59to pull back to about six miles from the Israeli
- 29:02border and to partly transfer security responsibility to the Lebanese army.
- 29:07But the deal did not require Israel to fully leave
- 29:10Lebanon and did not limit Israel's ability to bomb Hesbolah
- 29:15unless its fighters leave the country south. Hesbelah balked and
- 29:19said it would not commit to any cease fire unless
- 29:22Israel completely withdraws from Lebanon, raising the prospect of ongoing
- 29:27hostilities and uncertainty in the USRAN talks. A poll by
- 29:31the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv in
- 29:34late May found roughly sixty percent of Israelis and an
- 29:38overwhelming majority of the government's supporters say Israel should intensify
- 29:43its fight against Hesbolah. There are fairly substantial portions of
- 29:48the Jewish population who are supportive of a security zone.
- 29:51Dahalia Shindlen and Israeli pollster said, referring to a strip
- 29:55of southern Lebanon that the Israeli military has evacuated and
- 29:59might occupy for an extended period attitudes have only grown
- 30:03more hard line. Sheinlin said, the society has been told
- 30:07time and again that only military solutions work, and if
- 30:11it hasn't worked, then we haven't gone strong enough. Anger
- 30:15is particularly high among Israelis in the North, who were
- 30:18targeted and displaced by a barrage of missiles launched by
- 30:22Hesbelah beginning in October twenty twenty three, shortly after its
- 30:26partner Hamas launched the surprise attack on southern Israel. During
- 30:31the last two years, Northern Israeli residents have held protests
- 30:34demanding that Netnyahu eliminate the Hesbelah threat. Now many are
- 30:39criticizing Trump, usually a popular figure in Israel, for trying
- 30:43to restrain israel residents field betrayed, frustrated and helpless in
- 30:49the face of decisions being made over seas, said Moshi Devdovitch,
- 30:53head of the Northern Regional Council that includes Betsy Village.
- 30:57Within Israel. Neatnyehu has been by an array of other voices.
- 31:02Political rivals such as Avigdor Lieberman, a former defense minister
- 31:06whose party will compete against Nat Yahoos in the upcoming election,
- 31:11argue that Israel's security cannot be guaranteed if Hasbolah is
- 31:15not eliminated. In a radio interview last week, Lieberman proposed
- 31:19that Israel are militias inside Lebanon, much like it did
- 31:23with Christian factions in the nineteen eighties, to help the
- 31:26war effort. Others, such as a far right finance minister
- 31:30and settler leader Belail Smoltrich, have cited Messianic religious beliefs
- 31:34and argued for permanent Jewish settlements in southern Lebanon. Today,
- 31:39the mood in Israel is a far cry from two thousand,
- 31:43the last time Israeli troops withdrew from a lengthy occupation
- 31:46of Lebanon. At the time, mothers of Israeli soldiers killed
- 31:50in Lebanon regularly led protests demanding that Israel pull out.
- 31:55Crowds of Israelis celebrated as tanks finally rumbled home. The
- 31:59Israeli film director Joseph Satar received widespread acclaim after releasing
- 32:04a movie in two thousand and seven about the tolls
- 32:07suffered by Israeli soldiers defending Beaufort Castle, a highly symbolic
- 32:11fortification near the Lebanese town of Navatier. But last week,
- 32:17the israel Defense forces reclaimed Beaufort and unfurled the Israeli
- 32:21flag over its stone ramparts. Israeli government ministers cheered on
- 32:25social media and in television appearances. Nennahu delivered a speech
- 32:30proclaiming that Israel had broken the barrier of fear by
- 32:33returning to Lebanon stronger than ever. He then ticked off
- 32:37recent territorial gains. I have instructed the IDF to expand
- 32:41the incursion in Lebanon Netnah, who said, our forces have
- 32:45crossed the Letani River, they took dominant terrain, they captured
- 32:49the Beaufort Ridge, and now my instruction is to deepen
- 32:52and expand our hold on places that were under Hesbollah's control. Gileroan,
- 32:58a historian at Hebrew University, called the recent events a
- 33:02complete deja vous of Israel's nineteen eighty two invasion. At
- 33:06the time, President Ronald Reagan warned Israeli Prime minister the
- 33:10Lahumbagum against entering Beirut, but Israel went in without an
- 33:14exit strategy and ended up being mired there. Lauren said,
- 33:19there was this huge festival that we conquered Beaufort again,
- 33:22but have we forgotten what happened last time. It was
- 33:25a quagmire, Lauren said net Yahoo. He added, was motivated
- 33:30to keep fighting in Lebanon to undermine Trump's talks with Iran,
- 33:34Israel's paramount enemy in the region, because the war has
- 33:38yet to achieve Israel's desired results. He's using the warfare
- 33:42in Lebanon to make life harder for Trump to reach
- 33:45an understanding with the Iranians. Lauren said that's why Trump
- 33:49is so livid about twelve miles away from the Betsett
- 33:53farming community. Ave bin Chitrid said he too worried about
- 33:57the threat of Hesbolah munitions raining down on his town
- 34:00Stutla like drops of water. Hesbalah rockets over the last
- 34:05thirty months have destroyed homes and a community sports center
- 34:08in the village, which is nestled against the concrete barrier
- 34:11separating Israel and Lebanon. Dron's target near by Israeli true
- 34:16positions on a near daily basis. Ben Chitrid said he
- 34:20and other community leaders in the north met last week
- 34:24with Netan Yahoo and that he was satisfied by the
- 34:26Prime Minister's assurances there is no seaspire. Ben Chitrid said
- 34:31he said, we will continue to do everything to make
- 34:34sure the border will be secure. What are we supposed
- 34:37to do? Stop all the activity in the north and
- 34:40let them kill us. We need to continue to defend
- 34:43ourselves until everything is quiet. This item is accompanied by photos.
- 34:49The first is captioned destroyed homes in southern Lebanon near
- 34:52Israel's security barrier along the border last week, Haidi Levin
- 34:56f t w P. The photo shows a concrete barrier.
- 35:00In front of the barrier is an Israeli flag, and
- 35:03what appears to be a tank. Behind the barrier is
- 35:06a hill. The top of the hill shows several homes.
- 35:10The next photo is captioned Ronnie Bendve seventy seven said
- 35:14he does not want to evacuate his home in northern
- 35:16Israel despite attacks from Hesbolah and supports Israel's widening military
- 35:21presence in Lebanon. Heidi Levin ft w P. The photo
- 35:25shows mister ben dB in a golf cart like vehicle.
- 35:30The next photo is captained Shlomo Lamburg, father of Captain
- 35:34Aton Schmuya L'amburg, who was killed on Thursday by Hesbolah
- 35:38anti tank missile strike in southern Lebanon. Salutes towards his
- 35:42son's grave, standing alongside Ayton's mother, Lemore Lamburg and younger
- 35:47siblings a ruchon Latzion Military Cemetery on Friday, Heidi Levin
- 35:52ft w P. The next photo is captioned and Israeli
- 35:56flag flies over the medieval Beaufort Castle locally as Klat
- 36:01al Shakiv or Shakif Arnon in southern Lebanon on May
- 36:05thirty first, AFP Getting Images. Our next item is entitled
- 36:11Nations signal end to strikes attacks were first and cease
- 36:15fire reopening straight remains a focus for u S talks
- 36:19by Gary she Leor Soroka and Susannah George from Jerusalem.
- 36:25After trading volleys of long range missile strikes that defied
- 36:28calls for restraint from President Donald Trump and threatened to
- 36:32tip the region back into all out war, Israel and
- 36:35Iran signaled Monday that the attacks had concluded for now.
- 36:39The escalatory spiral that started over the weekend and stretched
- 36:43into Monday began after Israel carried out an air strike
- 36:47Sunday and southern Bea route, a stronghold of the Iran
- 36:50backed militant group has Belah. Currently the fire on this
- 36:55front is contained because after the terror regime in Tehran
- 36:58took a blow, it ceased to hacking US. Israeli Prime
- 37:01Minister Benjamin Netnyahu said Monday in a video address, they
- 37:06thought they would fire from Lebanese and Iranian territory into
- 37:09Israel and that we would not act. That did not happen,
- 37:12and it will not happen, he said. Shortly before Netanyahu's announcement,
- 37:17Iran said it had delivered a painful response to Israel
- 37:21and would halt its attacks, according to a statement from
- 37:24the Iranian Armed Forces headquarters on state run media. The
- 37:28strikes were the first time Iran and Israel directly attacked
- 37:32one another since the declaration of a ceasefire between Iran
- 37:35and the United States in April. For months, Iran has
- 37:39warned that Israeli operations against Hasbollah in Lebanon risk up
- 37:44ending diplomatic efforts to end the war. Tehran specifically warned
- 37:48it would retaliate against Israeli territory if the Lebanese capital, Beirut,
- 37:53was targeted after Iran fired at Israel. On Sunday, Trump
- 37:58told reporters that he was day away from Adeal with
- 38:01Tehran and would call net Nyahu to tell him to
- 38:03refrain from retaliating. Israeli officials confirmed that net Nyahu spoke
- 38:08to Trump on Sunday night, Israel time, but there was
- 38:11no immediate readout of their conversation. By Monday morning, Israel
- 38:16and Iran had fired dozens of missiles at each other,
- 38:19raising doubts about whether the U. S. President could contain
- 38:22a spiraling crisis that has caused heavy economic damage worldwide.
- 38:28Israel dispatched jets over night that hit Iranian air defense
- 38:32systems and a chemical plant in the Meshah region, according
- 38:35to Israeli officials. Iran meanwhile launched waves of missiles and
- 38:39military targets and a petrochemical refinery in northern Israel, setting
- 38:44off sirens and sending Israelis scrambling for shelter. In his
- 38:48Monday announcement halting strikes on Iran, net Nyahu warned Tehran
- 38:52that his country would respond forcefully if attacked again. Iran
- 38:57issued similar threats in the event of continued aggression and mischief,
- 39:02including in southern lamadon, much more severe and devastating actions
- 39:06than before will be forthcoming. Iran's Armed Forces Headquarters said,
- 39:10According to the semi official Fars News agency, the war
- 39:15with Iran, initiated by Trump and net Nyahu in late February,
- 39:19has proved deeply unpopular in the United States, where gasoline
- 39:23prices have surged as a result of the closure of
- 39:25the Strait of Hormuz, an important shipping pathway for energy products.
- 39:30Reopening the Strait of Hormuz has been a focus of
- 39:33the weeks of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United
- 39:36States to extend the ceasefire and formerly end the war.
- 39:41US negotiators are also pushing for curbs to Iran's nuclear program.
- 39:46Iran's leadership is demanding, among other things, a lifting of
- 39:50economic sanctions and a region wide ceasefire, including an end
- 39:54to hostilities between Haswollah and Israel, in exchange for reopening
- 39:58the strait. Many in Israel have bristled at Trump's efforts
- 40:02to reach a deal with Iran, while net Niyehu has
- 40:05insisted on maintaining the freedom to strike Hasbolah. Last week,
- 40:10Trump said in a podcast interview that he told net
- 40:13Nyahu he was quote crazy for continuing the fight against Hesbolah,
- 40:18but that his relationship with the Israeli leader remained healthy.
- 40:22Also Monday morning, another Iranian partner, the Huthi militia and Yemen,
- 40:27launched missiles at Israel. The Huthis had refrained four months
- 40:31from joining in hostilities. Now the group's entry into the
- 40:35conflict could prove geopolitically and economically significant, given the Huthis
- 40:40control of the Bab Alamandab Strait, a gateway to the
- 40:43Suez Canal connecting Europe and Asia. Iranian state media, citing
- 40:48an adviser to Iran Supreme Leader, reported Monday that Tehran
- 40:53now would block the Bab Almandab on top of its
- 40:56blockade of the Street of Hormuz if Israel escalated its
- 41:00attacks in recent months. Even as war raged in the
- 41:04Persian Gulf, the Bab Almandab has remained largely navigable for
- 41:08most ships, including tankers carrying oil from Saudi Arabia's Red
- 41:12Sea ports. The price for July delivery of Brent crude
- 41:16oil and international benchmark shot up more than four percent
- 41:20Monday morning to over ninety seven dollars a barrel. The
- 41:24Israeli attack in Dahia, a southern Beirut suburb where has
- 41:28Belah holds sway, killed two and injured twenty on Sunday,
- 41:32according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Israeli Defense Minister
- 41:36Israel Katz said last week that the IDF had refrained
- 41:40from powerful strikes in Lebanon's capital except for targeted assassinations
- 41:45following a US request, but it would strike Dahia if
- 41:49Hasbolah Hids communities in northern Israel. ARAM began its retaliatory
- 41:54strikes against Israel around ten p m. Sunday, with the
- 41:57first wave of missiles targeting the Ramat David Air base
- 42:00in northern Israel. The base was called the source of
- 42:03aggression against southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs. Around semi
- 42:08official Tasmian News agency reported since last night they fired
- 42:13close to thirty ballistic missiles at Israel, and Israeli military
- 42:17official said Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to
- 42:20discuss sensitive security operations. At the same time, the Hutis
- 42:25also added two more one fell on the way to Israel.
- 42:29In Israel, the Iranian attacks ratcheted up political pressure on
- 42:33Nen Yahu, the Israeli premier, faces widespread calls at home
- 42:38to do more to eliminate the threat posed by Hesbolah
- 42:41in neighboring Lebanon and Israeli elections are expected in September.
- 42:46Many political observers and a smattering of net Yahu's domestic
- 42:50rivals have accused him of prolonging the fight against Hesbolah
- 42:54to Provokran and derail Trump's ceasefire talks. In an interview
- 42:59with Fox News on Sunday, shortly after Iran launched its
- 43:02initial volley, Trump said he had not received advance warning
- 43:06about Israel struck on Beirut earlier in the day and
- 43:10was not happy about it. In Israel, the resumption of
- 43:13incoming missile fire from Iran sparked frustration and fear, as
- 43:18residents sought shelter for the first time in months. Four
- 43:22stories underground in a parking lot beneath Ishulav Hospital in
- 43:26Tel Aviv, Jewish religious students were volunteering to set up
- 43:29a makeshift clinic and wheeling patients in wheel chairs and
- 43:33hospital beds. One soldier on reserved duty that he was
- 43:36woken up after midnight Sunday night by the Israeli military's
- 43:40home Front and ordered to pack his clothes for several
- 43:43days and move the entire hospital underground, in a sign
- 43:47that Israel was preparing for a new, extended round of
- 43:50fighting with Iran. Maybe it's a show, Maybe it's theatrics.
- 43:55Maybe both sides are coordinating. Something small on both sides,
- 43:59said the soldier, a twenty eight year old student of
- 44:01Middle Eastern studies who declined to give his full name,
- 44:04citing fears of being reprimanded. We always do a bet
- 44:08between soldiers. How long do you think is going to take?
- 44:11He said? A couple of weeks, is my guest. No
- 44:14one knows. My commander doesn't know. Even people higher up
- 44:18don't know. George reported from Washington. Mohammed el Chauma in
- 44:22Beirut and Haidi Levin in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
- 44:27This item is accompanied by photos. The first he is
- 44:30captioned premature babies are moved to a secure area at
- 44:34the Sarosky Medical Center in Tel Aviv following an Iranian
- 44:38missile attack early Monday, Heidi Levin for The Washington Post.
- 44:42The photo shows several medical personnel moving a small bassinette.
- 44:48The next is an illustration titled strikes in the Middle
- 44:51East in the past few days. The illustration is a map,
- 44:55which shows number one June sixth, Israel strikes southern Nabanan,
- 45:00killing members of the Lebanese military. Number two June seventh,
- 45:04has Belah fires at Israel. Israel strikes Beirut suburbs. Number
- 45:09three June seventh, Iran fires at Israel. Number four June eighth,
- 45:15Israel launches strikes at central and western Iran in retaliation.
- 45:19Dahuti militia in Yemen, Iran's partner also fires at Israel.
- 45:25The next photo is captioned Farmers spray water in a
- 45:29burned field next to debris of an Iranian missile that
- 45:32fell over Syria near the town of Nahia on Monday.
- 45:36Gayeth Ay Sayed AP photo gayethe Asayed. The photo shows
- 45:42a large missile buried nose deep in a field. One
- 45:46man is walking in front of the missile. Following it
- 45:50are a man in a tractor pulling a tank and
- 45:53two other men. The next photo is captioned an iron
- 45:57dome anti missile system intercepts an Iranian missile over Jerusalem
- 46:01on Monday. Renenne's vun Reiters. The photo shows a deep
- 46:06blue sky with a puff of smoke in the middle
- 46:08of the sky. The nightstium for to day's front page
- 46:13is titled Trump takes a different approach to his eightieth
- 46:17He Biden are the only presidents to become octagenarians in office.
- 46:22By Cleave R. Woodston Junior. Four years ago, President Joe
- 46:27Biden entered his ninth decade largely out of public view,
- 46:31marking his eightieth birthday at the White House with a
- 46:33family brunch tucked between his granddaughter's wedding and the Thanksgiving holiday.
- 46:38President Donald Trump's celebration of the same milestone this Sunday
- 46:42will be anything but understated. He plans to mark his
- 46:45eightieth birthday with a u f C championship fight, a
- 46:49nationally televised spectacle, and an octagonal cage towering over the
- 46:53south lawn. The contrast is less a tale of two
- 46:57birthdays than of two presidencies. Biden and Trump, the two
- 47:02oldest men ever to occupy the White House, have spent
- 47:05the past decade trading presidential longevity records. Their starkly different
- 47:10approaches to the octogenarian milestone reflect broader differences in their
- 47:14political styles and the political realities surrounding them. Biden, who
- 47:19became the oldest president in history when he took the
- 47:22oath of office spent much of his presidency trying to
- 47:25neutralize concerns about his age, presenting himself as an experienced
- 47:30public servant whose judgment, relationships, and family values made him
- 47:34a steady steward, even amid whispers that he had lost
- 47:38a step. Trump, who would surpass Biden's mark in August
- 47:42twenty twenty eight, has embraced a different image, a larger
- 47:46than life figure and singular force in American life, who,
- 47:50even as he enters his ninth decade, shows little interest
- 47:53in downplaying his age or stature. For Biden, it was like,
- 47:57how do I do this in a way that celebrates
- 47:59who I am and who I want to be with
- 48:01on this really important birthday, in a way that manages
- 48:05the political aspects of it, said Peter Lodge, a political
- 48:08communications professor at George Washington University, As opposed to Trump,
- 48:13who says, how can I be the Trumpiest Trump and
- 48:16the Trumpiest way possible? Biden and Trump are the only
- 48:20two American presidents to turn eighty in office, reflecting an
- 48:24aging national leadership that has frustrated many younger Americans, but
- 48:29where Biden often treated his age as a sign of weakness,
- 48:33Trump broadcasts it as a sign of strength. In five
- 48:36decades in the public eye, Biden has favored private birthdays,
- 48:40including the ones he celebrated as president. In November twenty
- 48:44twenty two, there was no major public celebration of his eightieth,
- 48:48no nationally televised event, and no effort to turn the
- 48:51occasion into a political moment. Instead, Biden's aide spent much
- 48:56of the weekend fielding questions about whether the oldest president
- 49:00in American history should seek a second term. I can't
- 49:04even say the age I'm going to be, Biden told
- 49:06reporters days before the event. I can't even get it
- 49:10out of my mouth. Trump plans to celebrate turning the
- 49:13same age on Sunday with USC Freedom two fifty, a
- 49:18mixed martial arts event on the White House grounds. The event,
- 49:22which coincides with Flag Day and the nation's semiquin centennial celebrations,
- 49:27is expected to draw thousands of spectators and a national
- 49:31television audience to championship bouts inside a temporary arena on
- 49:35the South Lawn That has prompted criticism that Trump is
- 49:39making America's milestone largely about himself. The reaction echoes denunciations
- 49:45of his birthday observance last year, when he reviewed a
- 49:48military parade to mark the two hundred and fiftieth birthday
- 49:51of the U. S. Army. On that day, tanks rolled
- 49:54through downtown Washington and military aircraft thundered overhead for a
- 49:59parade a detractor said was more a celebration of Trump
- 50:02than a tribute to the army, which he denied. After
- 50:06Trump's speech that day, members of the crowd serenaded him
- 50:09with Happy Birthday. It's a reflection of how both men
- 50:14view their role in the world, Loage, said President Joe
- 50:18Biden a creature of Washington and in a large way
- 50:21defined by his family. In a way, he grew up
- 50:24in Washington, d c. And he's always held his family close.
- 50:28Donald Trump has built a career performing a show of
- 50:31Donald Trump. A spokesperson for Biden declined to comment. The
- 50:36White House spokesperson defended the White House UFC fight as appropriate.
- 50:41The UFC Freedom to fifty fight on the south lawn
- 50:44of the White House will be one of the most
- 50:46entertaining knights in American history. White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster
- 50:50said in a statement. Having the spectacle take place at
- 50:54the People's House on Flag Day during our Nation Semiquin
- 50:57centennial anniversary is a fitting tribute. Trump repeatedly sought to
- 51:02make Biden's age a political liability and a personal embarrassment
- 51:06during two presidential campaigns, and after returning to the White House,
- 51:10Trump claimed that Biden was suffering from cognitive decline and
- 51:14was no longer capable of carrying out the duties of
- 51:16the presidency. The critique has extended beyond the campaign trail.
- 51:21A walkway leading to the Oval Office that displays presidential
- 51:25portraits includes a framed image of an autopen in Biden's place,
- 51:30a reference to Trump's repeated claims that Biden was too
- 51:33impaired to personally approve official actions, leading his staff to
- 51:37rely on a mechanical signature device. There is no evidence
- 51:40for this assertion, and Biden has strongly denied it, but
- 51:44Trump's repeated references to Biden's age played into broader public
- 51:48concerns that shadowed much of the older man's presidency. When
- 51:52Biden turned eighty, Democrats had just defied expectations in the
- 51:55mid term elections, blunting a widely anticipated Republican recre way.
- 52:01Briefly easing Democrats concerns about his age, but those concerns
- 52:06came roaring back nineteen months later. In a June twenty seven,
- 52:10twenty twenty four, debate against Trump, Biden appeared halting and
- 52:14at times struggled to complete sentences, setting off a crisis
- 52:18among Democrats. Twenty four days later, he ended his re
- 52:22election campaign, capping one of the most dramatic reversals in
- 52:26modern presidential history. Before the Trump era, presidential birthdays were
- 52:31rarely public spectacles. Even milestone years were typically observed as
- 52:36personal occasions rather than civic rituals. Moments when the world's
- 52:40most visible office briefly gave way to private life. Presidents
- 52:44have celebrated with family dinners, white house cakes, and quiet gatherings.
- 52:49When George W. Bush turned sixty, he marked the occasion
- 52:52at Camp David with family and friends. Barack Obama spent
- 52:56several birthdays in office with small celebrations involving family, staff,
- 53:00and longtime supporters. The events generally passed without parades, mass audiences,
- 53:05or nationally televised celebrations. When Ronald Reagan, the oldest president
- 53:10in American history until Biden turned seventy, Congressional leaders gathered
- 53:15in the Oval Office to sing Happy Birthday, and First
- 53:18Lady Nancy Reagan hosted an East room celebration featuring Frank
- 53:23Sinatra and Jimmy Stewart. The festivities were glamorous by White
- 53:27House standards, but largely a private affair. Biden's instinct was
- 53:33never to turn age into a public statement. He entered
- 53:36politics as a thirty year old senator in nineteen seventy three,
- 53:39amid questions about his youth and inexperience. He left it
- 53:44fifty one years later amid questions about his age and acuity.
- 53:49Perhaps partly as a result, Biden generally treated birthdays as
- 53:53family milestones rather than public events. When he turned seventy,
- 53:58in the after glow of Obama's reelection campaign, he held
- 54:01no major public celebration, rally, or spectacle to mark the occasion.
- 54:07Trump's approach has often been the opposite. Long before entering politics,
- 54:12he used birthdays as public performances of status, celebrity, and power.
- 54:18His fiftieth birthday was celebrated amid the gilded glitz of
- 54:21nineteen nineties Trump Tower, surrounded by celebrities, socialites, and the
- 54:26trappings of New York wealth. The Biden chomp contrast reflects
- 54:30a change in American culture, as brash self promotion has
- 54:34become less of a political taboo and if anything, often
- 54:39seems to be a path to power. But it also
- 54:42is a function of the fundamental make up of the
- 54:44two men. In some ways, it's a metaphor of who
- 54:48they are, of Biden preferring to be generally low key
- 54:51and not comfortable in such a public celebration in the
- 54:54same way that Trump is, said Martha joined Kumar, director
- 54:58of the White House Transition Project and a Professor Emerita
- 55:02of political science at Towson University. Trump likes activity in
- 55:07the middle of the night. He can be posting on
- 55:09truth social Kumar added. He likes to be on the phone.
- 55:13He likes to greet people. It doesn't appear as if
- 55:16he has a lot of quiet hours. And no matter
- 55:19what a president is going to do on their birthday,
- 55:21when you're that age, the public is going to notice.
- 55:26This autumn is accompanied by photos. The first is captioned
- 55:29Donald Trump stands next to a giant birthday cake and
- 55:32an event in West Palm Beach, Florida, on June fourteenth,
- 55:36twenty twenty four, to mark his seventy eighth birthday. The
- 55:39President will celebrate his eightieth birthday Sunday with a nationally
- 55:43televised spectacle. Jabin Botsford, The Washington Post. The next photo
- 55:48is captioned President Joe Biden jokes around with journalists outside
- 55:51the White House on June first, twenty twenty three, hours
- 55:55after tripping over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy
- 55:58graduation ceremony at a j I got sandbagged, Biden shouted.
- 56:03Tom Brenner for The Washington Post. The next photo is
- 56:08an Instagram shot from Flotus forty six archive, which is
- 56:13captioned a perfect birthday celebration filled with so much love
- 56:16and Joe's favorite coconut cake. The photo shows President Joe
- 56:21Biden blowing out candles on top of a cake, surrounded
- 56:24by several family members, including First Lady Doctor Joe Biden.
- 56:29The next photo is captioned Trump walks on to the
- 56:32reviewing stand for parade to celebrate the two hundred fiftieth
- 56:35anniversary of the U. S. Army on June fourteenth, twenty
- 56:38twenty five, his seventy ninth birthday. Tom Brenner for The
- 56:42Washington Post. The next photo is captured. A ninety foot
- 56:47tall outdoor arena is erected on the White House grounds
- 56:50last month for a UFC event to be held on
- 56:53Trump's eightieth birthday. Al Drego Getty Images. The next photo
- 56:59is captured with family members present, Biden addresses the country
- 57:03about his decision not to seek another term as president
- 57:07in the Oval Office on July twenty fourth, twenty twenty four.
- 57:11Dimitrius Freeman, The Washington Post. The next photo is captioned
- 57:17President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy admired the work
- 57:20of the White House pastry Ship at his seventieth birthday
- 57:23party in nineteen eighty one. Abaca Press, SIPA USA A p.
- 57:30The next photo is captioned shortly after being elected to
- 57:34the Senate, Biden and his first wife, Neelia cut his
- 57:38thirtieth birthday cake at a party in Wilmington, Delaware, on
- 57:41November twentieth, nineteen seventy two, with sons Beaux and Hunter
- 57:45Bettman Archive Getty Images. And the last photo accompanying this
- 57:50atom is captioned Trump celebrates his fiftieth birthday in New
- 57:54York with then wife Marla Maples in nineteen ninety six.
- 57:58Rick Meimann Sigma Images. The photo shows President Trump blowing
- 58:04out candles on a cake while Miss Maples stands nearby
- 58:09with This concludes the readings of The Washington Post for today, Tuesday,
- 58:15June ninth, twenty twenty six. Your reader for today has
- 58:18been Cindy Fraser. If you have any questions, comments, or
- 58:22suggestions concerning this program, please feel free to call us
- 58:25at eight five nine four two two six three nine zero.
- 58:28Thank you for listening, and now please stay tuned for
- 58:31continuing programming on Radio I