The Biden Tapes Democrats Never Wanted Released | 7/29/26 FIRST LOOK

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0:33Hey, everybody, I'm Dave Rubin, and this is First Look. It's Wednesday, July 29th, 2026. We've got a packed show for you today. Interview tapes Biden fought to keep secret finally released after protracted legal battle. Recordings that exposed the cognitive decline Democrats and the media spent years denying. Woke Cracker Barrel CEO steps down after last year's disastrous rebrand ignited backlash from customers and President Trump. Another victory for American common sense over the boardroom elites. Completely smooth foreheads are out and strategic wrinkles are in. Even the beauty industry is finally admitting that looking like a frozen mannequin is over.

1:26Let's dive in. The Biden tapes, the deep state tried to bury. About 70 hours of interview tapes recorded in 2016 and 2017, when Joe Biden sat down with his ghostwriter to work on his memoir, were finally released. This only happened after a protracted legal battle in which the former president sued to keep them secret. The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee obtained the recordings from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and released more than two hours and 45 minutes of them. CBS News first reported the drop. These tapes show that even a decade ago, long before Biden ever ran against President Trump in 2020, his cognitive abilities were already slipping.

2:14Biden fought for years to keep the public from hearing them, claiming they were private. An appeals court earlier this month correctly ruled that the public interest outweighed any privacy rights Biden claimed. The issue exploded in 2024 when special counsel Robert Herr obtained the same recordings while investigating whether Biden had mishandled classified information. Herr ultimately declined to charge the then president, citing how Biden came across on the tapes as an elderly man with a poor memory. Listen carefully to what the tapes actually reveal. Biden appears at multiple points to struggle with basic memory.

2:54He can be heard telling ghostwriter Mark Zwanitzer that he is confused about their discussions. He even admits to being forgetful. More damning still, Biden appears to share classified information with the ghostwriter. Some of this may be classified, so be careful. I'm not sure. It's not marked classified, but Biden says on the recordings. Elsewhere, he states, the next thing I have here is, this is classified. CBS News notes that no classified material was ever published in the memoir, Promise Me Dad. But Biden's handling of the material raises serious questions, especially in light of his own public comments after her decision.

3:39In 2024, Biden flatly declared, I did not share classified information. I did not share it with my ghostwriter. The tapes now show that claim was false. Remember, for years, Democrats and the corporate media insisted Biden's memory was sharp as a tack while he was running for re-election against Donald Trump. These recordings proved the decline was already visible in 2017. The same people who mocked anyone who noticed Biden's condition were gaslighting the American people. President Trump was right. The American people were right. And the tapes are the receipts. Cracker Barrel's woke CEO is finally out.

4:25Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Fels-Masino is stepping down after the spectacular failure of her woke rebrand last year. The company announced this week that David Dino, a restaurant executive who most recently served as CEO of Blumen Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, will replace her on August 10th. Massino will stay on in an advisory role until October 9th to ensure a smooth transition. Her departure comes after less than three years at the helm. During that time, diners revolted against the company's attempt to modernize the southern dining chain. Last August, Cracker Barrel axed its beloved mascot, Uncle Herschel, and began stripping restaurants of their trademark tchotchkes, replacing them with white paint, bright lighting, and sterile, decluttered walls.

5:21The$700 million transformation across more than 660 locations was supposed to attract new customers. Instead, it drove away the core base. Following intense backlash from long-time customers and a direct call-out from President Trump, Cracker Barrel reversed the changes and leaned hard back into its folksy charm. The result? The stock is up 100 % so far this year. Benchmark analyst Todd Brooks told the New York Post that Messino's exit was certainly a surprise. The company had never indicated a search was underway, especially after a series of positive announcements just last week. Michael Gunther of Consumer Edge noted that Cracker Barrel had started narrowing losses in June, but sales momentum never truly surged.

6:13The company is way over-indexed in the 65-years-old and up crowd, Gunther said, and those customers stayed away. It has been nearly a full year since the Tennessee-based chain reversed the rebrand, yet Messino remained in the job, even giving interviews about how she felt she had been fired by America. Last November, shareholders voted to oust DEI marketing executive Gilbert Davila from the board, but spared Messino at the time, despite an activist campaign by investor Sardar Biglari, accusing both of years of mismanagement. In early 2025, the stock was in free fall after Massino admitted the chain was just not as relevant as it used to be.

7:00By August, the rebrand was rolling out. Within a week, sales cratered and Cracker Barrel lost its market share of Republican diners, its most loyal base. The company initially defended the changes. Then President Trump weighed in. Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response, the ultimate poll, and manage the company better than ever before. Five days later, the company folded. During a September earnings call, Massino finally admitted the rebrand was a misstep and pledged to lean into Uncle Herschel and the nostalgia around the brand. The free market, the customers, and President Trump all won.

7:44Another corporate woke experiment is dead. Strategic wrinkles, the new look of authenticity. Dermatologists report that clients are increasingly asking for treatments that preserve fine lines and facial expression. A new twist on looks-maxing. After years of battling her forehead wrinkles with Botox, Stephanie Abend realized she actually wanted some of them back. At 45, the family office executive in New York felt the smooth, shiny skin she had worked so hard to achieve was sending the wrong message, that she was trying too hard to look younger than her age. When you're in your 40s, it's like you're pointing an arrow at your head, she told the Wall Street Journal.

8:25Aben still gets Botox and fillers elsewhere on her face, but she now keeps some forehead wrinkles for an elevated look that doesn't feel overdone. She is part of a growing group of people 30 and older seeking out doctors who can deliver a slight patina of wrinkles, enough for natural furrowing and brow movement. Dr. Anthony Rossi, associate professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medicine and founder of the Dr. Rossi Skin Care brand, calls the trend strategic wrinkling. It gives them a little bit of character, he said. Many of these patients still use Botox and fillers, just far less of it. They add subtler treatments such as SkinVeve by Juvederm, around$800 to$1 ,200 per treatment, recommended twice a year, and radiofrequency microneedling,$1 ,000 to$2 ,500 per session.

9:18Fractional laser resurfacing averages about$1 ,800 per session, while fat transfer procedures run$3 ,000 to$5 ,500. dollars. Neurotoxin injections remain the most popular minimally invasive cosmetic procedure, 9.88 million in 2024, up 4%, but the cultural preference is clearly shifting. Lacey Harris, a 40-year-old orthodontist in Texas, still uses Botox, but requests fewer units. I'd rather be able to look a little surprised and have natural movement, she said. Some patients have walked away from heavy Botox entirely because of side effects such as the parenthesis wrinkles that form above the brows when too much product is used.

10:03New York dermatologist Doris Day now tells patients to try facial exercises instead of constant forehead injections. Dr. Rossi himself used to get Botox to erase forehead lines, but stopped. Leaving the top half of his face mobile, he says, makes him look more trusted and conveys years of medical expertise. I keep my wrinkles as well, he told the journal. Even in the world of aesthetics, Americans are rejecting the artificial, frozen look pushed by elites in Hollywood. Character, expression, and authenticity are making a comeback. And that's your first look this Wednesday. Quick recap. Biden's secret interview tapes are finally out, and they confirm the cognitive decline the media spent years covering up.

10:47Cracker Barrel's woke CEO is gone after customers and President Trump forced the chain back to its roots. And the beauty industry is discovering that looking human again is suddenly in style. We'll keep following all of it. I'm Dave Rubin. Thanks for starting your day with First Look. See you tomorrow.