Disney's Bob Iger is reportedly 'at the top of' Biden's list for an ambassador job

Brendan Morrow

Could Bob Iger be headed from the wonderful world of Disney into the Biden administration?

Iger, the former CEO and current executive chair of Disney, is "at the top of President-elect Joe Biden's wish list" for an ambassador post in his administration, "namely China or the U.K.," The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Wednesday.

The news comes after Iger made a surprise announcement in February that he'd be stepping down as CEO of Disney, with Bob Chapek taking on the role. Iger, however, has remained on as executive chair, and his contract with Disney extends until the end of 2021.

Iger previously weighed running for president himself, but he has explained that his wife and children didn't support the idea.

"They looked ahead and realized that if I were to do it, it would create a great hardship and it would change their lives forever," Iger said on the Coffee with The Greats podcast, per CNBC. "They did not like that idea, and the rest is history."

Iger, however, says he would consider taking a job in Biden's administration, telling Bloomberg earlier this month, "Giving back in some fashion — serving our country in some fashion — is certainly something that I would consider seriously." CNN previously reported that Iger's name was being floated for an ambassador job.

And he's not the only Hollywood executive Biden could reportedly tap. The Reporter also says that Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of DreamWorks and founder of the ill-fated streaming service Quibi, is "in the mix for an ambassadorship" as well.

More stories from theweek.com
Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for the Trump Organization's chief financial officer
Joe Biden still doesn't get it
Trump claims fired cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs was 'excoriated' during his Senate hearing. He wasn't.

Latest Stories

  • One of the most isolated spots on earth faces a massive COVID wave

    Gaza has recorded just over 29,000 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, but it is now averaging about 1,000 new cases a day, driving that total figure up rapidly. While many countries have been hit hard by COVID-19, Gaza’s problems are made worse by blockade, which has devastated the economy.

  • Exclusive: Fate Winslow, sentenced to life in prison for selling $20 worth of pot, is released after serving 12 years

    More than a decade into a life sentence for assisting in the sale of $20 worth of marijuana to an undercover cop in Louisiana, Fate Winslow is set to be released on Wednesday. "Today redemption has come," he told Yahoo News in an email.

  • ‘I’m not saying they’re not a bunch of f*****s’: Biden’s deputy chief of staff pick says of working with Republicans

    Jen O’Malley Dillon became first woman to manage successful Democratic presidential campaign this year

  • New body camera video shows moments after Arbery shooting

    Police began arriving almost immediately after Ahmaud Arbery was shot in a Georgia subdivision, finding the unarmed Black man lying facedown while the man who shot him paced with hands on his head.

  • 27 Best Coffee Table Books to Buy & Gift This Year

    Discover the top tomes for every interest—from fashion to design to travel–that our editors loved this yearOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for the Trump Organization's chief financial officer

    Over the last six weeks, so many people have been calling and emailing the West Wing seeking pardons that White House staffers have had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of the requests, CNN reports."It's turned crazy," one person familiar with the matter said. "There's a lot of activity." The queries have been coming in from business associates close to Trump as well as high-profile criminals, CNN reports, and when people can't reach the president, they contact his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, or White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. After Trump goes over their case summaries, he often asks his friends for their opinions on whether a person deserves a pardon.As of now, Trump is contemplating pardons for more than two dozen people within his circle, CNN reports. One person he is considering for clemency is Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization. Weisselberg has been investigated for his involvement in arranging hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who said she had an affair with Trump.Trump aides told CNN that the president is spiraling and devolving further into denial about the election, which he lost. Trump has told aides he won't leave the White House on Inauguration Day, but is then talked out of it. "He's throwing a f---ing temper tantrum," one adviser told CNN. "He's going to leave. He's just lashing out."More stories from theweek.com Joe Biden still doesn't get it Trump claims fired cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs was 'excoriated' during his Senate hearing. He wasn't. Republicans' hedonic treadmill problem

  • Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill to Block Abortion of Fetuses Capable of Feeling Pain

    Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would outlaw abortions for fetuses capable of feeling pain.The pro-life group Democrats for Life in America announced the content of the bill on Facebook and in an online petition. While the bill has been submitted to the House, its full text was not immediately available, and it was not clear what week of pregnancy Gabbard's bill designates as the limit for obtaining an abortion. Similar legislation has designated the 20th week of pregnancy as the cutoff."Former Democratic Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard introduced her SECOND Pro-Life bill this week, which would amend Title 18 of the U.S. code to give pain-capable fetuses rights under the law," DFLA wrote on Facebook. "Tulsi has previously voted against this bill three times, but is now the SPONSOR of the new bill. This is proof that DFLA can convince Democrats to join the right side of history."Last week, Gabbard also introduced legislation that aims to ensure medical care to babies born alive after an attempted abortion. National Review has reached out to Gabbard's office for comment.Gabbard ran for president in the Democratic primary, but polled well below other candidates throughout the race. The Hawaii representative dropped out in mid-March and endorsed Joe Biden.In October 2019, Gabbard announced that she would not run for reelection to the House in Hawaii. It is unclear what the congresswoman's plans are for when she leaves office.

  • 'China does not honor its agreements,' U.S. admiral says after meeting no-show

    The U.S. military on Wednesday slammed China for failing to appear at virtual, senior-level meetings slated for this week, with the top U.S. admiral for the Asia-Pacific saying it was "another example that China does not honor its agreements." "This should serve as a reminder to all nations as they pursue agreements with China going forward,” Admiral Phil Davidson, the commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said in a statement. China had been expected to participate in Dec. 14-16 meetings related to the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) focused on maritime safety, the command said.

  • Texas man found in bed with dead bodies after allegedly killing wife, children

    The children’s bodies were wrapped in blankets and comforters beside their mother. Officers in Texas discovered a gruesome scene when they entered a home in Copperas Cove. Bryan Richardson, 27, was found lying in bed with his wife and two children’s deceased bodies when Copperas Cove police discovered them.

  • Turkish 'intelligence agent' claims he was ordered to assassinate Austrian politician

    A suspected Turkish intelligence agent turned whistleblower is being held under arrest in Austria after he handed himself in to authorities claiming he had been ordered to assassinate a prominent politician. In a clear sign Austrian authorities are taking the claims seriously, the targetted politician has been under police protection since the investigation started and is not allowed to leave her home without a bullet-proof vest. Lawyers for the arrested man, Feyyaz Öztürk, an Italian citizen of Turkish heritage, will confirm only that he is being held on charges of spying for a foreign state and that he willingly turned himself in to the Austrian authorities. Prosecutors refused to comment on the grounds the investigation is ongoing. But a police report on his initial interrogation leaked to the Austrian press and seen by the Daily Telegraph reveals details of his claims, that, if proved, would raise serious concerns over how far Turkey is prepared to go to silence its critics under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and whether it is ready to resort to assassinations on European soil. In the interrogation, Mr Öztürk claims he was blackmailed by Turkey’s MIT intelligence service into taking part in an operation to assassinate Berivan Aslan, an Austrian regional politician of Kurdish heritage. “It wasn’t important whether she got hurt or died,” he told Austrian police. The aim, he claimed, was to “spread chaos” and for Ms Aslan and others to “get the message.” He also claimed violent attacks were planned against two other politicians, including Peter Pilz, a household name in Austria and the former leader of the opposition Now party. When offered the opportunity, Daniel Mozga, Mr Öztürk’s lawyer. declined to challenge the authenticity of the leaked report. He confirmed a police interrogation had taken place shortly before it was first published by a news website run by Mr Pilz. In what has become a major embarrassment to the Austrian authorities, Mr Öztürk attempted to hand himself in at a police station in the southern city of Graz in April but was turned away because of coronavirus rules — a detail confirmed by Mr Mozga.

  • White House lawyers reportedly warn Trump of 'legal jeopardy' if he fires FBI Director Christopher Wray

    President Trump has reportedly considered firing the director of the FBI again, but White House lawyers have tried their best to talk him out of it.Trump, NBC News reported on Wednesday, "has come so close to firing" FBI Director Christopher Wray that the White House counsel's office "warned him not to do so because it could put him in potential legal jeopardy."The White House lawyers, according to the report, "strongly" advised Trump not to fire Wray, saying that it would "risk creating the perception that a 'loyalty test' was being imposed" on the position or that Trump was firing him out of "retaliation" for not taking investigative actions he wanted. Trump previously controversially fired former FBI Director James Comey in 2017 amid the Russia probe. In October, The Washington Post reported that Trump was considering firing Wray as he expressed "disappointment" in both Wray and Attorney General William Barr that they didn't "indicate that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden or other Biden associates are under investigation" before the 2020 election. Hunter Biden revealed last week he's under federal investigation for his "tax affairs," and according to CNN, this investigation began "as early as 2018." Though Wray remains as head of the FBI, Trump earlier this week announced that Barr will resign as attorney general before Christmas. Now, NBC News reports that Trump's "advisers hope he's been persuaded against ousting Wray." More stories from theweek.com Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for the Trump Organization's chief financial officer Joe Biden still doesn't get it Trump claims fired cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs was 'excoriated' during his Senate hearing. He wasn't.

  • Ex-Houston cop hired by GOP megadonor arrested for aggravated assault while hunting fake ballots

    Police in Houston arrested a former Houston Police captain on Tuesday, charging him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly running an appliance repair truck off the road and holding its driver at gunpoint in a failed bid to find fake ballots. The former cop, Mark Aguirre, had been hired by the Liberty Center for God and Country, a conservative group led by Republican megadonor Steven Hotze, to find evidence of the widespread voter fraud conservatives baselessly believed was being carried out in Harris County, The Texas Tribune reports."We are lucky no one was killed," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. "His alleged investigation was backward from the start — first alleging a crime had occurred and then trying to prove it happened." The assault charges carry up to 20 years in jailAguirre told authorities he had been tailing the air conditioner repair technician for four days, aided by two other people, before forcing him off the road Oct. 19. He said he believed the technician was behind a huge voter fraud scheme and was carrying some of the 750,000 fake ballots Aguirre believed were in his possession. "There were no ballots in the truck," the Harris County district attorney's office said. "It was filled with air conditioning parts and tools." One of the people accompanying Aguirre allegedly stole the technician's van after Aguirre forced him to the ground at gunpoint, abandoning the vehicle a few blocks away.A lawyer for Hotze told the Tribune that the Liberty Center had hired a company led by Aguirre to investigate voter fraud ahead of the election, but said Hotze "did not direct or lead any of the investigations." The Houston Police Department fired Aguirre in 2003 after a controversial raid at a Kmart parking lot, the Houston Chronicle reports. CNN's John Avlon compared Aguirre's actions to the "Pizzagate" debacle.> Former Houston police captain charged with pointing gun at air-conditioner repairman, believing he was a voter fraud 'mastermind'. @JohnAvlon pic.twitter.com/MrTqfttGqY> > — CNN Early Start (@EarlyStart) December 16, 2020Hotze was one of the Texas Republicans who unsuccessfully sued to stop Gov. Greg Abbott (R) from extending early voting this year and tried to get 127,000 Harris County ballots thrown out. Earlier this year, the Tribune reports, he called Abbott's chief of staff and urged the governor to shoot and kill people protesting the police killing of George Floyd.More stories from theweek.com Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for the Trump Organization's chief financial officer Joe Biden still doesn't get it Trump claims fired cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs was 'excoriated' during his Senate hearing. He wasn't.

  • Peru says China's Sinopharm may resume coronavirus vaccine trial after volunteer's illness

    The Peruvian health minister said on Wednesday that China's Sinopharm could resume a trial for its coronavirus vaccine in the hard-hit Andean nation, just days after authorities suspended the tests to better understand why a volunteer had fallen ill. Health authorities announced over the weekend that the Sinopharm trial would be temporarily halted as a safety measure after a volunteer experienced decreased strength in his legs, among other symptoms. "We have had several meetings with Sinopharm and ... the suspension has been lifted today (Wednesday)," Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti said.

  • Betsy Devos tells Department of Education to resist Biden administration

    ‘Be the resistance against forces that will derail you from doing what’s right for students,’ says Ms DeVos

  • Hunter Biden Extended ‘Best Wishes’ from ‘the Entire Biden Family’ to Chinese Energy Firm Chair in 2017

    Hunter Biden reportedly pushed CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming to “quickly” wire $10 million to “properly fund and operate” a Biden joint venture with the Chinese energy company in 2017, and sent his “best wishes from the entire Biden family” to the chairman, according to a new report. In a June 18, 2017 email obtained by Fox News, Biden requested the transfer, which was never completed, and asked Zhao Runlong at CEFC to please "translate my letter to Chairman Ye, please extend my warmest best wishes and that I hope to see the Chairman soon." "I hope my letter finds you well. I regret missing you on your last visit to the United States," Hunter Biden wrote in the attached letter, dated June 17, 2017. "Please accept the best wishes from the entire Biden family as well as my partners.""We are all hoping to see you here again soon, or in Shanghai,” he continued.Biden added that they had “concluded the establishment of Sinohawk Holdings,” the joint venture between the Bidens and CEFC, and that Tony Bobulinski, “a very close friend of James Gilliar and the Biden family” would “act as the CEO.”"He has invested capital all over the world for some of the world’s wealthiest families,” Biden wrote of Bobulinski.Biden wrote that Bobulinski had "sent a request to Dong Gongwen [Gongwen Dong] and Director Zang for the funding of the $10 MM USD wire.""I would appreciate if you will send that quickly so we can properly fund and operate Sinohawk," Biden wrote."I am sure you have been well briefed by our dear friend Director Zang on the political and economic connections we have established in countries where you are interested in expanding during the coming months and years," he said. "I look forward to our next meeting."Ye Jianming and Gongwen Dong were linked to the Chinese Communist government and the People’s Liberation Army, according to a September report by the Senate Homeland Security Committee and Senate Finance Committee on its investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings."Those associations resulted in millions of dollars in questionable transactions/cash flow," the report stated.More than a dozen text messages between Bobulinski, Biden business associates, and Chinese representatives of CEFC from June 25, 2017 to mid-July 2017 show that the $10 million transfer was delayed for weeks, potentially due to visa issues."Just got off the phone with Zaho[sp], Still dealing with Visa issues, they still haven’t filled out proper paperwork submissions, re entry. Still want my personal advise," President-elect Joe Biden’s brother Jim Biden reportedly wrote in an email to Bobulinski on July 10, 2017. A July 18, 2017 message shows Bobulinski asking Zhao whether the transfer would be "$10 MM or 2x $5MM," claiming they "asked that $10 MM be sent in 2 $5 MM tranches but @ the same time, $5 MM to savings and $5 MM to checking. That is what we prefer."The transfer was never completed, though the Senate report shows that the CEFC wired nearly $5 million to the bank account for Hudson West III, a firm that Hunter Biden opened with Chinese associates, less than one month later"These funds may have originated from a loan issued from the account of a company called Northern International Capital Holdings, a Hong Kong-based investment company identified at one time as a ‘substantial shareholder’ in CEFC International Limited along with Ye," the report said. "It is unclear whether Hunter Biden was a half-owner of Hudson West III at the time."The report adds, "the same day the $5 million was received, and continuing through Sept. 25, 2018, Hudson West III sent request payments to Owasco, Hunter Biden’s firm." The payments were described as consulting fees and reached "$4,790,375.25 in just over a year,” according to the report.Another email to the general manager of the House of Sweden shows Hunter Biden asking for keys for his new "office mates," his father, Joe Biden, Jill Biden and Jim Biden at the Washington, D.C. building that houses multiple office suites and a number of embassies.Biden also requested keys for Gongwen Dong, whom he calls an "emissary" for Chairman Ye Jianming.He issued directions for the lease to remain under the name of his company, Rosemont Seneca, but for the office sign to say "The Biden Foundation" and "Hudson West (CEFC US)."A source told Fox News that the Biden Foundation used another office space at the time and there was no relation to the office space within the House of Sweden.The report comes after Biden last week confirmed he was under federal investigation for his “tax affairs.”Last week Hunter Biden said in a statement that he had learned “for the first time that the U.S.  Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel” of an investigation into his tax affairs.“I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors,” he said.President-elect Biden on Wednesday said he is “confident” Hunter Biden did nothing wrong when asked by Fox News’ Peter Doocy about the investigation.Joe Biden’s tax documents and returns, which were previously released by his campaign, do not show any involvement with Chinese investments.

  • Florida's Sun Sentinel found an odd gap in state COVID-19 deaths ahead of the election

    While looking at Florida's COVID-19 death tally, the South Florida Sun Sentinel found a pattern suggesting the state "manipulated a backlog of unrecorded fatalities" so the daily death numbers were artificially low ahead of the November presidential election, the newspaper reported Tuesday.There is a lag between the date a person dies of COVID-19 in Florida and the date the state reports the death as part of the public count. The Sun Sentinel found that with just a few exceptions, starting on Oct. 24, Florida stopped including deaths that occurred more than a month earlier in daily counts. It wasn't until Nov. 17, two weeks after the election, that these backlogged deaths were consistently included in the daily tally.These deaths have "long formed a significant part of the daily totals in Florida" because it can take some time for death reports to make it from a doctor's office to the health department, the Sun Sentinel reports. For example, from Sept. 23 to Oct. 20, the state included in its daily tallies 1,128 deaths that took place at least one month earlier. This accounted for 44 percent of the deaths that were announced over those four weeks.On Oct. 21, the state said it would start conducting additional reviews of each suspected COVID-19 death in Florida before adding it to the official count. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a supporter of President Trump, has a history of downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, and the Sun Sentinel reports he has also speculated that the death statistics in the state were inflated. The Sun Sentinel said it asked several state officials about the data patterns, including the spokesman for the Florida Department of Health, and no one would comment.Scott David Herr, a Florida computer scientist who tracks the state's daily COVID-19 data, told the Sun Sentinel "it's hard to know if there was a limitation around election time or random other things were happening. The Department of Health hasn't explained why lags have been inconsistent. When they keep changing whatever is going on behind the scenes, when the lags keep changing, that is where it gets confusing." Read more at the Sun Sentinel.More stories from theweek.com Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for the Trump Organization's chief financial officer Joe Biden still doesn't get it Trump claims fired cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs was 'excoriated' during his Senate hearing. He wasn't.

  • Azar says Trump administration negotiating to buy more Pfizer vaccines after passing on earlier offer

    Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Wednesday that U.S. officials "are engaged in active negotiations" with Pfizer to purchase more of the company's COVID-19 vaccines, per Politico. The comment seemingly backs up an earlier report from The New York Times, in which anonymous sources familiar with the matter said the same thing.The Trump administration this summer reportedly turned down an offer to expand on the initial order to buy more than 100 million vaccine doses, and Pfizer went on to strike agreements with other governments, including the European Union. That raised some questions stateside, though it seems the administration was hedging its bets since several other vaccine candidates have appeared promising, as well.The shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was the first rolled out in the U.S., however, and there is widespread confidence in its efficacy and safety, so it seems the White House is working to enhance its supply after all. Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for the Trump Organization's chief financial officer Joe Biden still doesn't get it Trump claims fired cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs was 'excoriated' during his Senate hearing. He wasn't.

  • Trump news – live: President lashes out at fired elections chief, as he is warned not to destroy records

    Follow the latest updates

  • China Forces Hundreds of Thousands of Uyghurs to Work in Xinjiang Cotton Fields: Report

    China forces hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Tibetans to pick cotton in fields of Xinjiang Province, according to a new report from the non-partisan think tank Center for Global Policy.Around 85 percent of China's raw cotton supply, and 20 percent of the world's supply, comes from Xinjiang. Swedish clothing company H&M severed ties with its Xinjiang supplier in September over forced labor accusations.There is "strong evidence that the production of the majority of Xinjiang’s cotton involves a coercive, state-run program targeting ethnic minority groups," the CGP report concludes.The report, based on Chinese government documents and media reports, was authored by Dr. Adrian Zenz, a senior fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Zenz has written extensive reports on the Chinese government's reeducation camps for Uyghurs and other minorities, as well as China's program of forced sterilization for Uyghur women.At least 570,000 people from three Uyghur regions alone were mobilized for forced labor in cotton fields in 2018, Zenz writes. However, "Xinjiang’s total labor transfer of ethnic minorities into cotton picking likely exceeds that figure by several hundred thousand."Around 70 percent of Xinjiang cotton is hand-picked, including nearly all of its high-quality cotton mainly sourced from Uyghur regions. Policy documents and media reports reviewed by Zenz indicate that the forced labor programs are justified by alleviating alleged "backwards" Uyghur attitudes toward work."Since cotton picking is hard work, state propaganda accounts of mobilizing pickers have the overarching theme of overcoming workers’ reticence to participate in the scheme," Zenz writes. "This is unilaterally ascribed to two main factors: their outdated and backward employment views, which are said to cause minorities to be stuck in their traditional ways of making a living; and an ingrained laziness and lack of work discipline, even a lack of valuing work."The U.S. has banned some, but not all, imports of cotton and textiles from Xinjiang. The Senate is considering passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would ban the import of any products made with forced labor in Xinjiang. Multinational corporations including Apple, Coca-Cola, and Nike, and pro-business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are reportedly lobbying to water down the legislation.

  • The plan to disinfect the White House before Biden moves in is a 'huge waste of time and effort,' experts say

    "Nuking" the White House "with chemicals is not needed" to protect the incoming Biden administration from COVID-19, J. David Krause, an environmental and occupational health consultant, told Stat News, yet that appears to be the plan to disinfect the building before the transition.Multiple outlets have reported that a Virginia-based contractor has been tapped to spray a disinfectant throughout the East and West Wings before President-elect Joe Biden moves in next month, but Krause — the past chair of the American Industrial Hygiene Association — and many other experts have said that strategy is not only ineffective, but also could be dangerous, both for people and for works of art."It's a huge waste of time and effort," Krause said. "It probably isn't as effective as people say it is. And it runs the risk of somebody actually breathing this stuff in where it may be extremely hazardous. You really only need to be treating the surfaces that people have been exposed to or can be exposed to."Instead, a deep clean followed by another round of frequently-touched surfaces like elevator buttons and light switches should do the trick, Jason Marshall, the laboratory director of the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, told Stat. And both Marshall and Krause agree leaving the White House empty for a week between administrations could be the easiest solution, since studies have found the coronavirus only lasts for a few days on surfaces. Read more at Stat News.More stories from theweek.com Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for the Trump Organization's chief financial officer Joe Biden still doesn't get it Trump claims fired cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs was 'excoriated' during his Senate hearing. He wasn't.