Biden biographer suggests even Obama couldn't convince him to withdraw
Chris Whipple, an author and filmmaker who biographed the life of President Biden, indicated Friday that former President Obama may not even be able to convince Biden to exit the 2024 presidential race.
Whipple, in an interview with NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas Friday, said it was "nonsense" to think Obama would be the sole person to persuade the president to step aside.
“I just talked about reports that Obama is worried that Biden can’t win,” Vargas said. “The relationship between these two men is really complicated. A lot of people have been saying ‘The only person who could tell Biden to step aside is former President Obama.’ Not quite true.”
While he agreed that Obama and Biden have a “complicated relationship," Whipple said "they are truly close."
“They bonded when Beau Biden was dying with that brain tumor, and… Obama really took Joe Biden under his wing," the author of “The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House,” said.
However, Whipple added, Biden “has a chip on his shoulder.”
“He’s always felt that he was the Syracuse law guy, and all of Obama’s people were Harvard and Yale, and they looked down on him, and that he, of course, put his finger on the scale for [former Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton in 2016," the author continued. "So, it’s a fraught relationship, for sure."
His analysis comes as Biden continues to face pressure from both sides of the aisle after a poor debate performance last month — where he appeared to stumble over his words and had a raspy voice — sparked concern about his mental fitness and ability to serve another four years if reelected in November. And despite rising calls from members of his own party to "pass the torch," the president has maintained that he will stay the course.
The question around Obama's influence was also brought up Thursday by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, who signaled that the president’s campaign believes Obama is behind increasing calls for Biden to withdraw from the White House race.
“One thing that we do have to underline here — just so viewers can follow what’s going on behind the scenes — is the Biden campaign and many Democratic officials do believe that Barack Obama is quietly working behind the scenes to orchestrate this,” Scarborough said on "Morning Joe."
Biden, during a Thursday evening press conference, said he believes he is “the most qualified person" to take on former President Trump in the fall.
“I believe I’m the best qualified to govern,” Biden said. “And I think I’m the best qualified to win. But there are other people who could beat Trump, too."
“The fact is, the consideration is, that I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once, and I will beat him again," he added.
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