Obama ‘said Biden has an “ability to f**k things up”‘ amid ‘bitter tensions’ after ex-president’s ‘weak’ endorsement
BARACK Obama cuttingly remarked that Joe Biden could "f*** things up," according to an explosive report detailing the bitter tensions between them.
described accounts from multiple -era aides who revealed the lead up and aftermath of the former president's supposed snub of Biden in favor of in 2016.
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Advisers noted that Biden may have the "last laugh of everybody" this November, given his ability to communicate across party lines, versus Obama's elitist attitude towards some GOP members.
During the primary race, one recalled how the Harvard grad ridiculed Biden's abilities, before he went on to secure the 2020 nomination.
“Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to fuck things up,” Obama was quoted as saying.
Speaking to one candidate about the Democratic electorate in , Obama scathingly remarked that Biden didn't bond with voters: “And you know who really doesn’t have it? Joe Biden."
Obama's aides often derided Biden, Politico revealed, “like an elderly uncle at Thanksgiving, [who] would launch into extended monologues that everyone had heard before.”
EYE-ROLLING AIDES
“You could certainly see technocratic eye-rolling at times,” former Communications Director Jen Psaki told the publication.
Some aides highlighted Obama's lackluster endorsement of his former running mate in 2020 versus his gushing support of Clinton in 2016.
“I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office,” Obama said of Clinton.
“I believe Joe has all of the qualities we need in a president right now," Obama said in Biden’s endorsement video. "And I know he will surround himself with good people."
Meanwhile, Obama's camp passed off his 2016 snub as a compassionate gesture because Biden was still coping with the loss of his son, Beau Biden, in 2015.
SECRET SNUB
But both Biden and Obama loyalists paint a different picture.
Politico reported that Obama backed Hillary long before Beau lost his cancer battle, while his dad laid the groundwork for his own campaign.
Beau had been a strong supporter of his dad's bid for the presidency, so Biden had "made serious preparations in the summer and fall of 2015 to jump into the race," Politico noted.
In his book "Promise Me, Dad" (2017), Biden also acknowledged that Obama “had been subtly weighing in against [it]."
“I also believe he had concluded that Hillary Clinton was almost certain to be the nominee, which was good by him,” he wrote.
DIVERGENT STYLE
The Politico article also delved into their opposing leadership style, as Republicans said Obama's arrogant style could be jarring at the negotiation table, versus Biden's more amiable approach.
Eric Cantor, the House majority leader from 2011 to 2014, said Obama "felt that he knew the world better than you,” while another former Republican leadership said the 44th president “mansplained."
Unlike Obama, Biden, Cantor noted, understood that “you’re gonna have to agree to disagree about some things.”
“Few practiced politicians appreciate being lectured on where their political self-interest lies,” David Axelrod of Pod Save wrote in his memoir."
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That hint of moral superiority and disdain for politicians who put elections first has hurt Obama as negotiator, and it’s why Biden, a politician’s politician, has often had better luck.”
However, Biden has rejected claims that his popularity amongst black voters should be credited purely to Obama.
He told aides that Obama hadn’t “lifted a finger” to help him following his win in .