Chris Whipple, an author and filmmaker who has biographed President Biden’s life, indicated on Friday that former President Obama may not even be able to convince Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
Whipple, in an interview with NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas on Friday, said it was “absurd” to think that Obama would be the only person to persuade the president to step aside.
“I just talked about reports that Obama is worried that Biden might not win,” Vargas said. “The relationship between these two men is really complicated. Many people have said, ‘The only person who could tell Biden to step aside is former President Obama.’ It’s not quite true.
While he agreed that Obama and Biden have a “complicated relationship,” Whipple said “they are really close.”
“They came together when Beau Biden was dying with that brain tumor and…Obama really took Joe Biden under his wing,” said the author of “The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House.”
However, Whipple added, Biden “has a chip on his shoulder.”
“He always felt that he was the law guy from Syracuse, and all the Obama people were from Harvard and Yale, and they despised him, and that he, of course, put his finger on the scale to [former Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton in 2016”, continued the author. “So it’s a strained 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 hoarse voice – that raised concerns about his mental fitness and ability to serve another four years. if he is re-elected in November. And despite growing calls from members of his own party to “pass the torch,” the president has said he will stay the course.
The question surrounding Obama’s influence was also raised on Thursday by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, who signaled that the president’s campaign believes Obama is behind growing calls for Biden to withdraw from the White House race.
“One thing we have to underline here — just so viewers can follow what’s going on behind the scenes — is the Biden campaign and many Democratic officials believe that Barack Obama is working quietly behind the scenes to orchestrate this,” Scarborough said in ” Good morning, Joe.”
Biden, during a news conference Thursday night, said he believes he is “the most qualified person” to take on former President Trump in the fall.
“I believe I am the most qualified to govern,” Biden said. “And I think I’m the most qualified to win. But there are other people who could also defeat Trump.”
“The fact is that I consider myself the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again,” he added.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
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