AFP
An aide for Kamala Harris during her presidential campaign last year blasted former President Joe Biden for the timing of his decision to drop out of the race, saying that he “totally f—ed us” by doing so too late.
The analysis by David Plouffe, who managed former president Barack Obama’s successful 2008 run, is part of the book “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.”
Written by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, it also includes claims that top aides for Biden hid his declining mental condition from the lower-level staff and discussed the potential need to use a wheelchair should he be elected for a second term.
Plouffe called the Harris campaign a “f—ing nightmare” and said “it’s all Biden;” referring to the then-president’s insistence to continue with his candidacy for over three weeks even after the disastrous debate against Donald Trump in which his mental acuity was put into question.
A passage of the upcoming book, obtained by The Guardian, details how Plouffe received calls from donors worried about Biden, leading him to ask White House officials whether they believed Biden could win the election. He was repeatedly told Biden could.
The book also quotes a senior aide who quit the White House because they did not think Biden should run saying that “we attempted to shield him from his own staff so many people didn’t realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023.” Moreover, a Democratic strategist called the decision an “abomination” and said Biden “stole an election from the Democratic party” and “the American people.”
Perhaps aware of the book’s impact on his reputation, Biden gave two interviews last week to defend his course of action. He has also hired a communications strategist.
Original Sin also details a visit by Obama to the White House in 2023, warning Biden to “just make sure” he could beat Donald Trump. Other figures related to the party who expressed concern about Biden’s ability to run included donor Ari Emanuel, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
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