Biden's chief of staff scolded Obama campaign architect for calling Biden's age an issue, book reveals

Former President Joe Biden's determination to tally for re-election divided longtime Democratic advisors, a caller publication astir Biden's cognitive diminution and his administration's alleged cover-up revealed. 

Biden's erstwhile Chief of Staff, Ron Klain, unopen down erstwhile President Barack Obama advisor David Axelrod for repeatedly calling Biden's property an issue. 

"The presidency is simply a monstrously taxing occupation and the stark world is the president would beryllium person to 90 than 80 astatine the extremity of a 2nd term, and that would beryllium a large issue," Axelrod told The New York Times. 

Soon aft the Times' communicative was published successful June 2022, Klain called Axelrod fuming, CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios governmental analogous Alex Thompson revealed successful their book, "Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again."

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Advisors to President Joe Biden and erstwhile President Barack Obama disagreed connected whether Biden should tally for re-election successful 2024.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

"Who's going to bushed Trump? President Biden is the lone 1 who has done it. You amended person a batch of certainty astir a antithetic campaigner earlier you accidental the president should measurement aside. The aboriginal of the state depends connected it!" Klain told Axelrod connected the phone, according to Thompson and Tapper. 

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Klain believed it was "sloppy thinking" that anyone different than Biden could bushed Trump, the journalists said successful the book. 

But Axelrod, like astir Americans, disquieted astir the archetypal octogenarian president's property and his quality to service 4 much years. 

The main strategist for Obama's back-to-back winning campaigns, Axelrod was 1 of the past advisers to conscionable with Biden earlier Obama chose him arsenic his moving mate successful 2008. Axelrod told Tapper and Thompson that they didn't expect Biden to tally for president astatine 73 and yet discouraged Biden from moving for president successful 2015. 

They surely didn't expect Biden to tally for president astatine 77. 

President Barack Obama presents Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremonial successful the State Dining Room of the White House successful Washington, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

After Axelrod made immoderate affable comments astir Biden to a newsman successful 2018, Biden invited him to his rental location successful Virginia, according to the book. 

"He was stunned by however overmuch Biden had aged," Tapper and Thompson wrote.

Axelrod told Biden that property would beryllium an contented for his run but encouraged him to thin connected his acquisition and wisdom, the journalists said. 

Axelrod's apprehension astir Biden's property lone grew, and erstwhile it came clip for Biden to marque a determination astir his re-election, helium knew Biden shouldn't tally successful 2024. The longtime governmental advisor told Tapper and Thompson helium wished idiosyncratic successful the White House had "come to their senses and [convinced] Biden and his household that this conscionable wasn't tenable."

Joe Biden speaks during an Inflation Reduction Act lawsuit connected the South Lawn of the White House successful Washington, connected Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Pointing to unfavorable battleground polls from 2023, Axelrod encouraged Biden to driblet retired of the contention successful a bid of social media posts. He said the "stakes of miscalculation present are excessively melodramatic to ignore."

"Only @JoeBiden tin marque this decision. If helium continues to run, helium volition beryllium the nominee of the Democratic Party. What helium needs to determine is whether that is wise; whether it's successful HIS champion involvement oregon the country's?" Axelrod questioned connected societal media. 

Klain fired back, this clip for the nationalist to see: "Man who called Biden ‘Mr Magoo’ successful Aug 2019 is inactive astatine it," successful notation to Axelrod's comments pursuing the 2019 Democratic statesmanlike superior debate. 

Ron Klain, erstwhile White House main of staff, speaks during a main of unit modulation lawsuit successful the East Room of the White House successful Washington, D.C., connected Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.  (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

An excerpt from the publication reads: "In effect to Axelrod's 2023 post, Biden called Axelrod a ‘prick’ – a backstage insult until idiosyncratic leaked it to Jonathan Martin of Politico. Axelrod received confidential messages of statement from salient Democrats who remained silent, they explained, due to the fact that they were resigned to Biden's candidacy and did not privation to weaken him arsenic a looming rematch with Trump approached."

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Fox News Digital has written extensively, dating backmost to the 2020 statesmanlike campaign, astir Biden's cognitive diminution and his interior circle’s role successful covering it up.

"There is thing successful this publication that shows Joe Biden failed to bash his job, arsenic the authors person alleged, nor did they beryllium their allegation that determination was a cover-up oregon conspiracy," a Biden spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Nowhere bash they amusement that our nationalist information was threatened oregon wherever the president wasn’t different engaged successful the important matters of the presidency. In fact, Joe Biden was an effectual president who led our state with empathy and skill."