A new report says some of President Biden’s top officials are “extremely afraid” of displeasing the president during his daily briefings.
The president’s inner circle is growing ever closer as the day-to-day work becomes more difficult to handle, one person said. Politico reported Tuesday.
“It’s like, ‘Don’t put that in, it will upset him,’ or ‘Put that in, he loves it,'” a senior administration official told Politico privately.
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President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden waved to reporters as they left the White House and headed to Marine One on Washington, DC’s South Lawn. (Anna Moneymaker)
The quote continues: “It’s a Rorschach test, it’s not a description, because the guy being described is not a fun person to be around. It’s very difficult, and people are scared.” [s—less] his.”
The official told Politico that Biden is refusing to accept advice from anyone outside his small circle of advisers and has become increasingly isolated from broader public opinion and sentiment.
“This would be a disaster for Trump, as he would be taking no advice from anyone other than a few senior aides and would be increasingly isolated from their control efforts,” the official reportedly told Politico.
White House senior deputy press secretary Andre Bates denied the Politico report that staff were afraid of the president, telling Fox News Digital, “It’s just [Biden] teeth.”
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President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden (center), his mother, First Lady Jill Biden (left), and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden (right) emerge from a federal courthouse after hearing that Hunter was found guilty of all three felony charges in his federal firearms trial. (AP Photo/Matt Luke)
Politico also reported that Biden’s family has broadly criticized his staff, complaining that they did not adequately prepare the president to be more aggressive, did not focus more on laying out a vision for the next four years rather than fixating on defending his record, and allowed the president to overwork himself without adequate rest beforehand.
The family’s criticism was directed at Anita Dunn, a senior adviser who often has the president’s ear, her husband, Bob Bauer, the president’s lawyer who played Donald Trump in rehearsals at Camp David, and former chief of staff Ron Klain, who led the debate preparations and sessions this past election cycle, Politico reported, citing three people briefed on the family’s conversations but not directly involved.
“The number of people who have access to the president is getting fewer and fewer,” an anonymous Democratic strategist in a battleground state was reported to have complained to Politico on Tuesday. “They’ve been digging deeper and deeper into the bunkers in recent months.”
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President Joe Biden delivered a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Bates also denied that explanation, saying the president was seeking input from a “wide range of people inside and outside the administration.”
“These allegations are an unfair misrepresentation of the process that exists in every administration,” Bates told Fox News Digital. “In every presidency, there are individuals who would like to spend more time with the president and senior officials.”
He added, “[Biden] “I’m proud to have hired the most diverse White House team ever, whose determination, values and experience are driving historic results for the American people.”
Biden and campaign officials have denied any suggestion the president plans to stand down and run for reelection.
Fox News Digital’s Daniel Wallace contributed to this report.
