President Joe Biden seems to be making his campaign staff “miserable” as he stubbornly pushes forward with his reelection bid, ignoring calls from within his own party and beyond to step aside, according to a report on Friday.
As the aging president heads into a critical week of planned events, his campaign teeters on the brink of collapse. Despite his disastrous debate performance, Biden’s determination to press on is causing despair among those tasked with keeping him running at peak performance.
Axios reports that Biden’s insistence on not being challenged has left his staff frustrated. “Everyone is miserable, and senior advisers are a total black hole,” a White House official told the outlet. “Even if you’re trying to focus on work, nothing is going to break through or get any acknowledgment” from the higher-ups. A high-ranking Democratic National Committee (DNC) official added, “The only thing that can really allay concerns is for the president to demonstrate that he’s capable of running this campaign. Everything else feels like ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ by his inner circle to prop him up.”
The concern among Biden’s team is palpable. Reports suggest that aides have created a protective cocoon around him that initially seemed well-intentioned but now appears potentially deceptive in the wake of the debate. Helping Biden remember people he has known for a long time and compensating for his mental lapses are among the tasks assigned to his closest advisers.
Despite efforts to reassure staff, not everyone is convinced it’s working. The president continues to stumble from one disappointment to the next. According to the Axios report, Biden’s remarks to campaign and DNC officials on Wednesday “seemed stilted and scripted,” raising further questions among staffers about whether his inner circle is being honest about his capabilities.
Biden is scheduled to head to Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday for a face-to-face interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, his first on-camera exchange since last week’s very public debate disaster.
With morale low and questions about his fitness to lead growing louder, one has to wonder if Biden’s campaign is running on hope and denial rather than a solid strategy.
