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You are here: Home / Political Books / Biden Aide Describes an ‘Out of It’ President

Biden Aide Describes an ‘Out of It’ President

April 2, 2025 at 7:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

In a new book, Joe Biden’s former White House chief of staff Ron Klain paints a devastating picture of the then president’s mental and physical state before the debate with Donald Trump that sent his 2024 campaign into a tailspin, The Guardian reports.

According to Klain, who returned to help prep Biden for his debate, it turned out Biden “didn’t know what Trump had been saying and couldn’t grasp what the back and forth was” and left debate preparation “and fell asleep by the pool.”

He obsessed about foreign leaders, saying “these guys say I’m doing a great job as president so I must be a great president”; “didn’t really understand what his argument was on inflation” and “had nothing to say about a second term other than finish the job.”

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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