By constructing rooms around the aging Democratic president, blocking out perhaps important politicians and senior members of his own leadership, President Joe Biden’s team played a crucial role in shielding him from the public gaze.
Manchin suggested that political staffers had become ardent gatekeepers, calling them “eager beavers,” because he had questions about whether Biden had the endurance to manage the nation at the time.
” They were going,’ I’ll take care of that,'” Manchin said of a group of employees who included then-White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
Despite the United States ‘ struggles with the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, apparently, the elitism has gone so far as to encircle top Cabinet officials ‘ access to Biden.
According to the report, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s exposure to one-on-one, in-person meetings with Biden has fallen off considerably in the last two years.
Even during the turbulent 2021 U. S. defense departure from Afghanistan, Biden’s employees reportedly pushed top politicians, including the leading Democrat on the , House Armed Services Committee, away from the commander in chief.
Before the disastrous withdrawal left 13 American soldiers dead, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA ) claimed he was never able to speak with him directly about his concerns about the plans. Knowing how challenging a goal like this would be, Smith apparently wanted the leader and his team to assess their expectations.
Immediately after the Afghanistan scandal, Smith reportedly had only one phone call with Biden while he was in the White House.
” The Biden White House was more enclosed than most”, Smith told the outlet. Barack Obama was senator on a number of times, and I wasn’t even the committee chair.
The same “insulation” difficulty was perpetuated when it came to giving political pollsters exposure to Biden the prospect, per the statement. Instead of being immediately passed to Biden, as was the event in 2020, director Mike Donilon handled all polling data. The president’s lack of communication reportedly fueled worries that he was distant from voters, according to the shop.
The “insulated” White House setting staff members allegedly worked to create comes as Biden, 82, has been undergoing growing scrutiny over his psychological clarity, with doctors questioning the government’s mental state in particular following his political debate in June. Biden’s campaign exit the following month was largely motivated by concerns about his mental state and ability to lead the nation for another four years.
Manchin claimed that even during the first half of the Biden administration, he felt as though “maybe the president just lost that fight.”
” The ability to continue to stay on, just grind it, grind it, grind it”, the West Virginia senator said.
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Although there are growing concerns that Biden’s staffers are trying to silence his demise from senior officials, records show that the number of Cabinet meetings Biden has held has drastically decreased compared to earlier administrations.
Over the past four years, Biden has held nine full Cabinet meetings. In contrast, former President Barack Obama held 19, and President-elect Donald Trump held 25 full Cabinet meetings during their first terms in office, according to former CBS News correspondent Mark Knoller.
