Former Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain disclosed in a new book that former President Joe Biden appeared “fatigued, befuddled, and disengaged” in the weeks and days leading up to his difficult debate with then-President Donald Trump last June, offering a troubling inside look at the president’s ongoing cognitive decline.
“At his first meeting with Biden in Aspen Lodge, the president’s cabin,” author Chris Whipple wrote of Klain in a new excerpt from “Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History,” which was published by The Guardian, Klain described himself as being visibly “startled” by the president’s condition, the extent of which had been covered up by the administration, elected Democrats and mainstream media outlets for months.
“He’d never seen him so exhausted and out of it. Biden was unaware of what was happening in his own campaign. Halfway through the session, the president excused himself and went off to sit by the pool,” Whittle wrote in the book, which is set to release next week.
Klain, who served as Biden’s chief of staff from 2021 to 2023, returned to the White House last summer to assist Biden in preparing for the crucial debate with his Republican challenger. Many political analysts believe that leading Democrats pushed for the June date—the earliest in presidential debate history—to assess the extent of the president’s cognitive decline. According to Klain, Biden “didn’t know what Trump had been saying and couldn’t grasp what the back and forth was,” and would leave debate prep early. In one instance, the then-commander-in-chief fell asleep by the pool.
The ex-president’s former chief of staff further revealed that Biden would routinely “obsess” over foreign leaders, saying, “these guys say I’m doing a great job as president so I must be a great president.” It also become clear that Biden “didn’t really understand what his argument was on inflation”; and “had nothing to say about a second term other than ‘finish the job.’”
At one point, Biden proposed a confusing strategy to counter Trump during the debate. “If he looked perplexed when Trump talked, voters would understand that Trump was an idiot,” Klain recalled. “Sir, when you look perplexed, people just think you’re perplexed. And this is our problem in this race,” he recalled telling his boss in response. During the notorious debate, Biden often stared at his opponent with a bewildered, wide-eyed expression. The optics were poorly received by voters and longtime Biden allies alike.
“That was painful,” former Obama official Van Jones said after the debate. “I love Joe Biden, I worked for Joe Biden. He didn’t do well at all. He did not do well at all.” The debate team prepared two mock debates to help Biden understand Trump’s anticipated lines of attack and talking points; however, most believed it had little impact as debate day approached.
“The first was scheduled to last 90 minutes but Klain called it off after 45. The president’s voice was shot and so was his grasp of the subject. All he really could talk about was his infrastructure plan and how he was rebuilding America and 16 million jobs. He had nothing to say about his agenda for a second term,” Whipple wrote.
Klain also mentioned that Biden was often irritable at the time and frequently resisted the team’s suggestions. “Twenty-five minutes into the second mock debate, the president was done for the day. ‘I’m just too tired to continue and I’m afraid of losing my voice here and I feel bad,’” Klain said, according to the excerpt. “‘I just need some sleep. I’ll be fine tomorrow.’ He went off to bed.”
