Chris Whipple

And Mike Donilon went to the Harvard Kennedy School months after the election and said he thought the party had lost its mind by walking away from the guy who got 81 million votes in 2020. So all I'm saying is that those guys weren't covering up somebody that they thought was incapable of governing. They believed he was still on his game.

And Mike Donilon went to the Harvard Kennedy School months after the election and said he thought the party had lost its mind by walking away from the guy who got 81 million votes in 2020. So all I'm saying is that those guys weren't covering up somebody that they thought was incapable of governing. They believed he was still on his game.

He was in a terrible state. He was absolutely exhausted. He was unable, really, to follow— what was happening in the campaign. He was tuned out. He was obsessed with NATO and with foreign policy, particularly with Emmanuel Macron of France and Olaf Scholz of Germany. He kept talking about how they said he was doing such a great job.

He was in a terrible state. He was absolutely exhausted. He was unable, really, to follow— what was happening in the campaign. He was tuned out. He was obsessed with NATO and with foreign policy, particularly with Emmanuel Macron of France and Olaf Scholz of Germany. He kept talking about how they said he was doing such a great job.

He was in a terrible state. He was absolutely exhausted. He was unable, really, to follow— what was happening in the campaign. He was tuned out. He was obsessed with NATO and with foreign policy, particularly with Emmanuel Macron of France and Olaf Scholz of Germany. He kept talking about how they said he was doing such a great job.

Klain wondered half-jokingly if Biden thought he was president of NATO and not president of the U.S. He didn't really have anything to say about his second-term plans. And early on, he walked out of a session in the Aspen Lodge, the president's cabin, went over to the pool, sank into a lounge chair, and just fell sound asleep.

Klain wondered half-jokingly if Biden thought he was president of NATO and not president of the U.S. He didn't really have anything to say about his second-term plans. And early on, he walked out of a session in the Aspen Lodge, the president's cabin, went over to the pool, sank into a lounge chair, and just fell sound asleep.

Klain wondered half-jokingly if Biden thought he was president of NATO and not president of the U.S. He didn't really have anything to say about his second-term plans. And early on, he walked out of a session in the Aspen Lodge, the president's cabin, went over to the pool, sank into a lounge chair, and just fell sound asleep.

Well, I don't know if the campaign ever formally considered canceling the debate. I said to Ron, given the condition of the president that he described, I said, did you think about, wait a minute, we should put this off? And Klain said, no, look, it just wasn't politically feasible to do that, given the sensitivity, given the fact that his cognitive condition was such a huge issue.

Well, I don't know if the campaign ever formally considered canceling the debate. I said to Ron, given the condition of the president that he described, I said, did you think about, wait a minute, we should put this off? And Klain said, no, look, it just wasn't politically feasible to do that, given the sensitivity, given the fact that his cognitive condition was such a huge issue.

Well, I don't know if the campaign ever formally considered canceling the debate. I said to Ron, given the condition of the president that he described, I said, did you think about, wait a minute, we should put this off? And Klain said, no, look, it just wasn't politically feasible to do that, given the sensitivity, given the fact that his cognitive condition was such a huge issue.

They had to go forward. They couldn't – they had no choice in Klain's view. But as you said and as I report in the book, Biden was – Klain was trying every trick in the book to bring the president up to speed. He got him on the phone with Melinda French Gates who – loves to talk about child care, hoping that that might kindle some interest in talking about his second-term plans for that.

They had to go forward. They couldn't – they had no choice in Klain's view. But as you said and as I report in the book, Biden was – Klain was trying every trick in the book to bring the president up to speed. He got him on the phone with Melinda French Gates who – loves to talk about child care, hoping that that might kindle some interest in talking about his second-term plans for that.

They had to go forward. They couldn't – they had no choice in Klain's view. But as you said and as I report in the book, Biden was – Klain was trying every trick in the book to bring the president up to speed. He got him on the phone with Melinda French Gates who – loves to talk about child care, hoping that that might kindle some interest in talking about his second-term plans for that.

And it worked for a minute, but then Biden lost interest. So it was not a pretty picture, that Camp David preparation.

And it worked for a minute, but then Biden lost interest. So it was not a pretty picture, that Camp David preparation.

And it worked for a minute, but then Biden lost interest. So it was not a pretty picture, that Camp David preparation.

It was a typical thing for Joe Biden, and it was almost like producing a Hollywood movie, literally, because Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg were on a Zoom call with him before he went to Camp David advising him on – how to answer questions, and Katzenberg in particular specialized in body language.

It was a typical thing for Joe Biden, and it was almost like producing a Hollywood movie, literally, because Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg were on a Zoom call with him before he went to Camp David advising him on – how to answer questions, and Katzenberg in particular specialized in body language.

It was a typical thing for Joe Biden, and it was almost like producing a Hollywood movie, literally, because Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg were on a Zoom call with him before he went to Camp David advising him on – how to answer questions, and Katzenberg in particular specialized in body language.