Former President Barack Obama did not endorse former Vice President Joe Biden for president, according to a new book, because he did not represent the appropriate level of change that he hoped his presidential legacy would represent.
A new book claims that Obama endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton instead of Biden in 2016 because he was “just another white guy.”
“Joe, despite his many virtues, was just another white guy, one in a long line of American presidents — hardly the symbol of the Teutonic change that Obama hoped would mark his place in the history books,” wrote author Steven Levingston in a new book, according to the Daily Mail.
Levingston is the nonfiction editor of the Washington Post, and has authored books about former President John F. Kennedy. His new book, Barack and Joe: The Making of an Extraordinary Partnership is scheduled for release on October 8.
“Barack had placed his bet on Hillary, the one he believed would confirm his revolutionary stamp on American’s political culture – the first black president passing the baton to the first woman president,” he wrote.
The book notes that Obama did not endorse Biden for president in 2020 either, marking a blow to his former vice president who routinely cites Obama’s legacy on the campaign trail.
Biden was also stung by the fact that Obama was meeting with potential presidential candidates such as former Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, according to Livingston.
The New York Times also reported in August that Obama told Biden, “You don’t have to do this, Joe,” referring to a conversation he had with his former vice president, and asked Biden’s aids to not let the former vice president embarrass himself.
The book also details an anecdote about Obama as a newly elected senator emailing one of his advisers, “Shoot. Me. Now.” as Biden droned on during a speech.