White House ‘not going to litigate’ claims in new Biden book
Haisten Willis
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The White House said it’s “not going to litigate” claims made in a new book chronicling the first two years of the Biden presidency.
Excerpts from Franklin Foer’s The Last Politician hold that President Joe Biden complained of being treated like a child by his staff, prompting questions during Tuesday’s press briefing.
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“President Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history,” a reporter said. “Why does the White House staff treat him like a baby?”
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that no one treats Biden that way, calling it a “ridiculous claim.”
The reporter continued by reading an excerpt from the book in which Biden, after appearing to call for regime change in Russia and having those comments walked back by staff, “fumed to friends about how he was treated like a toddler.”
Staff have walked back several of Biden’s statements over his two years in office, but Jean-Pierre defended his overall presence in the administration.
“There are always a range of books about every administration that are going to have a variety of claims,” she said. “That is not unusual. That happens all the time, and we’re not going to litigate those here. That’s something that we’re not going to speak to.”
However, Jean-Pierre said the wider context of the excerpt was about how Biden’s “experience and wisdom” rallied the world to Ukraine’s aid against Russia. She also pointed to the bills passed by Congress in 2022 as evidence of Biden’s leadership.
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A different reporter asked about the book last week, citing an excerpt that said Biden is often tired and that, because of that, most of his public appearances are scheduled between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“That’s a ridiculous assumption to make,” Jean-Pierre responded. “I mean, that’s a ridiculous assumption to make.”