Revelations about Bidens White House from the first inside account
What makes President Joe Biden?\nWe\u2019re all pretty familiar with Vice President Biden and Senator Biden. But in his latest iteration as commander-in-chief, it hasn\u2019t been as easy to see inside his mind.\xa0\nCracking into Biden\u2019s brain and inside the White House has been a challenge for the media.\nHe\u2019s surrounded by a tight \u201cclan\u201d of family and advisors who have achieved Biden lifer status \u2014 and they don\u2019t often leak. It consists of his sister Valerie, and the five advisers known as the Quint: Steve Ricchetti, Mike Donilon, Anita Dunn, Bruce Reed, and now former chief of staff Ron Klain.\xa0\nIt\u2019s been a notoriously tough circle to penetrate.\xa0\nBut now one person has done it: Franklin Foer, who spent the last few years inside the heads of Biden and his team and has written the definitive account of President Biden\u2019s first two years in office called \u201cThe Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future.\u201d\nThe book was originally supposed to be about the first one hundred days. But the story was too interesting to stop. Next, he planned to wrap up after the passage of Build Back Better. The book ended up growing into a two-year project that ends tidily with the midterms.\nBut where the book really shines when it grapples with the core of who Biden is \u2014\xa0 both psychologically and ideologically. Whether you love Biden or hate him,\xa0 Frank\u2019s book just might change your mind about how you understand him.\nOn this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza sits down with Frank Foer to dig into the revelations that fill the pages of his new book, like how pivotal Biden\u2019s inner circle is to his decision making; his relationship with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the low point of the presidency so far; and what\u2019s in store for Biden as he prepares for another run as the oldest sitting president in history.\nRyan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Franklin Foer is a staff writer at The Atlantic.\xa0Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.\xa0Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices