Top White House aides reportedly created a “wall” to keep President Joe Biden from participating in unscripted events and long interviews over fears of more blunders from the president, according to a new book.
The book, “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of The Washington Post, cited several of the president’s gaffes from early on in his administration, such as an instance in June when he lost his temper during an exchange with CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins for which he later apologized.
“That side of Biden — his tendency to at times be testy or mangle statements — was still with him and now part of his presidency,” the book reads.
Biden aides told the writers that Chief of Staff Ronald Klain and then-White House advisor Anita Dunn made efforts to prevent gaffes from occurring by restricting his availability for “unscripted events or long interviews.”
“They called the effect ‘the wall,’ a cocooning of the president,” the book says.
Despite this “wall” put up around the president, the book points out that the gaffes still persisted.
The authors wrote that the White House in one instance went into damage control after Biden announced he had reached a deal with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, but later said it was contingent on the passage of a more progressive spending package.
This move took Democrats by surprise as they were under the impression that the bills were separate while Republicans were angered about the stipulation. Administration officials then attempted to repair the damage through phone calls and Biden issued a statement clarifying his position.
The book’s contents include a number of other revelations, such as reporting about General Mark Milley, who was found to have reassured China that he would notify them if President Donald Trump planned to attack them in the final months of his presidency.
