TAKING THE REINS

Biden’s Angry With White House Staff’s Micromanagement of 2024 Campaign: Report

Bad poll numbers versus Trump led the president to express frustration over not being given the opportunity to flex his skills as a retail politician.

President Joe Biden has reportedly expressed anger at the restrictions his staff has imposed on him on the campaign trail, leaving him worried that he can’t flex his skills as a retail politician. The anxiety, according to NBC News, has fueled his fear that he isn’t getting enough credit for his record going into the 2024 election. The frustrations reached a boiling point during a January meeting at the White House, where Biden began swearing after aides told him his poll numbers were down in the battleground states of Georgia and Michigan over Israel’s war in Gaza, according to NBC News. (“President Biden makes national security decisions based on the country’s national security needs alone—no other factor,” a White House spokesperson told NBC News.) Biden has since considered whether he should prioritize his own instincts over his staff’s advice, particularly when his staff’s suggestions conflict. “He’s probably a little mad at himself for not being more forceful with the staff,” a source told NBC News.