By As his term comes to an end, it appears that Joe Biden is settling scores, including against his old boss, Barack Obama. The president has privately expressed frustration with former Obama’s handling of Russia, blaming him for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to a forthcoming book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward. Leaked excerpts from War, set to be released on October 15, reveal Biden’s candid reflections on the previous administration’s policies, claiming that a lack of seriousness toward Russian President Vladimir Putin set the stage for the conflict.
Obama helped assist in pushing Biden out of the nomination over the summer and the sitting president allegedly backed Harris as a way to get back at him. The 44th president reportedly believes that the vice president is an “incompetent.”
The early excerpts of the book show an angry president unable to control his temper or his foul language, writes CNN.
Ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden complained that Obama didn’t do enough to stop Putin in 2014, when the Russian leader invaded Crimea.
“They f**ked up in 2014,” Biden said to a friend, according to Woodward. “That’s why we are here. We f**ked it up. Barack never took Putin seriously.
Biden added, “We did nothing. We gave Putin a license to continue!” Biden was angry: “Well, I’m revoking his f**king license!”
In addition to the insights on Biden’s frustrations, the book claims that at one point, Biden’s national security advisers believed there was a 50-50 chance that Putin could resort to using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
War also delves into other global conflicts, including Israel’s war with Hamas, and includes explosive remarks Biden allegedly made about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president reportedly criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the escalating conflict, allegedly calling him a “bad f***ing guy” and questioning Israel’s strategy following the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas.
Woodward’s book also takes aim at former President Donald Trump, alleging that he maintained a private line of communication with Putin. The book cites a Trump aide who claims that at least seven private phone calls occurred between Trump and the Russian leader. The revelations have led to fierce backlash from Trump’s camp, with a spokesman dismissing the book as a “political hack job,” reported The Washington Examiner.
“None of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told the newspaper. “Woodward is an angry, little man and is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of the unauthorized publishing of recordings he made previously.”
“President Trump gave him absolutely no access for this trash book that either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue,” Cheung continued. “Woodward is a total sleazebag who has lost it mentally, and he’s slow, lethargic, incompetent and overall a boring person with no personality.”
Trump has further escalated the battle, suing Woodward for $50 million, accusing him of publishing unauthorized interview tapes recorded during Trump’s presidency. While Woodward’s legal team has sought to dismiss the lawsuit, the case remains ongoing.
As War makes its way to shelves, its promotional material promises to offer an “intimate and sweeping account” of the U.S. response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war in the Middle East, positioning the conflicts within a broader power struggle for control of the Oval Office.
Woodward, now 81, has long been known for his groundbreaking investigative reporting, notably his coverage of the Watergate scandal alongside fellow Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein.
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