On Sept. 6, Franklin Foer published “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future.”
Granted exclusive access to Biden’s inner circle, Foer takes the reader into the White House as the Biden administration sought to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the passage of infrastructure and spending bills, the invasion of Ukraine and the 2020 midterms.
Insider testimony, personal observations, and historical accounts paint a picture of a White House at a crossroads in American history, with officials seeking to understand how to generate political unity and overcome the pressing challenges of the post-COVID era.
The book is a must-read for political buffs, Biden fans and history nerds, but if you don’t have the time for a read, here are some top takeaways from Foer’s book:
Biden felt made for the moment…
Foer argues that the 2020 electorate “turned to Joe Biden as a balm… Voters hoped the kindly grandfather might impose calm and decency, a bit of boredom.” Instead, Biden rejected this assumption once in office, proposing broad reform and returning to civility in the first two years of his administration. Biden, from Scranton, “hadn’t waited his whole life to be a placeholder,” and he ensured that his term goals reflected his lifelong ambitions.
…And his experience shines through in the narrative
Biden’s experience is the heartbeat of the book. Lessons from decades in politics define his character and governing style. Foer emphasizes that Biden’s experience is the bedrock of his greatest strengths. The behind-the-scenes nature of “The Last Politician” illustrates that political impulses and assumptions helped him shepherd his legislative agenda through Congress, strengthen the NATO alliance and collaborate with foreign leaders. Foer concludes that his experience becomes apparent while coalition-building during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – prior knowledge and challenges cast him as a role model for other foreign leaders that only years in public service can provide.
Being VP comes with challenges
Vice President Harris doesn’t appear many times throughout “The Last Politician.” But, when she is mentioned, Foer provides readers with a look into the difficulties of being vice president. Foer explains that Biden wanted Harris to feel like a critical administration member, seeking her counsel and opinion on matters and in meetings. Foer writes that while Biden’s years in Washington complimented President Obama’s less experience, this was not the case for the Biden-Harris administration: “Biden didn’t need Harris in the same way Obama needed Biden.”
Foer also implies that Vice President Harris struggled with finding her voice and role within the Biden administration. She told White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain that “she didn’t want to work on women’s issues or anything to do with race.” Klain found that she boxed herself in, making portfolio-building difficult. Nevertheless, Foer explains that her straightforward questioning and desire to better the lives of the American people bettered high-level conversations and complemented the style of Biden.
The US suspected Russia’s plans for Ukraine long before the February 2022 invasion
U.S. military intelligence saw the beginnings of the eventual war in Ukraine in April 2021 when Russia amassed troops on its border with Ukraine. Still, aides alerted Biden of more concrete Russian war plans in October 2021. Biden immediately recognized the severity of the situation, a few days later telling the G20 that “this is the real deal.” In November, Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky about the intelligence and Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine. Foer recounts that Zelensky “struggled to absorb the warning that his neighbor wanted to erase his country” and “refused to believe [it],” making war preparations difficult.
Before the Russian invasion, the Biden-Zelensky relationship was complicated
Foer describes Zelensky telling “aides that he regarded Biden as weak” and held the view that “Biden had undermined the Ukrainian economy.” Conversely, Biden did not think “much about his Ukraine counterpart” and was taken aback by Zelensky’s straightforward demands from the U.S. while in conversation with Biden, finding him untraditional and lacking respect for assumed meeting norms.
Biden wrestles with his faith in “better angels.”
Foer pulls back the curtain on Biden’s insecurities and inner turmoils, showing a portrait of a leader who can sometimes feel backed against the wall. Foiled by detractors in legislative aims, confronted with failure in the withdrawal from Afghanistan and frustrated by COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, Foer reveals that Biden faced difficulties keeping faith in “better angels,” a line he often repeats in speeches.
Foer addresses questions about Biden’s age
With the upcoming election, where Americans must once again decide who will occupy the Oval Office, Foer’s book can play an essential role in allowing voters to see how they feel about Biden’s presidency by providing greater access to its operations. Most importantly, however, his treatment of Biden’s age arguably provides the most essential takeaways from the book and the most fodder for Republican candidates to harness against Biden in 2024. A recent poll from AP-NORC shows that 69% of Democrats felt Joe Biden was too old for a second term.
Foer’s book provided an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look into what being president at 80 years old means. Foer explains that Biden struggles with “indiscipline and imprecision” when fielding questions from reporters and battles with how to get “answer[s] out cleanly” because of a stutter in his childhood. These assessments, however, are not as crucial as how Foer ends the book.
“It was striking that [Biden] took so few morning meetings or presided over so few public events before 10 a.m. His public persona reflected physical decline and time’s dulling of mental faculties that no pill or exercise regime can resist. In private, he would occasionally admit that he felt tired,” he wrote.