President Joe Biden The president's decision to resign July was inspired by the high-profile struggles that plagued his son Hunter Biden in the final years of his first term — leaving him with an “overwhelming” sense of guilt that those close to the outgoing president say tormented him more than the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
In his new book, “War,” famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward offers readers an intimate look at the Trump and Biden presidencies at their most vulnerable moments; Offering a rare split-screen look into the thinking of two very different leaders as they analyze the biggest foreign policy challenges and security risks in modern memory.
Fox News has obtained an advance copy of the book ahead of its release next week.
Woodward's book also captures the most intimate moments of both presidencies. For Biden, that includes the results of his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate in June — watched by an estimated 51 million people — and the influx of pressure within the Democratic Party for Biden to drop out of the race.
Among party leaders and donors, it crystallized long-standing fears that Biden, 81, was no longer in a position to defend himself. Second match against Donald Trump. Your panic is only matched by your sense of urgency and the ticking of the clock to choose a suitable candidate.
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President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump during the first presidential debate. (Getty Images via Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg)
As Woodward reports, Biden struggled mightily to accept that consensus — first, trying to dismiss his disastrous performance as a bad night and an event from which he could recover in the coming months. The tsunami of pressure bearing down on him grew stronger.
In fact, according to Woodward, Biden was leaning toward staying in the race on July 4 when he met with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for a private lunch. Blinken, who showed up to lunch prepared for a difficult conversation, told Woodward that Biden still believes he can win a second term as president — a title he has pursued his entire life and finally achieved.
According to him, the investigation and legal problems were some of the factors that led to his decision to give up. Close to his son Hunter.
According to Woodward's report, it was clear when the two met that their son's problems had escalated. Blinken, in his account, spoke openly with Biden about withdrawing. “I don’t want to see his legacy compromised,” he said.
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President Biden hugs his son Hunter Biden during the Democratic National Convention, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Sancia)
Seeing little progress, Blinken tried a different approach. “Do you really want to do this for the next four years?” she asked.
Biden's first term oversaw the US recovery from a global pandemic, the first war on European soil since World War II and Israel's war begins in Gaza and Lebanon. Each day is fraught with turbulence and lasting consequences. And yet, those close to Biden say it was his youngest son, Hunter Biden, whose struggles seemed to weigh most heavily on the president..
The book describes Hunter's problems as Biden's “real battle”: a constant source of anxiety for the president, who constantly fought his father's instincts to protect his son, his “beautiful son,” as he called him — and to reconcile with who he felt. deep guilt, knowing that his presidency was a driving force behind many of the investigations surrounding his son.
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Hunter Biden, accompanied by his mother, first lady Jill Biden, and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, leave the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
For Biden, the knowledge “left him heartbroken” and affected him more than larger crises outside of Europe and the Middle East, sources said, adding that Woodward kept the president “a little under wraps” by keeping him busy and “taking a lot of money”. from him.”
When describing the president's inner turmoil to Woodward, Blinken himself cried, thinking about his relationship with two young children.
Biden, Blinken explained, “desperately” wanted to pull Hunter “out of the abyss” — to take him back, to save him — but his efforts and best efforts failed.
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The book does not detail how Hunter's legal problems and investigations were directly related to the president's decision to resign, which was likely the result of a multitude of factors, internal party pressure, and deep personal considerations. THE White House did not respond Fox News requested comment on this matter.
The book offers an unflinching look at one of the president's most emotionally difficult struggles, one that will ultimately contribute to his staying in the race.
“Battle” hits bookstores on October 15th.
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