Palpable tension is simmering and heating up between President Joe “Empty Shelves” Biden and his former boss, ex-President Barack Obama, according to a report by The Washington Post.
This happened just as Obama and his wife, Michelle, came back to the White House for a ceremony to unveil their official portraits.
A Very Tense Obama–Biden Relationship
Barack Obama and his ex-subordinate, Joe Biden, apparently disliked each other ever since they met for the first time in the mid-2000s.
The dislike lived on even during the eight years of the two-term Obama presidency from 2009-2017, according to revelations in a new book, “The Long Alliance.”
The WaPo article’s title states modestly that tensions between Sleepy Joe and his ex-boss “linger,” but the article paints a detailed picture of currently existing bitterness between the former running mates and their respective “camps” in the Democrat Party.
The report starts by dwelling on the event back in April when Obama returned to the White House for the first time since he left office more than five years ago.
During that event, which celebrated the anniversary of Obamacare, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi actually kissed the former president’s hand. In Obama’s speech, he referred to Sleepy Joe as “Vice President Biden,” supposedly as a joke.
Biden himself pretended to laugh and even saluted Obama as though the latter was still his boss.
Barack and Michelle helped lift the American people's burden of fear with the blessing of hope.
That’s the gift of the Obama presidency to history. And it’s a gift I felt personally. It was my honor to unveil their White House portraits today. pic.twitter.com/YFTa5RPFx1
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 7, 2022
Barack and Michelle Obama have returned to the White House for the unveiling of their official portraits.
Prior to the unveilings in the East Room, the current US President Joe Biden greeted the couple, saying: "Welcome home."
Read the full story: https://t.co/AjmSdIsSOi pic.twitter.com/KVbsL1El1L
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 7, 2022
Obama’s Arrogance vs. Biden’s Progressivism
The incident in question, however, was a source of irritation and fury to “some longtime Biden staffers,” according to The Washington Post.
Its report claims they considered the “zinger” to have been a display of Obama’s “arrogance,” which has been part of a pattern.
According to WaPo, they were also reminded of the “disrespect” with which Obama’s own staffers viewed them during the eight years in which Sleepy Joe was only the veep.
The Washington Post summed up the relationship in question as being made up of “long-simmering tension,” as well as “jealousy.”
While it dwells on the problematic ties between Obama and Biden, though, the report does not omit to mention their respective presidential terms were “bracketed” by the “disastrous tenure” of Republican President Trump.
WaPo declares, however, that Biden loyalists are angry Obama still doesn’t respect their boss “fully.” Meanwhile, Obama loyalists feel “frustrated” that the side constantly brags about how the Biden administration managed to avoid the Obama presidency’s mistakes.
There have already been media reports and reporters’ books claiming Obama himself is envious of Biden because the latter’s administration has been more “progressive.”
The report of The Washington Post concludes, for all the interpersonal and camp vs. camp tensions between Obama and Biden, the Democrat Party needs them to come together in order to “bolster” its turnout in the 2022 midterm elections.
This article appeared in BeyondNews and has been published here with permission.Former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama visited the White House on Wednesday to unveil their official portraits. The former president spoke to his relationship with current President Joe Biden, saying it's "America's good fortune," to be under his leadership. pic.twitter.com/EtKt8KIDJK
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) September 7, 2022
