Tipsheet

Axios Says the Quiet Part Out Loud About Who's in Control of the Country

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  July 01, 2024 11:00 AM

Following last week’s debate performance by President Biden, Axios published a piece saying the quiet part out loud about who really runs the country. 

The report, headlined “Behind the Curtain: Biden oligarchy will decide fate," notes that the only way the commander in chief will step aside is if a “small group of lifelong loyalists who enabled his run suddenly—and shockingly—decides it’s time for him to call it quits.”

Why it matters: Dr. Jill Biden; his younger sister, Valerie Biden; and 85-year-old Ted Kaufman, the president's longtime friend and constant adviser — plus a small band of White House advisers — are the only Biden deciders.

This decades-long kitchen cabinet operates as an extended family, council of elders and governing oligarchy. These allies alone hold sway over decisions big and small in Biden's life and presidency.

  • The president engaged in no organized process outside his family in deciding to run for a second term, the N.Y. Times' Peter Baker reports.
  • Then Biden alone made the decision, people close to him tell us.

Behind the scenes: If Biden stays in, it's for the same reason he decided to run again: He and the oligarchy believe he has a much better chance of beating former President Trump than Vice President Harris does. (Axios)

Critics highlighted Axios's admission, especially considering those on the right were criticized as conspiracy theorists for making the same argument. 


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