New Book Reveals Intense Feud Between Obamas And Clintons

A “sensational” new book by Edward Klein claims that intense animosity between the Obamas and the Clintons threatens to upend Democratic chances of keeping the White House in 2016.

The ill will, detailed in Klein’s Blood Feud, dates as far back as Barack Obama’s first successful presidential campaign, in 2008, when the Clintons were sure that the democratic nomination would be theirs. According to Klein, President Clinton harbors a serious grudge against Obama over suggestions made in the 2008 campaign that the former president was a racist. Clinton is said to have told a friend, “I hate that man Obama more than any man I’ve ever met, more than any man who ever lived,” according to MailOnline.

The antagonism doesn’t end there, however. According to the New York Post, which published excerpts from Klein’s book, Michelle Obama regularly engaged in gossip sessions with trusted adviser Valarie Jarrett in which they griped about Hillary Clinton, whom they nicknamed “Hildebeest.”

Tensions reportedly came to head during the run-up to the 2012 elections, when President Obama was advised that he would need his predecessor’s help to secure an electoral victory. After being invited for a round of golf by the sitting president, Clinton reportedly complained to a group of friends and associates that he wasn’t going to enjoy the meeting with Obama:

“I’ve had two successors since I left the White House — Bush and Obama — and I’ve heard more from Bush, asking for my advice, than I’ve heard from Obama. I have no relationship with the president — none whatsoever.”

The golf game, which Clinton saw as a necessity in order to get Obama “to owe me and to be on our side,” was an awkward affair from the very beginning. Clinton reportedly talked up Hillary’s qualifications for 2016, and reminded Obama that he had presided over eight years of economic prosperity. Clinton’s comments rankled Obama, who is acutely aware of criticism that he was relatively inexperienced when he took office. After changing the subject several times, Obama reportedly said, “You know, Michelle would make a great presidential candidate, too,” leaving Clinton speechless. The former president was so miffed that he reportedly told a family friend he would have walked off the golf course had he not been on a mission to strike a deal with Obama.

Following his re-election, President Obama made an effort to smooth over relations between the two couples by hosting the Clintons for a dinner at the White House on the day that the sequestration budget cuts went into effect. According to Klein, the dinner was a tense gathering that saw Hillary asking Michelle if she was planning on following her lead and running for an Illinois senate seat after the Obamas left the West Wing. Bill Clinton was reportedly stunned that his wife would show her hand so openly, and turned the conversation to Obama’s 2012 campaign, suggesting the president fold his successful organization into the Democratic National Committee. As Clinton told Obama, “You have to use your organization to aid the candidate in 2016,” the president replied “Really?” in a sarcastic tone.

As both men raised their voice, Obama began playing with his Blackberry under the table, intentionally snubbing Clinton. Hillary asked Obama if he was glad he didn’t have to campaign again, and suggested that he didn’t enjoy it, to which the president responded, “For a guy who doesn’t like it, I’ve done pretty well.”

While speculation abounds that Hillary Clinton will run for president in 2016, as The Inquisitr has reported, her husband has become convinced that the Obamas aren’t intending to endorse her. Instead, the former president related that he has heard from state committeemen that Obama is looking for an unknown politician to support. Reportedly telling his daughter that Obama is “hunting for someone to succeed him,” Clinton said that the president “believes the American people don’t want to vote for someone who’s been around for a long time.” The president, who apparently considers the Clintons to be “so 20th century,” is “looking for ­another Barack Obama,” according to Bill Clinton.

[Images via MailOnline]