One of Joe Biden’s former aides released a tell-all book about his experiences working on the vice president’s staff. Jeff Connaughton credits the Delaware politician with inspiring him to get involved in the political arena, but he eventually formed an unfavorable view of the man a heartbeat away from the presidency.
The author claims that Biden managed his staff through fear and describes the vice president as an “egomaniacal autocrat.” Connaughton’s book, The Payoff , was described as the story of a “guilt-racked whistle-blower” by Politico . According to the news website, Connaughton was a party to a corrupt system, and he now wants to “blow the lid off the game.”
In The Payoff , the former Biden aide states that he arrived in Washington, D.C., as a Democrat and let as a plutocrat. The author also called both President Barack Obama and Joe Biden “financially illiterate” in the tell-all book. The author is also critical of the Justice Department, according to BusinessInsider .
An excerpt from Connaughton’s book reads:
“Biden told us that Obama had called him and told him sharply that he didn’t need public tutoring, ‘I don’t need you acting like you’re my Henry Higgins.’ Biden said his private reaction was, ‘Whoa. Where did this come from? This is clearly a guy who could restrict my role to attending state funerals or just put me in a closet for four years.’ “
The former aide also claims that the vice president stated he was going to have to work to earn President Obama’s trust, said he would not “grovel,” and said that his “manhood” was not negotiable. A statement about The Payoff from Joe Biden’s office notes the vice president has not read the book but does remember working with the author for many years.
The statement about the tell-all book from the vice president’s office reads:
“The Vice President values his relationships with all members of his staff, and appreciates their hard work and dedication to serving the public. He wishes Mr. Connaughton all the best going forward.”
