Although Joe Biden's choice as the former president's running mate has been hailed as "one of the best judgments I ever made," a new book says that Obama seriously pondered dumping Biden during his second bid for the presidency.
According to The Washington Examiner, the revelation is part of the upcoming book The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
The book is scheduled for release on September 13, after a 2010 midterm election and tasks about the "shellacking," Obama tasked his advisers with considering replacements and they conducted tests about Hillary Clinton's brand with supporters. Previous Obama administration representatives have denied such reports.
"I think one of the jobs of chief of staff is to recommend lots of things out of the box," Bill Daley, former Obama White House chief of staff, previously told CBS This Morning.
"But not for a moment was there a serious discussion or a belief that Joe Biden should be replaced, period," Daley said. "That doesn't mean issues were not looked at."
According to the book, which was written by Gabriel Debenedetti, national correspondent for New York Magazine, Obama frequently moaned during meetings when Biden babbled on for too long and occasionally prodded him to zip it.
According to the book's summary by the Daily Mail, he was also irritated by Biden's tendency to make mistakes and inciting ridicule of his administration in the public.
Obama and Biden had been wary of one another throughout their professional relationship, which included cooperation on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee while both were members of the upper chamber. According to the book, Biden was "slightly annoyed" by the attention Obama received on a national level.
Biden's popularity with white voters was seen as a crucial political asset by Obama, who reportedly chose him because he wanted to be "pragmatic, not passionate." Obama kept Biden on board despite any reservations he may have had about him serving a second term in the White House.