What makes President Joe Biden?

We’re all pretty familiar with Vice President Biden and Senator Biden.
But in his latest iteration as commander-in-chief, it hasn’t been as
easy to see inside his mind. 

Cracking into Biden’s brain and inside the White House has been a
challenge for the media.

He’s surrounded by a tight “clan” of family and advisors who have
achieved Biden lifer status — and they don’t often leak. It consists of
his sister Valerie, and the five advisers known as the Quint: Steve
Ricchetti, Mike Donilon, Anita Dunn, Bruce Reed, and now former chief of
staff Ron Klain. 

It’s been a notoriously tough circle to penetrate. 

But now one person has done it: Franklin Foer, who spent the last few
years inside the heads of Biden and his team and has written the
definitive account of President Biden’s first two years in office called
“The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle
for America's Future.”

The book was originally supposed to be about the first one hundred days.
But the story was too interesting to stop. Next, he planned to wrap up
after the passage of Build Back Better. The book ended up growing into a
two-year project that ends tidily with the midterms.

But where the book really shines when it grapples with the core of who
Biden is —  both psychologically and ideologically. Whether you love
Biden or hate him,  Frank’s book just might change your mind about how
you understand him.

On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan
Lizza sits down with Frank Foer to dig into the revelations that fill
the pages of his new book, like how pivotal Biden’s inner circle is to
his decision making; his relationship with Ukrainian president Volodymyr
Zelenskyy; the low point of the presidency so far; and what’s in store
for Biden as he prepares for another run as the oldest sitting president
in history.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Franklin Foer is a staff writer at The Atlantic. 
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. 
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.