It appears the bromance between former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden is on the rocks.
ABC News journalist Jonathan Karl told podcaster Katie Couric that the two presidents appear not to be speaking at the moment.
“Have you talked to Joe Biden since he left the White House at all, John?” Couric asked during a recent podcast episode.
“He was out to dinner in Washington, DC, at Cafe Milano. I happened to be there. You know who else was there was Barack Obama. But they didn't cross paths,” Karl answered.
“What’s their relationship like?” Couric asked.
“Really bad. Really bad,” Karl replied.
“Biden and the people around him very much blame Barack Obama for the effort to push Biden out of the campaign,” Karl continued. “I had extensive interviews with Hunter Biden for this book, and Hunter Biden is just, he's got real anger towards Barack Obama, and I think he's channeling not just Hunter, but the Biden family. He believes that, for instance, the George Clooney op-ed, that was such a big moment where Clooney calls on Biden to drop out.”
Hunter Biden, the former president’s son, also told Karl that he became incensed when Obama led Biden off the stage after they both appeared at a fundraiser, saying, “You don’t grab the President of the United States like that.”
“So it's not a good relationship. If they had wanted to see each other, they absolutely would have,” Karl added.
Karl further stated that Biden and those in his orbit still believed he could win the 2024 election even after his disastrous debate performance and the fact that his cognitive decline was on full display.
“By the way, when he finally made that decision, he calls Kamala Harris and says he's dropping out,” Karl explained. “Kamala Harris really pushes him to make the endorsement immediately, which he ultimately does.”
There's been a lot of talk on how Kamala Harris sat down and made over 100 phone calls to get people to support her campaign and to get started. But Biden made a whole bunch of phone calls that night, too. I was astounded to hear that one person he did not call was Barack Obama, the person that really made it possible for him to be President by making him vice President. Obama did call, I learned, to talk to Biden. He didn't take the call, and the two of them did not speak for weeks. They eventually spoke right before the convention. But can you imagine? I mean, literally not taking the call.
It appears the Biden/Obama bromance is on the rocks. pic.twitter.com/OnyHP9yYkH
— Jeff Charles, Head Nogga In Charge🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) November 14, 2025
Biden was reportedly upset at Obama and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for pushing him to exit the race.
Tensions between the two leaders have been brewing since 2016, when Obama discouraged Biden from entering the race. He told Biden that it would be extremely difficult to defeat Hillary Clinton in the primaries. Obama also waited to endorse Biden in the 2020 primary race, which Biden interpreted as a lack of faith.
Biden was also frustrated that Obama did not bother to call him after his disaster of a debate performance against Trump. A Biden White House official also said Obama “created tension during his visits, acting as if he still held authority.”
To sum it up, it appears Biden believes Obama was never fully in his corner — and he resents it. Perhaps another beer summit might be in order?