Inside the White House call to completely blindsided staff 20 HOURS after finding out Biden dropped out online --What Joe's chief-of-staff said to bemused aides | 22 July 2024 | White House staff got a pep talk on Monday morning, 20 hours after President [sic] Joe Biden dramatically dropped out of the presidential race, but it failed to acknowledge their frustrations with learning the news alongside the American public. Chief of Staff Jeff Zients held a six-minute phone call with staff, which one White House official described as "rah rah" in nature. Zients praised the administration's accomplishments thus far and told staff there was still work to be done, according to a recording obtained by DailyMail.com. But he didn't acknowledge that staff wasn't given a heads up on Biden's decision. Biden pulled the plug on his 2024 reelection bid Sunday with an announcement on X, blindsiding most White House aides and his campaign staff.