White House insiders claim Joe Biden's falling numbers have created a "toxic" environment for staffers, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Desperate staffers are reportedly drowning in a cesspool of bitter backbiting and attempted coups as the president's slipping poll numbers are said to have sparked fears they'll all be unemployed if the 81-year-old fails to win a second term.
"The atmosphere has become toxic," an insider dished to The National Enquirer. "People are acting like rats on a sinking ship, scurrying for cover and a way to save themselves. It's a wonder anything gets decided or done."
Sources claim the damning dysfunction became obvious in a recent failed coup against press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre — that gossips allege was masterminded by de facto communication chief Anita Dunn!
Dunn, 66, denied attempting to oust her rumored rival.
However, sources snitched the miffed mouthpiece tapped top Democrats to plead with Jean-Pierre, 49, to resign because the press secretary's uninspired answers to probing media questions — and her habit of reading replies straight from briefing binders — has reflected negatively on the administration!
A source told the outlet, "Simply firing Karine was not an option because the optics would have been so poor. You're talking about the first Black and openly gay person to hold the position. They needed to convince her to peacefully depart of her own volition."
Sources also have suggested Jean-Pierre's near-firing was a "dry run" for potentially eliminating Vice President Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party's presidential ticket before August's convention in Chicago.
"I think they were writing a playbook for how to rid themselves of a woman of color without incurring too much damage to Joe's support," the insider said. "Kamala is far more a drag on the ticket than Jean-Pierre will ever be."
Talk of potential power play comes as America's oldest-ever serving president continues to stumble on the campaign trial.
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Last month, Biden erroneously suggested his uncle, Ambrose Finnegan, was consumed by cannibals after his plane went down during World War II near Papua New Guinea.
Days later, the painfully candid POTUS confessed to shock jock Howard Stern he nearly hurled himself off the Delaware Memorial Bridge in 1972 after the car crash deaths of his first wife, Neilia, and their 13-month-old daughter, Naomi.
Meanwhile, Biden's poll numbers continue to plummet to historic lows. The flagging incumbent averaged a meager 38.7 percent approval rating in his 13th quarter in office — the lowest of any president in their first term going back to the mid-1950s.
A recent CNN survey also shows the commander in chief is trailing his Republican rival by six points! Sources squeal the sour news has contributed a grim atmosphere in the Oval Office.
The insider added, "Biden snaps at everyone for anything these days. He blames his senior advisers for the poor showing — and that sort of stuff rolls downhill. It's made the White House a bad place to work!"
RadarOnline.com has reached out for comment.