WASHINGTON – As Iran launched a series of ballistic missiles aimed at Israel, President Joe Biden closely followed the escalating situation from a dimly lit room on the White House’s ground floor.

On the wall, a video screen allowed the president and his national security team to observe the missiles flying towards Tel Aviv. They could see how many missiles were airborne, but the immediate outcome—whether any hit their intended targets—was still unknown.

The atmosphere in the Situation Room grew tense as Biden and his aides anticipated updates. At one moment, Biden rose from his chair at the conference table and began pacing nervously.

However, the missile crisis wasn’t the only urgent issue weighing on Biden’s mind that day. Earlier, on October 1, a significant labor strike had unfolded, with tens of thousands of dockworkers across the U.S. halting operations, which impacted major ports from Maine to Texas and effectively halted shipping activities.

This labor conflict posed a risk of empty store shelves, rising prices, and could complicate recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene, which had struck parts of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina just days before. To make matters worse, another major storm was predicted to develop in the Caribbean and head towards Florida’s West Coast shortly thereafter.

Biden faced a considerable challenge in managing the response to these three simultaneous crises. Despite decades of experience in government, he had only a few months left in his presidency. Biden had stepped back from seeking re-election in July due to doubts about his ability to maintain a second term.

Concerns about Biden’s performance—particularly following a challenging debate with Donald Trump—had prompted questions about his fitness for presidential duties. Nevertheless, aides noted that he remained fully engaged amid the stresses and spontaneous challenges of the job, even as Trump convincingly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a recent election.

On Thursday, Biden was scheduled to leave for Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, followed by a trip to Brazil where he would meet with leaders from the G20 for what would be his final time as president. The uncertainty surrounding his impending departure from office and Trump’s potential return loomed over these international discussions.

With limited time remaining, Biden had a significant agenda to address before his tenure ended.

“We feel the clock is ticking, and we want to accomplish as much as we can,” explained Liz Sherwood-Randall, Biden’s homeland security adviser, who has collaborated with him for four decades.

However, unplanned developments, both domestically and globally, often disrupt a president’s objectives. For several days in late September and October, Biden navigated through a convergence of crises that posed a considerable test to his single-term presidency.

An Ambitious Final Phase

Six months prior, Jeff Zients received an unexpected call at home on the afternoon of July 21.

Biden, calling from his Wilmington, Delaware residence, informed his chief of staff that he had decided to conclude his campaign for a second term. Following a troublesome debate with Trump, Democratic leaders had urged Biden to allow Harris to take over as the party’s nominee. Biden instructed Zients to inform senior staff of his decision.

During the call, he also expressed his desire to maximize his remaining months in office. “I want to ensure that this last six months is as productive, if not more, than any previous six-month period during my time in office,” Zients remembered Biden stating.

White House aides generally plan Biden’s agenda in 100-day segments. While acknowledging that a new plan was already laid out for the next 100 days, Biden insisted on devising a fresh strategy immediately, outlining the priorities he wished to focus on for the remainder of his presidency.

“We focused heavily on reducing costs,” Zients mentioned. “While we have achieved significant progress, there are still numerous areas where expenses remain unacceptably high.”

“What else can we do about junk fees? What additional actions can we take on housing? What further steps are needed concerning food?”

In response, Biden’s team quickly crafted a new plan for his remaining months in office.

Then, disaster struck.

Hurricane Helene and a ‘president for all Americans’

On September 26, Hurricane Helene hit Florida with devastating force and moved across the southeastern U.S., affecting states such as Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas, reaching as far north as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

The storm resulted in at least 227 fatalities, obliterating towns through flooding. It destroyed hundreds of roads and damaged bridges. Many residents in remote communities faced isolation without power or phone connectivity, and thousands lacked access to safe drinking water. The destruction from this hurricane, one of the deadliest in U.S. history, is expected to exceed $30 billion.

Biden had previously managed severe flooding in California, a catastrophic tornado in Kentucky, and various other natural disasters during his presidency, but Helene presented unique challenges due to the remote locations affected and the difficulty in reaching victims amid damaged infrastructure and communication systems.

In response, Biden activated federal resources. About 1,500 active-duty service members from Fort Campbell in Kentucky and Fort Liberty in North Carolina were deployed to distribute food, water, and medical supplies as well as assist in clearing roads and removing debris.

In total, 4,800 federal personnel were sent to support state-led recovery operations. Biden’s directive was clear: Reach those who might lack the means to seek assistance. Determine their needs and ensure they receive support while bypassing bureaucratic hurdles.

Biden had shown his disaster relief strategy early in his presidency. Just weeks after taking office, Texas was hit by a major winter storm, which brought snow and ice, crippling the state’s power grid and causing extensive blackouts.

“In that moment, the president directly communicated with me about the importance of illustrating from the outset of his presidency that he was a president for everyone,” noted Sherwood-Randall.

She added that the emergency response during his administration “would focus not on red states or blue states but on where Americans genuinely required federal assistance.”

Since then, “with every disaster, we’ve developed a specific pattern to follow,” she explained, “because I know how deeply he cares about ensuring we cut through red tape to help those in dire need.”

This method would soon face another test.

‘Very well prepared’ for Iranian strike on Israel

The time it takes for a missile to travel from Iran to Israel creates a tense period of uncertainty for those monitoring the situation.

This was certainly the case for Biden and his team as they watched anxiously on October 1, trying to ascertain how many of the nearly 200 ballistic missiles launched at Israel would hit their targets.

Within the Situation Room, “there were some very tense moments of silence as the events unfolded,” shared Brett McGurk, the White House’s Middle East coordinator.

During this crisis, the team’s thoughts shifted to colleagues in Israel, American citizens residing there, and all civilians who were at risk, McGurk recalled.

Biden spent more than three hours in the Situation Room, monitoring the situation with Vice President Harris and other team members. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin joined the call, while Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, provided ongoing updates about the missile threat.

Throughout that day, Biden was frequently pulled out of the room by his aides to address other pressing matters.

While the federal government was still working with the states impacted by Hurricane Helene, dockworkers, amidst a contract dispute with shipping firms, had initiated a strike that morning, potentially hindering recovery efforts in the hurricane-affected areas. Biden directed his team to encourage both sides to swiftly reach an agreement.

With decades of experience in government, Biden smoothly transitioned from one crisis to the next, showcasing his leadership skills, as noted by Zients. “This was notably significant, especially during this intense period,” he remarked.

On October 7, the situation in Gaza took a dramatic turn. How far might the conflict spread?

For months, tensions between Israel and Iran had been on the rise in the Middle East.

In April, Iran launched 300 missiles and drones towards Israel as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intensified military operations in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group responsible for an attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. This assault left 1,200 people dead and over 200 taken hostage. Following the attack, more than 43,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in the ongoing conflict, as indicated by the Gaza Health Ministry, and attempts led by the U.S. for a cease-fire have not succeeded.

Things escalated when Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Hezbollah group supported by Iran, in an airstrike in Beirut last month. In retaliation, Iran launched a series of missile attacks.

President Biden had foreseen these developments. He instructed the U.S. military to assist Israel in intercepting the Iranian missiles, being aware of the available military resources. “We have been engaged in this for a long time,” McGurk noted. “We were thoroughly prepared for this.”

With U.S. assistance, Israel managed to intercept the majority of the Iranian missiles before they could reach targets in Israel. Confident that the attack had failed, Biden sought clarity on whether Israel planned to retaliate against Iran and how they intended to do so.

‘Get a deal done’

On October 3, two days after the escalation, Zients held a Zoom meeting with executives from global shipping companies at 5:30 a.m. The early meeting aimed to emphasize the urgent need to resolve the strike by 45,000 dockworkers, which had entered its third day and posed a risk to hurricane relief efforts.

Biden recognized the severity of the strike’s impact on the economy. Just nine months into his presidency, disruptions in the supply chain had led to significant cargo congestion at West Coast ports, coinciding with rising consumer demand as Americans emerged from COVID lockdowns. Supply chains became strained as factories, ports, and freight yards struggled to manage the surge in demand.

Determined to prevent a repeat of the previous chaos, Biden, according to Lael Brainard, who heads the White House National Economic Council, acknowledged that dockworkers deserved fair compensation amidst record profits being made by transport carriers.

Biden, often claiming to be the most pro-union president ever, aimed to reassure Harold Daggett, the leader of the International Longshoremen’s Association, of his support for the workers’ need for a beneficial contract while also influencing shipping executives about the urgent need to reach a resolution.

Consequently, Zients organized the early morning Zoom meeting with members of the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which included Brainard, Labor Secretary Julie Su, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Although the shipping companies had made some progress towards meeting the workers’ demands, Zients straightforwardly instructed them to resume negotiations and resolve the strike “now.”

Brainard recalled, “We were essentially saying, you claim commitment to the American market and express patriotism. It is critical to resolve this immediately. A prolonged strike will hinder hurricane recovery efforts if we do not reopen the ports.”

Later that day, as Biden prepared to board Marine One for a trip to Florida and Georgia to assess hurricane damage, he took a moment to discuss the negotiations with Brainard in the White House Diplomatic Reception Room.

“We need to finalize a deal today,” he emphasized. “It’s critical.”

By the end of the day, an agreement was struck. The dockworkers would receive a 62% wage increase over six years, a lower figure than the 77% the union had originally requested, while ports would reopen until January 2025, allowing further negotiations on outstanding issues.

One crisis was averted, but another was on the horizon.

‘A matter of life and death’

The president was feeling anxious.

A new tropical storm, potentially more potent than Helene, was forming in the western Caribbean and was projected to approach Florida. Many areas still grappling with the aftermath of Helene’s devastation would face this new storm, known as Milton.

During a briefing with Sherwood-Randall on October 6, Biden expressed his worries that debris left over from Helene could turn into harmful projectiles due to hurricane winds.

He ordered immediate action to clear as much debris as possible, mobilizing resources and personnel, including search and rescue teams, management crews, and other federal staff, all while ensuring that the response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina remained a priority.

The following day, in a private dining area adjacent to the Oval Office, Sherwood-Randall provided Biden with another update. After the briefing, Biden contacted the National Weather Service for the latest details on the storm’s size, its trajectory, and anticipated effects. He also reached out to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to share the most current storm information and verify they had sufficient resources for dealing with potential damage.

“We were preparing for a situation that could be extraordinarily large,” Sherwood-Randall recalled. “That was the consensus among the weather experts.”

According to projections from the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service, this is what was anticipated.

The following morning, on October 8, President Biden announced he would be postponing his trip to Germany and Angola to remain in Washington and keep an eye on the storm. During a meeting with his cabinet and senior officials, he emphasized that Milton, which was strengthening, might become the worst hurricane to strike Florida in a hundred years. He urged Floridians who were under evacuation orders to leave immediately.

“This is a matter of life and death,” he warned.

Staff members reached out to local TV stations, radio shows, and digital platforms to ensure that the message was communicated broadly.

“I believe that was crucial for saving lives,” said Sherwood-Randall. “Under the president’s guidance, we utilized every available messaging platform, including his voice, to encourage people to obey the mandatory evacuation orders and seek shelter instead of waiting out the storm. It was akin to hearing a message in stereo; it was coming at you from every direction.”

Later that night, just before 10 p.m., as the storm began to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, Biden called Sherwood-Randall at her home with a series of detailed inquiries. “He wanted to understand the size of the storm’s eye,” she recalled, “and he also asked how far the storm bands extended on either side of the eye because those bands would reveal how wide the storm’s effects would be.”

Milton resulted in at least 17 fatalities, spawned tornadoes, and caused significant flooding, but its impact was less catastrophic than anticipated. Biden and his team had prepared for the worst but were relieved that the situation was not as dire.

“He always mentions that he’d rather be criticized for being overly prepared than underprepared,” Zients stated.

Maximizing the remaining days

As a Marine Guard opened the Oval Office door, Biden stepped outside into the crisp autumn air. Scattered clouds floated above the Rose Garden as he took off his signature aviator sunglasses and approached the podium, which featured the presidential seal.

“For over 200 years, America has engaged in the most significant experiment in self-governance the world has ever seen,” he stated at the outset.

Just two days prior, Trump had achieved a decisive victory over Harris. The individual Biden had defeated four years earlier, whom he has frequently labeled as a threat to democracy, will be succeeding him in the White House next year. In his address that Thursday morning, Biden aimed to reassure Americans that he honored their decision and that his administration would facilitate a smooth transfer of power in January.

“It’s been a remarkable presidency,” he summarized his four years in office, “not because I’m the president – but because of what we’ve accomplished together. A presidency for all Americans.”

Biden is now in the concluding phase of his presidency. While others may begin contemplating his legacy, he himself is not.

“That’s not a direction he’s inclined to pursue,” Zients remarked.

Despite this, Biden is acutely aware that his time in the White House is limited. His current focus, according to Zients, is to accomplish as much as possible in the remaining time.

“He believes we need to utilize every moment we have to effectuate meaningful change in people’s lives and make the world a better place,” Zients explained.

“At this moment,” he stressed, “it is crucial to seize every single day.”

This is vital even if another crisis arises during his final days in office.