Bill Clinton branded Barack Obama “incompetent” and urged Hillary to run against him in 2012, claims Edward Klein’s book

Bill Clinton branded President Barack Obama as an “amateur” and urged his wife Hillary to run against him in 2012 U.S. presidential election, claims a new book,

According to Edward Klein’s new biography of Barack Obama called The Amateur, Bill Clinton tore into the president and branded him “incompetent” and that he “did not know how to be President”.

He also urged Hillary Clinton to quit her job as U.S. Secretary of State and challenge Barack Obama for the Democratic ticket as she knew how to do a better job of it.

The extraordinary claims – which have been strongly denied by Bill Clinton – came after he finally gave Barack Obama his backing and put their past differences behind them.

The two had clashed during Hillary Clinton’s failed bid for the Presidency in 2008, which she lost to Barack Obama.

According to Edward Klein’s book, however, enmity runs even deeper than it had been thought.

During a gathering at Bill Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, New York last August he supposedly told his wife: “The economy’s a mess, it’s dead flat. America has lost its Triple-A rating . . .

“You know better than Obama does. “

Bill Clinton supposedly claimed to have “no relationship” with President Barack Obama and spoke more often to his own successor George W. Bush.

He is said to have told his wife: “Barack Obama is an amateur.

“The country needs you! The country needs us!”

It would be highly unusual for somebody from within a serving president’s party to challenge him in the primaries.

The last time it happened was in 1980 when Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination, though he lost, as did Carter in the election to Ronald Reagan.

According to the book, Bill Clinton’s tirade did not end there amid protestations from Hillary Clinton that she did not want to risk her legacy from her current post as U.S. Secretary of State.

Hillary Clinton, 64, also supposedly emphasized that she could run in 2016, but Bill Clinton, 65, who has been become a vegan out of concerns for his health, said it could be too late.

Bill Clinton shouted: “I know you’re young enough! That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried that I’m not young enough.

“I’m the highest-ranking member in Obama’s Cabinet. I eat breakfast with the guy every Thursday morning.”

Hillary Clinton is said to have responded: “What about loyalty, Bill? What about loyalty?”

Bill Clinton said back: “Loyalty is a joke, loyalty doesn’t exist in politics.”

Things remained heated when the Clintons’ daughter Chelsea walked in on the conversation and told her mother she “deserved” to be President.

Bill Clinton even offered to commission polls to see how she fared against Barack Obama, the book says, but she told him: “Go ahead and knock yourself out.”

He finally buried the hatchet with Barack Obama recently and appeared in a presidential campaign advert for him during which he praised him for hunting down Osama bin Laden.

Bill Clinton has also appeared at rallies with the President with relations appearing cordial and good humored.

Hillary Clinton has long been touted as presidential candidate in the 2016 elections.

She is currently enjoying a surge in her popularity fuelled by photos of her dancing and drinking a beer in Columbia which showed her having fun.

Bill Clinton’s spokesman Matt McKenna branded Edward Klein “a known liar” and that the claims were “totally and completely false”.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said: “Nobody in their right mind would believe the nonsense in this one, especially since both Secretary Clinton and President Clinton have been loyal and supportive of the president at every turn.”