Former President Barack Obama reportedly aired his thoughts to then-President Joe Biden’s staff about his reelection bid in 2023 by calling his campaign a “mess,” an upcoming book about the 2024 election reveals.
Obama felt “slightly incredulous” about Biden’s run for a second term when the pair met for lunch at the White House less than a year before the 2024 election, according to a copy of the book obtained by the Guardian on Thursday.
“After the lunch,” the authors wrote, “Obama did not leave the White House right away. He stopped to visit with Biden’s senior staff, many of whom used to work for him, and shared his account of what he and Biden had discussed. Obama was more blunt with the staff. ‘Your campaign is a mess,’ he told them.”
Obama recognized that the Biden campaign’s decision to divide leadership between Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, Delaware, could prove costly for his reelection chances, which Biden himself admitted to an aide.
Biden’s campaign operations were based in Wilmington, his longtime home. This was meant to appeal to everyday voters and illustrate his Delaware roots.
At the time, White House Deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon was sent to Wilmington as campaign manager to address the leadership problems that Obama raised. Biden adviser Mike Donilon stayed in Washington as the president’s chief strategist. Despite the shift, it wasn’t enough to fix his failing campaign.
Ultimately, Biden decided to drop out of the presidential race after his disastrous debate performance with now-President Donald Trump caused worry among Democrats. He named then-Vice President Kamala Harris as his campaign successor. She lost to Trump following her 107-day campaign.
Obama’s warning wasn’t received well by Biden’s staff, some of whom thought the 44th president was a “prick,” the book claims. They felt he “disrespected and mistreated Biden,” who served as Obama’s “loyal” vice president for eight years.
“They felt vindicated when for the first time during Biden’s presidency, Obama publicly returned to the White House and began by saying ‘Thank you, Vice President Biden,’” the book states. “Obama was quick to claim he was joking, but to Biden’s stalwarts it was merely the latest example of Obama’s arrogance.”
The book 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America will be released on Tuesday. It was written by award-winning journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf.
After leaving the White House in 2017, Obama has remained politically active and continues living in Washington, D.C. He often endorses Democratic candidates for certain races, including liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford, and frequently criticizes the current president.
Obama took a veiled shot at Trump on Friday, suggesting the Republican administration is undermining democracy this Fourth of July.
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“Independence Day is a reminder that America is not the project of any one person,” Obama posted on X.
“The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We The People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ America is owned by no one. It belongs to all citizens. And at this moment in history—when core democratic principles seem to be continuously under attack, when too many people around the world have become cynical and disengaged—now is precisely the time to ask ourselves tough questions about how we can build our democracies and make them work in meaningful and practical ways for ordinary people.”