Former President Barack Obama has raised concerns for Democrats following private discussions with President Biden, warning that he may face challenges in a potential rematch against Donald Trump. As per TIME Magazine, Obama met with Biden in June last year and shared his worries about Biden’s re-election prospects. Obama reportedly advised Biden to take a more assertive stance and frame the upcoming presidential race as a critique of Trump’s policies.
In a confidential meeting, Obama expressed apprehensions to Biden regarding the instability of his campaign, the difficulty in winning over dissatisfied voters, and the uphill battle of defeating Trump in the next election, as per a Democrat familiar with the conversation.
Despite Obama’s belief that Biden had taken his advice seriously, there was purportedly little progress in Biden’s approach over the following six months, as highlighted by Fox News referencing the TIME report.
“This time, Obama’s message was more urgent. He expressed concern the re-election campaign was behind schedule in building out its field operations and bottlenecked by Biden’s insistence on relying upon an insular group of advisers clustered in the West Wing, according to the same Democratic insider,” TIME noted.
Obama cautioned Biden about the possibility of Trump winning all seven battleground states, resulting in Trump’s victory. However, in the 2020 election, Biden managed to secure narrow wins in the swing states of Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all of which Trump had won in 2016.
A recent report from Axios highlighted the long-standing rivalry between Obama and Biden regarding their individual achievements and policies. The article also hinted at Biden privately criticizing Obama, although White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates refuted this allegation. According to Politico, Obama is scheduled to join Biden for a virtual rally on Saturday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The event aims to emphasize one of the main reasons for re-electing the President, as per Biden’s advisers. Meanwhile, Republican voters have expressed their preference for Trump’s vice presidential candidate in the upcoming election. A recent poll conducted by the Center Square Voter’s Voice revealed that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads the list with 18 percent, followed closely by former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley with 17 percent. Sen. Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy both garnered 15 percent, surpassing other contenders who received single-digit percentages.
“There’s a lot of press speculation, but I can tell you Vivek’s top focus is making sure we get President Trump elected so that we can take America First to the next level,” the former candidate’s spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said to The New York Post.
“This country would be lucky to have him serve in the next administration and beyond. In the meantime, Vivek is focused on driving change in the private sector and reforming our economy, including by continuing to push back against the ESG cancer in corporate America,” she said.Bloomberg News reported that the former president, having secured the necessary delegates to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, informed Ramaswamy that he would not be the chosen candidate.