‘The Hill’: Bad news for Joe Biden – Democrats want him to stay away

Joe Biden
Photo: AP

Democrats trying to find their way back from their 2024 election losses are taking aim at former President Biden for reemerging on the national stage, ‘The Hill’ writes.

Biden came back into view this week to deliver his first public postpresidency speech after largely being absent from the political discussion.

But some Democrats said they’d prefer the former president take a back seat as the party puts its shoulder into its rebuilding efforts.

Even longtime Biden loyalists who support him and former first lady Jill Biden are calling the timing into question.

“I love both Bidens dearly, but staff loyalty means there is a responsibility to provide them with an honest situational awareness, especially when it comes to their public image, no matter how hurtful it is to hear,” said Michael LaRosa, who served as Jill Biden’s communications director.

“If they had advisers who had their hand on the pulse of the Democratic Party or national politics, they would have understood the intense level of anger or indifference to them that remains inside our party and isn’t going away anytime soon,” LaRosa said.

“It’s a heartbreaking and tragic ending to their time in public life, but it’s also the truth, and they should index the political realities into their decisionmaking,” the former aide continued.

Other Democratic strategists also say it’s an inopportune time for Biden to pop up, particularly as polling has shown that Americans are starting to blame Trump for his handling of the economy.

Biden had become a punching bag of sorts for Democrats even before leaving the White House. But that narrative has gained steam in recent weeks as Democrats try to pin the blame for November’s loss on Biden.

“The word I’m hearing a lot is ‘betrayal,’ said one Democratic strategist who still supports the former president. “People feel betrayed. And because his people held back then, it’s a lot worse now.”

Since departing the White House, Biden has kept a relatively low profile, attending a Broadway show and a St. Patrick’s Day event but avoiding the spotlight. This week, though, he ramped up his appearances.

In the major speech in Chicago on Tuesday, Biden took aim at the Trump administration’s position on Social Security and spoke more broadly about his former rival’s tenure.

In that address, Biden said that in “fewer than 100 days, this new administration has made so much damage… and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking.”

On Wednesday, Biden also made private remarks to a small group of students at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.

While speaking at Harvard, the former president made a gaffe, according to The Harvard Crimson.

During his chat with students, he mixed up Ukraine with Iraq when talking about the war with Russia, the Crimson reported.

Last month, after NBC News reported Biden had met with the newly elected Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and said he was willing to help with fundraising and other rebuilding efforts, some Democrats cringed.

“Read the room,” one Democratic donor and longtime supporter of Biden said. “No one is asking for Biden’s help right now, and if they’re not aware of that, that’s part of the problem, isn’t it?”

A second Democratic strategist said if Biden wanted to do anything to be helpful to the party, he should start by offering up an explanation of why he chose to run for reelection when there were lingering and growing concerns about his age and mental acuity.

“I do think before Biden can speak with full credibility about the political moment and be listened to, there has to be some kind of accountability about his political decisionmaking and the last two years of his presidency,” said the strategist, who also was a longtime advocate of the former president.

Photo: AP

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