If David Axelrod Wants Biden To Step Down, So Does Barack Obama
Barack Obama remains the most powerful figure in the Democrat Party, by far. David Axelrod, the lead strategist and architect of the Obama presidency, is his closest confidant.
As any book or documentary about Obama would confirm – if you want to know what Obama thinks, listen to David Axelrod.
What does Obama think of Biden? Here's Axelrod:
"There are certain immutable facts of life," Axelrod said in an interview with CNN on Monday. "Those were painfully obvious on that debate stage. The president just … hasn't come to grips with it. [Biden is] not winning this race."
"So his psyche is that he can beat anybody and any long odds," Axelrod continued. "What he can’t beat is Father Time. And that’s really the concern here. It’s not about his record. He seems not to grasp what the big concern is that people have."
Axelrod doesn't think Joe Biden can win the election. Translation: Barack Obama doesn't think Joe Biden can win the election.
Biden is adamant that he will not drop out. According to NBC News, sources close to Biden say only Jill can change his mind. We don't buy that notion. That's not how the Democrat Party works. The Democrat Party has never worked that way.
Thus, it will be challenging for Biden to stay on the ticket if the party at large, led by Obama, wants him to bow out.
Democrats will forever shun the Biden name if he stays in the race and loses to Donald Trump. Conversely, the party can promise to forever care for his family and shield them from consequences (say, Hunter) if he acquiesces to its orders.
And Biden has very few powerful allies in Washington to stand up to the heads of the party.
Reminder, Democrats never pledged loyalty to Biden. The party preferred several other candidates over him in 2020, from Kamala Harris to Pete Buttigieg to Elizabeth Warren.
It wasn't until Democrats realized the primary was down to Biden and Bernie Sanders, whom they feared could not win a general election, that they threw their support behind Biden, asking other candidates to drop out of the race to bestow their votes upon Biden.
NEW YORK - US President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama arrive in New York City for a campaign event aboard the same plane to raise funds for the Biden-Harris 2024 reelection campaign on March 28, 2024.(Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Democrats were always going to turn on Biden if/when it was advantageous. It appears advantageous to do so now.
The number of damning leaks regarding Biden since his cringingly painful debate performance is not a coincidence. Those leaks are coming from the DNC as a way to further cast doubt on Biden's ability to win in November.
Most notably, someone inside the party leaked internal Democrat polling to Puck News last week showing substantial declines for Joe Biden in swing states. The polling projected a 333-205 electoral map in favor of Trump.
The Open Labs data also highlighted that Kamala Harris was polling better than Biden in most battleground states. The data is consistent with a recent CBS News poll that found 72 percent of registered voters say Biden should not run for president.
No, Joe, it's not just the party "elites" who don't want you to run. Voters don't either.
Consequently, David Axelrod – meaning Barack Obama – has subtly ordered Biden to step aside. Next time it might not be so subtle or public.