US POLITICS
This is what Obama’s former speech writers have said about President Biden since his ABC interview
The ‘Pod Save America’ hosts have been leading the conversation over whether President Biden should step aside. A look at some of their comments so since his ABC interview.
After the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in late June, some prominent Democrats, including the hosts of ‘Pod Save America,’ expressed concern about their party’s chances in the fall if President Biden continues to lead the ticket.
The hosts, former speechwriters and advisors to President Obama, founded Crooked Media to promote the Democratic message and to help the party make the argument that Democratic candidates deserve their vote. The four hosts, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Veitor, have said that if President Biden remains on the ballot, they will do whatever is in their power to elect him, but if there is a chance of replacing him with a stronger candidate, the party should have that very difficulty conversation.
After the 2022 Midterm Elections, where Democrats outperformed the polls, party leaders believed they had a good chance of winning back the House of Representatives. However, with Trump gaining in the polls, Democrats are worried about their prospects and the potential of losing control of both of chambers of Congress. While replacing President Biden will not guarantee a win for the party in November, more high-level Democratic leaders consider it a risk worth taking.
On Capitol Hill, the number of leaders publically stating that they believe it is time for the president to step aside is growing. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a long-time ally of President Biden, suggested on MSNBC that he should consider his options. Rep. Pelosi not throwing her full support behind the president shows that at high levels, pressure is mounting on the Biden campaign, even after the president sent a letter to Congressional Democrats on Monday trying to put the issue to rest.
Biden doubles down on remaining in the race
This added pressure comes as President Biden hosts international allies in Washington to celebrate 75 years of NATO.
On Thursday, President Biden will hold a solo press conference, and his performance at that event will be critical to whether or not calls for him to step aside grow or weaken. Since the debate, the message from President Biden and his team has been that he is staying in the race and will not be forced out. The president made this argument in his interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, which aired nearly a week ago.
For the Pod Save guys, the ABC interview did not help his image, and his responses to some of the questions made him appear selfish and that he was making the race about himself and not about what is best for the party in November.
“It was a terrible interview; he did a terrible job articulating why he was in the race and why he is the person to beat Trump,” argued Jon Lovett in the episode. This has been a common criticism from Democrats who have publically called on the president to step aside. For them, President Biden’s inability to make the case directly to voters through events where he may not be able to rely on a teleprompter weakens him considerably against Donald Trump.
Jon Lovett chimes in
As the Biden campaign and White House team prepare him for the press conference on Thursday, the Pod Save team has been busy on X, formally known as Twitter. Jon Lovett wrote a fairly extensive post about the ‘two Bidens,’ one of which is “empathetic,” “decent,” and “forged in loss and grief.” Lovett described the second Biden as a “blowhard with a chip on his shoulder” and someone who is “stubborn [with] something to prove.”
The commentator and former Obama speechwriter congratulated the president on all he had accomplished during his time in the White House.
“He defied Washington’s stodgy consensus when necessary, a consensus he spent a lifetime living inside,” said Lovett, adding that he “governed with humility and purpose.” However, the tone of the message changed, with Lovett writing that “it’s hard to deny that in the two weeks since the debate, it’s the arrogant and small Joe Biden we’ve seen most.”
Who else but him? he wonders aloud. Only God could change his mind, he tells us. The stakes for the country are all that matter.
Lovett ended the post by arguing that the decision should not be about Biden; it needs to be about the party and who provides Democratic candidates with the best chances of winning in November.
Joe Biden can leave office as one of the greatest presidents in our lifetimes, who defeated Trump and put his country first at every turn; or he can leave a stubborn old man who allowed hubris and insecurity to destroy his legacy and perhaps our democracy with it.
Jon Favreau was interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash, alongside his former boss, David Axelrod, and both made the case for Biden to step aside. Favreau pushed back when Bash asked him if he believed continuing the conversation was hurting the president’s electoral chances.
“No, what is hurting Joe Biden right now is not only the debate performance but the response to the debate performance. He has been unable to articulate a coherent and compelling argument against Donald Trump,” responded Favreau. This message is similar to that which Lovett shared on their program and shows that even from strong supporters of the Democratic Party, the conversation of whether or not Biden should stay in the race is far from over.