NBC News was out with quite the explosive piece on Friday morning. Despite how he was forced out of his 2024 reelection campaign by his fellow Democrats, former President Joe Biden is desperate to get back involved to supposedly help them out. Former First Lady Jill Biden also wants back in.
"The Bidens want back in," read the headline, with a subheadline adding that "With the Democratic Party struggling to find a new direction, former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden have offered to jump in and help with fundraising and rebuilding."
The piece is not exactly kind to the 82-year-old former president, as even his own supporters, who speak anonymously, wonder who would want him back. Another, Alan Kessler, a Democratic fundraiser from Philadelphia, is quoted mentioning the "appropriate time." When will that time come, though? Biden's not getting any younger, and his mental faculties will likely only continue to diminish.
As the write-up detailed [emphasis added]:
WASHINGTON — Former President Joe Biden has told some Democratic leaders he’ll raise funds, campaign and do anything else necessary for Democrats to recover lost ground as the Trump administration rolls back programs the party helped design, according to people close to him.
Biden privately met last month with the new Democratic National Committee chairman, Ken Martin, and offered to help as the party struggles to regain its viability amid polling that shows its popularity has been sinking, the people said.
So far, Biden's overture seems to have fallen flat. Democrats find themselves adrift, casting about for a compelling messenger.
Whoever that is, it's not Biden, many party activists and donors contend. He's tethered to the 2024 defeat and, at 82, is a symbol more of the party's past than its future, they argue.
“Who’s going to want Joe Biden back in the game?” said a major Biden supporter, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about him.
A spokesperson for the DNC didn’t provide a comment or make Martin available for an interview.
...
Former first lady Jill Biden is also prepared to campaign and raise money for fellow Democrats as she and her husband settle into life back home in Delaware, a person close to her said.
“She recognizes that serving in the capacities that she served is an honor and it comes with responsibilities to the party. And she’s prepared to help in any way she can,” the person said.
...
Though Biden is willing to help, Democrats aren’t unanimous in wanting them to. Some party activists believe Biden is an admired figure who remains a draw inside a grateful party.
Jane Kleeb, a vice chair of the DNC, said in an interview: “If you were to call any state party chair and ask them if they wanted Joe Biden to be a keynote speaker for their annual dinner, the answer would be yes. He is beloved by the party and beloved by the voters.”
Others argue that reminding voters of a 2024 campaign that went sour isn’t the best strategy for a party that is grasping for a message and searching for new, younger leaders. A CNN poll this month asked Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents which leader best reflects the party’s core values. Only 1% chose Biden.
What’s more, the wounds of 2024 are still fresh, with many Democrats aggrieved over Biden’s decision to run again and remain in the race until just a few months before the election, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris little time to organize a campaign of her own.
Alan Kessler, a longtime Democratic fundraiser from Philadelphia, said in an interview: “There are plenty of people in the Democratic Party who were obviously very frustrated with how things played out last year, but there are plenty of people who still love Joe Biden."
At the “appropriate time,” Biden can be an asset to the party by campaigning in selected areas, such as his hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania, but now isn’t it, Kessler added.
“It’s time to move on with new leadership,” he said.
Why does Biden want to get back into it? He's perhaps not ready to give up on politics, the same with his wife. After, he had to be forced out of the race and the former first lady as well as his son, Hunter, likely kept him in it the race for as long as he stayed in it. The Democrats were and still are in extreme disarray.
Surrounding the 2024 election, the disarray was whether to keep Biden in the race, or replace him and try to cut their losses. It didn't work. President Donald Trump not only won against Vice President Kamala Harris, but he did so thanks to both the Electoral College and the popular vote. Republicans also took back control of the Senate and kept control of the House. Pretty much the entire country went for a shift to the right, while Harris severely underperformed compared to Biden in 2020.
The theme of the piece, beyond how the Bidens are hungry and perhaps even desperate to get back into politics, is that the party hasn't settled on the Joe Biden issue. They're also in disarray on other issues, though, including when it comes to how to go up against Trump for his second term.
There's mention of the DNC chairman and its new chairman, Ken Martin. His list of accomplishments in the role he's had for a little more than a month includes putting out silly memos. David Hogg was selected as one of the DNC vice chairmen, which has gone as you'd expect for the Democrats, given the young, foul-mouthed activist hasn't changed his ways.
The write-up also mentions polls, with several polls this year and even this week showing that Democrats are experiencing record lows. This includes one of NBC News' own polls, as well as a CNN poll asking an open-ended question for Democratic respondents to list who in the party they believe "best reflects the core values." Thirty percent gave a response that included no one, but the person who received the highest amount of support was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a member of the far-left Squad. She received 10 percent. As the NBC News write-up above references, Biden only received 1 percent.
That 1 percent actually seems somewhat high. There are also other relevant poll metrics as well. The polls between Trump and Harris showed the latter with the slightest edge going into Election Day, and yet Trump still won. There were also polls between Trump and Biden, though, which showed that the former was actually ahead, and widely so considering how the margins tend to underestimate Trump.
It looks like Democrats are still in disarray, and the Bidens may have just given them one more reason for it.
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