Obama quietly distances himself from Biden amid reports of ‘tensions’

It looks like the relationship between former President Barack Obama and his ex-president has officially hit the skids.

Speaking at the 2023 Democracy Forum earlier this month, Obama barely mentioned President Biden, and according to some reports, the “tensions” between the two progressive camps “were evident.”

“The takeaway from the weekend wasn’t, ‘Hey, team, we’re here.’ [sic] I have to get the band together to help Biden,” an aide told The Washington Post. “If it’s a supposed existential threat and democracy is so in question, then why don’t you do it more openly?”

Obama met with thousands of his former staffers in Chicago this month to celebrate the 15th anniversary of his 2008 election victory. According to Fox News Digital“Obama Foundation Forum Linked to Event to Explore ‘Critical Issues for Strengthening Democracy'”.

But it’s the 2024 election that’s on most people’s minds, with many in the Democratic Party wondering whether Biden’s advancing age and dismal poll numbers spell defeat.

On his speechObama did little to unite his party around the headline scandal.

“At the Chicago forum, several attendees also noted the absence of any significant cheering for Biden, who had served as Obama’s vice president for eight years,” WaPo reports. “Obama barely mentioned Biden in the speech he gave this Friday night, and in an interview with the Pod Save America podcast the same day, Obama avoided several opportunities to promote his former running mate’s campaign” .

In fact, Obama mentioned Biden only twice during his speech: once to say he’s “encouraged that the Biden administration and other governments are beginning to recognize” the threats posed by AI, and once to praise the signing Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

In the podcast, Biden’s name never came up while discussing threats to American democracy.

The Obama camp blamed the lack of support for the president on the Obama Foundation’s nonprofit status, with a spokesman telling The Post that it is illegal for the foundation to engage in a partisan political activity.

The Biden campaign made an off-site presentation to Democrats in Chicago this weekend, the spokesman noted, detailing his path to victory in 2024.

“While the polls have some party members panicking,” Fox News Digital reported, “Democrats scored several key electoral victories earlier this month, winning the Kentucky governor’s race and the hotly contested Virginia legislature , as well as a major abortion initiative in Ohio.”

And Obama threw Biden a well-worded bone on X.

“For eight years, @POTUS and I worked to bring change to the American people,” Obama wrote. “I couldn’t have asked for a better vice president and friend, and we will always be grateful to all the campaign staff and Administration alumni who helped bring this progress to people across the country.”

Along with the recognition, Obama released a video of Biden opening the democracy forum with praise for his former boss.

For eight years, @POTUS and I worked to bring change to the American people. I couldn’t have asked for a better vice president and friend, and we will always be grateful to all the campaign staff and Administration alumni who helped bring this progress to people across the… pic.twitter.com/MmLLTV8EB8

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 5, 2023

“Yes we can,” Obama wrote. “Yes we did.”

But polls show the president trailing former President Donald Trump and one of Biden’s few challengers for the Democratic Party nomination is unconvinced.

“The Democratic brand is not the problem,” Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said in an interview, according to The Post. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that President Biden is the problem.”

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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots and Poker
Digest magazines. She’s a UCLA grad, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan Currently, Melissa lives with her dog and two cats in a small town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.

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