Three former advisers to President Obama took aim at President Biden on Tuesday as rumors of tension between the two men’s camps persisted.
Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor, often referred to as the “Obama bros” during their time in the White House, devoted the majority of the latest episode of “Pod Save America” to fighting Biden after his poor performance in the first presidential debate, and in interviews subsequently.
“I think it’s bad, and, at times, it’s very hard to watch,” Vietor said, referring to Biden’s interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos last week that was part of the president’s efforts to silence critics who called him out. out of the presidential race.
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Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor at Politicon at the Pasadena Convention Center on July 29, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (John Sciulli/Getty Images for Politicon)
“To be fair to Biden, I don’t think the interview can solve the political issues that come from the debate,” he said, adding that the interview made him “more concerned” because Biden “was able to speak clearly and coherently. .”
Vietor stressed that Biden did not articulate a second-term agenda that would sway voters to support him over former President Trump, and that explanations for his poor performance, such as travel and illness, did not fully answer the “how.” serious debate.”
Lovett agreed and said that the interview “is a difficult setting for him to succeed, even if he is at his best, because it is difficult to justify why more than a week after the debate, which is very brief, and he only did one. .”
“The debate was just a bad night. We all saw it,” he said. “The explanation is a little vague… That’s not enough to ease our concerns about what we saw that night. Yeah? So, the explanation doesn’t give us anything.”
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Former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)
“If you are going to raise the stakes in one interview, it cannot be another example that you are difficult to understand, not because he is soft, not because he mumbles, but because his thoughts do not make sense. “he said. “The stakes are very high. Trump is a tremendous threat, but he’s either going to prosecute the case, or someone else will, and right now, we’re not getting it.”
Favreau said that although Biden’s interview was “more coherent than the debate,” he was “concerned” the lack of speed and Biden’s message meant he could not finish the debate. He cited recent polls showing Biden trailing Trump in every major swing state.
“What are you going to do to win over undecided voters between Biden and Trump when you have that message with George Stephanopoulos?” he asked.
Vietor later said that “it seems like the obvious choice that we would have a better chance with someone else,” while Lovett insisted that Biden was not “sending the message effectively.”
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President Joe Biden spoke at a service at the Church of Mt. Airy of God in Christ, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
“The George Stephanopoulos interview was painful to watch,” Lovett said. “It was a terrible interview. He did a terrible job articulating why he was in the race, what happened in the debate, and whether he is the person to defeat Trump. He did a terrible job.
His comments came just a day after former Obama adviser David Axelrod said during an appearance on CNN that Biden would “definitely” lose to Trump.
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“There are facts of life that cannot be changed,” Axelrod said when discussing Biden’s age and leadership. “That is very obvious in the debate stage. The president just … has not come to grips with. He did not win this race.”
The relationship between the former and the current adviser of the administration of Biden and Obama has been reported to have been strained in recent years due to the level of criticism directed at the current president, as well as his approval for the Democratic presidential nomination to elect Hillary Clinton in 2016. .
However, Obama took the time to defend Biden after the debate performance.
Fox News’ Brian Flood and Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
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