Former President Barack Obama is anxious about President Joe Biden’s chances of reelection, so he has “increasingly involved” himself in the Biden campaign, sources told New York Magazine.
Obama’s involvement reportedly began after Biden campaign officials realized in late 2023 that they would face former President Donald Trump in a historic rematch.
Trump has about a two-in-three chance of completing the greatest political comeback in modern American politics, an Economist model forecast in June. In addition, 73 percent of voters think Biden is too old to be an effective president, a New York Times/Siena College survey in March showed, including 61 percent who supported Biden in 2020.
Obama’s role includes consulting with O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign chair, and Anita Dunn, a Biden aide who worked with Obama. He advises on digital budget strategy, assists in hands-on-public relations work with Hollywood celebrities, and fundraises for the president, New York Magazine reported:
As he has become more plugged in to Biden’s political thinking, Obama speaks more often with O’Malley Dillon — the campaign’s chair and functionally its executive — including about Biden’s efforts to target hard-to-persuade young and Black voters. At the same time, operatives in Obama’s personal office coordinate with Biden’s campaign to make sure Obama is in the loop on campaign updates. And he has kept in regular touch with the White House side, too, checking in with two more of his former top aides: chief of staff Jeff Zients and Dunn, a senior adviser.
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Though “his anxiety about the election is real,” in the words of one Obama friend, the ex-president’s concerns sounded a lot like those of other top Democrats, according to others who’ve spoken with him. Those who are in regular touch with Obama say these nerves are not a reflection of any particular angst about Biden or his team but of the broader reality: The country is closely divided, the media landscape is fractured, and Donald Trump may very well win. Obama has always acknowledged to friends and worried supporters in search of reassurance that the race is likely to be a nail-biter. Yet he has remained careful about not evincing any specific concern or complacency about the campaign, aware that reports about his feelings are unlikely to help the Democratic cause.
This year, he is highly likely to reprise his role as one of Biden’s most prominent surrogates come the fall. He has also gotten publicly involved earlier than many anticipated. Just this month, he joined Biden onstage in Los Angeles for his second splashy campaign fundraiser, this one featuring George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Jimmy Kimmel. Between bashes like that and less glamorous efforts, the ex-president has already brought in more than $65 million for Biden, according to a Democrat familiar with the campaign numbers. He has filmed ten video clips that the Biden team has used as digital advertisements and more are likely to come. Both presidents are working out the exact contours of Obama’s role in Biden’s campaign, just as the relationship enters a new chapter defined by Trump’s possible return and with it a threat to their joint legacy.
Obama’s hands-on help has not appeared to always benefit Biden. A video on Sunday showed Obama guiding Biden off the stage at a fundraiser.
