Several Democrat lawmakers have expressed unease with President Biden’s campaign and its operations as he faces sagging poll numbers and low popularity.
It’s a viewpoint that aligns with other left-leaning individuals who have previously sounded the alarm, including a former aide to first lady Jill Biden. Still, Biden’s re-election vehicle appears to have not made any significant changes despite the public outcry.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is one such politician who worries about how Biden has approached the election. The Vermont independent, who caucuses with Democrats, said Biden needs to change course and believes the Israel-Hamas war has hurt the president’s standing among younger voters.
“There is no question, it is very hard for young people, I think for most Americans, to be excited about what is going on right now,” Sanders previously told CNN. “President [Biden] has got to change course.”
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Several Democrats have expressed concern over President Biden’s campaign. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Other Democrats in Congress’ lower chamber, such as former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, have also signaled apprehension over the campaign’s direction.
“We all have concerns. We want to make sure it’s a victorious campaign,” Hoyer recently said, according to Roll Call.
“I think Joe Biden has had as successful an administration as any president, perhaps since Franklin Roosevelt,” he said. “And our job is to make sure the American people know how it affected them and their families so positively.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he’s “not real comfortable” with where the campaign is and feels the team needs more diversity.
“Well, I think those of us who helped Joe Biden get elected president are not real comfortable at this point with what we’re seeing,” Thompson recently said. “It just appears that the people who were engaged in helping craft the message and direction of the 2020 campaign are not actively involved in this campaign.”
“Now, that doesn’t mean — it’s not too late to broaden the participation.” he continued. “But I think part of that discomfort is, in order to win, you have to have your best team effort. That team effort includes who he has, but he also needs men and women of color in the room, Latino, Asian. I think it’s that the tent is too small right now.”
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said President Biden’s team is going to have to change course. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Like Hoyer, Thompson praised Biden’s accomplishments, but said the campaign has failed to articulate them to the American people.
“The Biden administration has a rich portfolio that they’ve accomplished,” Thompson said to the same publication. “I think there’s some continued concern about how that portfolio is being delivered, and who’s delivering it. And so I think it’s just a matter of, you know, getting some more people under the tent. And, so, how can we do this better?”
The lawmaker’s concerns follow others who have exited the Biden orbit and can seemingly speak more freely.
Michael LaRosa, a former top aide and spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, has criticized Biden’s team for the president’s crumbling poll numbers and cautioned he needs a shakeup with his aides around him.
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First lady Jill Biden speaks at Columbia Medical Center School of Nursing in New York City on Sept. 21, 2022. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)
“New CNN Poll: Trump has higher favorables+Biden has higher unfavorable,” LaRosa wrote on social media in November. “This is inexcusable for man universally known for his character+intregity. It’s a result of failing to respond to smears, lies, conspiracies, and disinfo for months allowing a void of info to be filled.”
“Shameful that POTUS’s team has allowed this narrative to congeal over the past two years,” LaRosa continued. “The only people who can help change the people around [President Biden] is [Jill Biden]. It’s up to her. These are the same people who got him 4th in Iowa, 5th in [New Hampshire], and a distant 2nd to a socialist in [Nevada].”
Democratic strategist James Carville appears on “Real Time.” (Screenshot/HBO)
President Biden, left, has reportedly called David Axelrod a “prick” in private, according to Politico’s Jonathan Martin. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Democratic strategists David Axelrod and James Carville have also expressed concerns about Biden’s re-election chances.
“Listen, I understand [Biden] was irritated because I raised concerns that many, many Democrats had. And again, you know, my feeling is either get out or get going. But the status quo, the way they were approaching the campaign, this sort of ‘What, me, worry?’ attitude about the campaign was not going to get him to where he needs to go,” Axelrod said late last year.
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Carville also sounded the alarm late last year, telling a CNN audience that Biden’s poll numbers were “troubling” and a clear expression of voter apprehension.
“Well, I guess, to say the least, the polls were not great,” Carville said. “And it tells us that voters are expressing some apprehension here. It’s pretty clear. There’s not much else you can say when you look at them.”
“You can’t look at this and not say that you’re concerned,” he continued. “For me to come on television and say I don’t find this alarming or troubling at all, it’d be stupid of me.”
Biden faces an uphill battle in the 2024 elections. Several polls have shown him underwater, and his popularity remains low.
Biden’s campaign did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Fox News’ Jeffrey Clark and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
