Former President Barack Obama reportedly told Joe Biden’s top staff in 2023 that his reelection campaign was a “mess,” according to a new book about the 2024 race.
The former president was “slightly incredulous” that Biden was even running again, the book says. During a private lunch at the White House, held less than a year before the 2024 election, Obama didn’t hide his concerns, The Washington Examiner reported.
“After the lunch,” the authors wrote, “Obama did not leave the White House right away. He stopped to visit with Biden’s senior staff, many of whom used to work for him, and shared his account of what he and Biden had discussed. Obama was more blunt with the staff. ‘Your campaign is a mess,’ he told them.”
One of Obama’s biggest issues was the split campaign leadership — with Biden’s team divided between Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, Delaware. Even Biden acknowledged to an aide that it was a mistake.
Biden’s campaign was based in Wilmington, his hometown, to emphasize his blue-collar roots. But the structure didn’t work, the forthcoming book, “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” claimed.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, then White House deputy chief of staff, was sent to Wilmington to manage the campaign and address the issues Obama flagged. Mike Donilon remained in D.C. as Biden’s top strategist. The book says it still wasn’t enough to turn things around.
After a devastating debate performance against President Donald Trump, Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed then–Vice President Kamala Harris. She ran for 107 days and lost to Trump.
According to the book, some of Biden’s staff were furious over Obama’s criticism. They thought the 44th president was a “prick” and accused him of disrespecting Biden, who served as his loyal vice president for eight years.
“They felt vindicated when for the first time during Biden’s presidency, Obama publicly returned to the White House and began by saying ‘Thank you, Vice President Biden,’” the authors wrote. “Obama was quick to claim he was joking, but to Biden’s stalwarts it was merely the latest example of Obama’s arrogance.”
The book will be released on Tuesday. It was written by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf.
Since leaving the White House in 2017, Obama has stayed politically active, living in Washington, D.C., endorsing Democrat candidates like liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court nominee Susan Crawford, and routinely criticizing the current administration.
On Friday, Obama appeared to take a swipe at Trump in a Fourth of July message.
“Independence Day is a reminder that America is not the project of any one person,” he posted on X.
“The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We The People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ America is owned by no one. It belongs to all citizens. And at this moment in history—when core democratic principles seem to be continuously under attack, when too many people around the world have become cynical and disengaged—now is precisely the time to ask ourselves tough questions about how we can build our democracies and make them work in meaningful and practical ways for ordinary people.”
In a video to former USAID staffers last week, he also lamented President Trump closing the agency.
“Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy,” Obama said in a video message to outgoing staff, The New York Post reported. “Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world.”
He called the move “a colossal mistake” and added, “Sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.”
He was joined by former President George W. Bush and pop star Bono in criticizing the closing of the agency.