Former President Joe Biden is reportedly trying to claw his way back into the good graces of Democrat leaders by offering to raise funds, campaign, or do anything else to help the party regain ground after their defeat in November, NBC News reported on Friday.
People close to the former president told the outlet that he met privately in February with the new Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman, Ken Martin, and offered his help as polling shows the party’s popularity sinking.
“So far, Biden’s overture seems to have fallen flat. Democrats find themselves adrift, casting about for a compelling messenger,” the report reads. “Whoever that is, it’s not Biden, many party activists and donors contend. He’s tethered to the 2024 defeat and, at 82, is a symbol more of the party’s past than its future, they argue.”
A major Biden supporter who spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity remarked: “Who’s going to want Joe Biden back in the game?”
A person close to former first lady Jill Biden told the outlet she and her husband are settling into life in Delaware and that she is also prepared to campaign and raise funds for Democrats. Each of the Bidens has plans to write a book — Joe Biden is working on a theme for his memoir and “has been consulting former senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior White House advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti,” according to the report.
The former president has been back and forth between his home in Delaware and D.C. for meetings in an office space provided by the federal government, the report continues.
The report emphasized the Democrats are not “unanimous” in wanting help from the Bidens, although some party activists still believe there is admiration for the former president.
“If you were to call any state party chair and ask them if they wanted Joe Biden to be a keynote speaker for their annual dinner, the answer would be yes. He is beloved by the party and beloved by the voters,” Jane Kleeb, a vice chair of the DNC, told the outlet.
Other Democrats would rather not remind voters of their failed 2024 presidential campaign and instead find a unifying message from younger leaders.
Alan Kessler, a Democratic fundraiser in Philadelphia, told the outlet that there are many people in the party who are “obviously very frustrated” with how the election played out, “but there are plenty of people who still love Joe Biden.”
Kessler argued that Biden could still be an asset to the party at the “appropriate time” and could campaign in certain places, like his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. But Kessler said that time is not now, adding that “it’s time to move on with new leadership.”
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