Barack Obama privately warned Joe Biden nearly a year before Election Day that his re-election campaign was floundering, telling his former vice president’s team bluntly: “Your campaign is a mess,” according to a new book.
The stark warning is detailed in 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, by journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf, an advance copy of which was obtained by The Guardian.
Obama’s concerns arose as internal frustration mounted within Democratic circles. Biden, trailing Donald Trump in early polls, was facing mounting criticism from congressional Democrats who said his campaign lacked visibility in key districts. Staffers based at the campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, were reportedly “despondent,” and Biden himself admitted to one aide, “I have a leadership problem on the campaign.”
On November 20, 2023 — Biden’s 81st birthday — Obama called to wish him well and later accepted an invitation to lunch at the White House. Still skeptical that Biden should be running for a second term, Obama used the meeting to question the campaign’s split leadership structure, which divided decision-making between Wilmington and Washington, D.C. He argued that such a setup wasn’t agile enough for a modern presidential campaign.
After their lunch, Obama stayed behind to speak directly with Biden’s senior staff — many of whom had worked for him during his presidency. He was far less diplomatic in that conversation, according to the book: “Your campaign is a mess,” he told them bluntly.
Biden took the criticism seriously. In January 2024, he tasked Deputy White House Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley Dillon with overhauling the campaign. She was appointed campaign chair and relocated to Wilmington, while longtime adviser Mike Donilon remained in Washington as chief strategist.
Despite the course correction, Obama’s involvement irked some members of Biden’s inner circle. Tensions between the two camps weren’t new — lingering since Biden’s vice presidency. Obama’s participation in early fundraising videos didn’t help; one clip where he reminded supporters he had “won a couple of these” elections reportedly caused eye-rolls among Biden aides.
“To Biden loyalists, Obama was a prick,” the authors write. “They believed he and his team had long disrespected Biden, despite his loyalty as vice president.”
The resentment flared again when Obama returned to the White House in public for the first time during Biden’s presidency. Opening his remarks by saying, “Thank you, Vice President Biden,” the moment was brushed off as a joke — but it reinforced, for Biden loyalists, a perception of Obama’s arrogance.
Ultimately, Biden’s bid for re-election collapsed after a disastrous debate performance, prompting him to withdraw from the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. She launched a historic — and historically short — campaign with just 107 days to go, but was defeated by Trump in the general election.
The book also recounts how Trump, despite facing multiple criminal investigations, assassination attempts, and challenges within his own party, ultimately triumphed. Throughout the campaign, Trump repeatedly derided Biden, calling him “crooked,” “feeble,” “grossly incompetent,” and “the worst president in the history of our country.”
Yet, in a surprising moment of civility after the election, Trump reportedly changed his tone during a congratulatory call from Biden. “In another life,” Trump said, “we would be friends and go golfing.”
