President Joe Biden is channeling his irritation about the crisis of confidence in his 2024 re-election run in the wrong direction, NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd argued on Monday.
The critique was in response to a comment Biden made during an impromptu phone interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” earlier on Monday morning in which the president blew off criticism he’s faced after a poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites in the party. … They know so much more,” Biden quipped. “If any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me. Go ahead. Announce for president — challenge me at the convention!”
Yet, as noted by Todd, it was powerful Democrats who allowed Biden to be insulated from challengers during the primary season and demonized the now-abandoned No Labels effort that sought a third-party ticket.
“Biden’s anger at ‘elites’ is a bit misplaced. Without the ‘elites,’ he would have had a serious primary foe. Without the ‘elites,’ the No Labels effort would have a compelling ticket. Arguably, it’s the ‘elites’ who put too much faith in Biden that got the Dems in this position,” he said on X.
Biden’s anger at “elites” is a bit misplaced. Without the “elites,” he would have had a serious primary foe. Without the “elites,” the No Labels effort would have a compelling ticket. Arguably, it’s the “elites” who put too much faith in Biden that got the Dems in this position.
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) July 8, 2024
The post encouraged further discourse on the social media platform.
“Ding ding ding. The ‘elites’ assured Biden’s nomination by refusing to go on-the-record with the grave concerns they whispered in private,” said The Atlantic staff writer Tim Alberta.
Jim Antle, executive editor of Washington Examiner magazine, said, “All true. But everyone gets mad at friends who turn on them in their hour of need. And the panic *may* be an elite Dem phenomenon more than rank-and-file.”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison simply reacted by sharing a GIF of a man shaking his head.
https://t.co/BxhwqiEb44 pic.twitter.com/qJhxiOHygg
— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) July 8, 2024
Polls have shown that voters are increasingly doubtful that the president is fit to continue serving well into his 80s, and some members of his own party have been calling on Biden to drop out of the 2024 race.
Biden, 81, sent a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday stating that “despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.”