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By Andrew Stanton
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Veteran Democratic strategist David Axelrod has slammed President Joe Biden's latest remarks about the 2024 election as "nuts."
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Vice President Kamala Harris' loss to President-elect Donald Trump has upended the Democratic Party, as it marked the first time a Republican has won the popular vote since 2004. The election also had Democrats losing ground with key groups, including young, Hispanic and Asian American voters.
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Many in the party have spent the months since Harris' loss trying to figure out what went wrong to try to correct course before the 2026 midterms, when Democrats are hoping to gain seats in the House and Senate. Some Democrats believe the election was unwinnable because of inflation concerns and Biden's unpopularity. Some on the left say Harris' moderate positions on foreign policy and the economy alienated more progressive voters, while others say voters viewed her as too liberal.
What To Know
Biden dropped out of the race in July after negative polling and a withdrawal of support from congressional Democrats following his widely panned debate performance against Trump. But he told USA Today in an exit interview published Wednesday that had he remained the Democratic nominee he would have won in November.
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"It's presumptuous to say that, but I think yes," Biden said.
But Axelrod, who devised the successful strategies in Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, rebuked Biden's remark during a discussion on CNN Wednesday afternoon.
"One has to comfort oneself in these moments, and, you know, that's probably what he's doing. But I think it's nuts to think that he probably would have won this election," Axelrod said.
He noted that Biden's approval rating was hovering below 40 percent on Election Day and that he doesn't believe "there's been a president who won reelection with an approval rating that low."
Concerns about Biden's age, Axelrod said, were not judgments about Biden himself but rather about the "human species." Biden turned 82 on November 20.
"When you're that old in a job this hard, it's doubtful that one can go full steam for another four years. That was a concern that he blew through when he decided to run," Axelrod said.
After Biden's disastrous debate performance, he spent weeks resisting calls from Democrats to withdraw from the race. He eventually ended up doing so, endorsing Harris as his replacement. She quickly emerged as the nominee, as no rivals challenged her and there was no primary. Her campaign quickly united a Democratic Party enthusiastic about her candidacy.
She went on to raise a record-breaking amount of donations and managed to do better in the polls, compared with Biden's standing when he dropped out in July. Still, Trump managed to narrowly carry every battleground state in November's election.
What People Are Saying
Jon Favreau, host of Pod Save America, said on the podcast Wednesday: "Then we find out when the Biden campaign becomes the Harris campaign that the Biden campaign's own internal polling at the time, when they were telling us he was the strongest candidate, showed that Donald Trump was going to win 400 electoral votes."
Harry Enten, CNN polling analyst, said on X (formerly Twitter): "Based on the polling data, I categorize Biden's statement that he could have beaten Trump as 'flat out bonkers.' Biden was well behind Trump when he dropped out. Biden never led in all of 2024. And no incumbent president who was anywhere near as unpopular as Biden has ever won."
Lakshya Jain of election analysis website Split Ticket said on X: "Completely and totally delusional. Post-debate, it's clear that if he stayed in, Biden would not just have lost the presidency, but would have probably lost by *comfortably* more than Harris did — losing Dems a dozen more House seats and 4 more Senate seats (AZ/MI/WI/NV)."
What Happens Next
Trump's inauguration is January 20, and he is expected to quickly move on enacting his sweeping agenda.
Meanwhile, Democrats are likely to continue debating what went wrong in 2024 to try to win back voters in time for the 2026 midterms.
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