Democrats fret return of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris to spotlight as party tries to ‘turn the page’: Report
Democrats are lamenting the return of former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris to the center stage as a hindrance to the party’s ability to “turn the page on 2024,” according to a new report.
“Democrats are eager to turn the page on their 2024 losses — but their central figures from the last election keep stepping back into the spotlight, complicating their efforts to forge a new identity,” Hannah Knowles and Maeve Reston wrote in a Friday Washington Post piece.
The report highlighted how Biden called out the Trump administration for “doing its best to dismantle the Constitution” on Thursday at the National Bar Association’s 100th annual gala in Chicago.
It noted that Harris was also still in the limelight promoting a new book, “107 Days,” about her failed 2024 presidential campaign.
Additionally, the story highlighted Hunter Biden’s appearance on the podcast scene, saying that the former president’s son is “settling scores on podcasts, lashing out at political consultants, influencers and actor George Clooney for criticizing his father — to the dismay of Democrats who believe the younger Biden’s legal troubles hurt them in 2024.”
“Many in the party are wary of elevating the people who led them to defeat in 2024 and exasperated to see the drama of that election repeatedly relitigated when they want to keep the focus on pushing back against Trump’s second-term agenda and identifying new leaders,” Knowles and Reston wrote.
Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic group Third Way, told the Post that Democrats need to do better with their credibility, and referenced the divided ranks on the Left that muddled the 2024 presidential election, with many insisting Joe Biden was capable of running again.
“If you say anything other than the guy was not up to the task of running again, and our party made a mistake in not making that clear… voters are going to think you’re lying,” Bennett said.
He added that “no one needs to hear from Hunter Biden. Literally no one.”
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Instead, the piece suggested new Democratic leaders, like Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego could be the party’s focus.
Cooper Teboe, a Silicon Valley-based Democratic strategist, said Democrats need fresh blood.
“I think most Americans are grateful for the service and contributions of the last generation of officeholders,” he said. “But the core reason the Democratic Party is in the position it is in today is because no new figures, no new ideas, have been allowed to rise up and take hold.”
DNC chairman Ken Martin said in an interview Wednesday, highlighted by the Post, that it’s time to move on.
“Do I have a time machine? No. So what good does it serve me or anyone of answering the question, should Joe Biden have stepped down? Can’t change it,” Martin said. “I’m not trying to protect anyone. I’m trying to save us spending a lot of time and energy on a question that really doesn’t help me win elections.”
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The defining factor, however, of how the Democrats move on, Democratic strategist Steve Schale said, will be the person who takes up the mantle of the party.
“I don’t think there’s a lot we can do to turn the page until we have a fight over who gets to turn the page,” Schale said. “And that will be the 2028 primary fight.”
