The Biden reelection campaign last week went on defense after the Washington Post reported that former President Obama had expressed concerns about the campaign, The Hill reported.
In a January 6 story, the Washington Post reported that Obama has been questioning the structure of the Biden campaign, suggesting to the president’s advisors that the Delaware campaign headquarters needed more “top-level decision-makers” or, at the very least, further empower the staffers already there.
Sources told the Washington Post that the former president even took his concerns to Biden during a recent private White House lunch.
Obama reportedly suggested that Biden emulate the former president’s 2012 reelection campaign structure and move some of his closest aides out of the White House and into the campaign.
According to the Post, Obama also told those close to the president that the Biden campaign needed to move aggressively, especially if Donald Trump quickly wrapped up the GOP nomination.
During a January 7 interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks defended the structure of the Biden reelection campaign and insisted that it was doing everything it could to establish the infrastructure needed to compete and win in 2024.
Fulks acknowledged that the former president frequently speaks to President Biden and members of his administration and reelection campaign. He said the one thing Obama and the Biden campaign agree on is pushing back on “MAGA extremists” and their “threat” to “freedom and democracy.”
When asked if the Biden campaign planned any structural changes in light of Obama’s concerns, Fulks dodged the question, saying while voters were only starting to tune into the presidential election, the Biden campaign was “awake” since April and came “out of the gate swinging.”
Fulks said the campaign invested more than any other presidential campaign to appeal to minority voters, young voters, and “constituency media.” He said the president planned to give more speeches warning that “democracy is on the ballot.”
