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- Biden wishes Obama had personally shared his fears about the state of the race, sources said.
- Several Biden confidants were disappointed that Obama was quiet when some called for the president to step aside.
- The two men have a close but complicated relationship.
President Joe Biden has seemingly accepted that he's no longer running for reelection, but he isn't happy that former President Barack Obama didn't relay to him his concerns about the 2024 race, sources told Politico.
According to the outlet, Biden is frustrated that his former boss didn't directly speak with him about the campaign following the June debate, complicating their already complicated relationship.
Obama quickly defended Biden in the wake of the disastrous debate performance that marked the beginning of the end for the president's reelection bid. At the time, the former president posted on X about his own shaky debate in 2012 and affirmed that Biden was still the man to beat Trump.
Then, Obama went quiet.
While the former president, whom Biden considers a friend, did not lead the charge to oust Biden, he did not quell the dissenters, either. The innermost ring of Biden's innermost circle was upset about Obama's noticeable silence, the sources told Politico. In private, Obama told aides that he was concerned about Biden's chances and reportedly discussed the matter with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has also drawn the president's ire over her behind-the-scenes pressure campaign, according to the news outlet.
Biden's disappointment only contributes to lingering frustrations within their relationship, as Biden has reportedly long thought that Obama's allies have felt disdain toward him. And 2016 is never too far in the rearview mirror, when Biden said Obama made it clear that he wanted former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president instead of his own No. 2.
But this year's convention will feature a sharply different dynamic.
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week, Biden is set to take the stage and strongly promote the presidential candidacy of his No. 2, Vice President Kamala Harris.