Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect which podcast host made the comments.
Jon Lovett, host of “Pod Save America” and a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, slammed Biden’s handling of the fallout from his poor performance in last month’s debate, arguing it showed a “prideful and petty” side of him.
Lovett, Long post on social platform X While he called Biden an “extraordinary president” on Wednesday, his defensive stance following calls for him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race revealed another side of the incumbent president.
“But two weeks after the debate, what we’ve seen most is an arrogant, petty Joe Biden — clinging, boasting, defensive, angry and weak,” Lovett said. I wrote to X“Who else could it be but him? He wonders aloud. Only God can change his mind, he says. The stakes are high for the country.”
Biden is facing growing pressure from within his Democratic Party to drop out of the 2024 presidential race amid concerns that his age and questionable mental fitness could prevent him from beating former President Trump.
The president has maintained he has no plans to drop out of the race, and in a letter to Democratic lawmakers this week rejected his opponents’ demands and urged them to support his candidacy. he told ABC News. Last week he said his decision to step down would depend “on whether or not the almighty God comes down and tells me so.”
“The stakes for Joe Biden are not significant, but it’s still worth saying: Joe Biden can either defeat Trump and leave office as one of the greatest presidents of our lifetime, someone who always put his country first, or he can leave office as a stubborn old man whose arrogance and insecurity destroyed his own achievements and perhaps our democracy as well,” Lovett wrote.
“We all have the best and the worst of ourselves, battling each other for the moments that define us. Where is Joe Biden, the man we elected? Where is the politician? I hope we see him soon, and I hope those around him know where to look,” he added.
Lovett co-hosts “Pod Save America” with former Obama aides Tommy Vietor, Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer. All four say they believe Biden lost the debate and will lose the election to former President Trump unless he dramatically improves his performance in the coming months.
The Hill has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
