At least three of President Biden’s top campaign aides may be at risk of being fired, according to a new report, as family members are furious over the 81-year-old presidential candidate’s debacle at last week’s debate.
As Biden faces growing calls to abandon his 2024 reelection campaign following his dismal performance, the blame is being shifted, at least in part, to those who helped prepare him behind the scenes.
During the presidential family’s crisis at Camp David last weekend, targets of attack included senior adviser Anita Dunn, her husband and Biden’s lawyer, Bob Bauer, and Biden’s former chief of staff, Ron Klain. POLITICO The report cited three people briefed on the conversations.
Here’s a closer look at the top names Biden’s family has personally criticized.
Anita Dunn
Dunn, a senior White House communications adviser and campaign strategist for former President Barack Obama, has been a long-time aide to Biden and frequently consults with the president.
Dunn, 66, was one of Biden’s closest aides and was heavily involved in debate preparations, campaign officials said.
She is said to have supported the debate strategy, which was initially approved by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, who helped Biden win in 2020 and was appointed in January to boost his faltering reelection campaign.
Dunn was one of the aides who engineered an unsuccessful plan last year to oust White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre out of concern she would be an ineffective advocate for Biden’s election.
Biden’s fundraising chief, John Morgan, slammed Dunn immediately after the debate, accusing him and other members of Biden’s campaign team of “political misconduct.”
“I believe he was overcoached and overtrained. And [senior aide] “Anita Dunn put him in a venue that was favorable to Trump, but not favorable to him,” said Morgan, the Florida-based lawyer.
He added that Dunn and her husband “should be permanently fired and never be allowed to work on the campaign trail again.”
Bob Bauer
Dunn’s husband, who serves as the president’s personal lawyer, was also heavily involved in the debate, even playing the role of Trump in pre-debate rehearsals, a source said.
The 72-year-old lawyer, who helped Biden avoid criminal charges in special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into alleged mishandling of classified documents, also played Trump in Biden’s run-up to the 2020 election debates.
Bauer is said to be one of Biden’s most trusted aides and is highly regarded for his intellect, according to people familiar with the matter.
Still, ahead of last week’s debate, sources close to the Biden campaign had already expressed concern that Bauer and his wife might not be “cutting edge” enough to anticipate attacks that would come from his Republican rival.
“Intention [the Biden camp] “Preparing for the debate like it’s a Bravo reality show? Because that’s the way it should be,” one source speculated to CNN, alluding to a looming blow from Trump.
“Are they going to be innovative and creative enough in their preparation as coaches? [Biden] Do you expect the unexpected and the unconventional? That’s all that matters.
“Bob and Anita are not well known in the Democratic Party as thinkers or visionaries,” the Democratic source added.
Ron Klein
Klain, a decades-long confidant of Biden who served as his first White House chief of staff, is said to have taken the lead in preparing for the debate.
As rumors spread that Biden’s family was blaming Klain and other aides, the president appeared to call his former chief of staff in an attempt to defuse the situation, sources told Axios.
Klain, who is also expected to be in charge of organizing the second presidential debate in September, addressed the backlash to the debate in a brief statement.
“In my 38 years working with Joe Biden, we’ve had many successes and some failures,” he said. “I’m always happy to share in the good results and share some of the responsibility for the ones that fell short.”
Klain, a wealthy lawyer and former lobbyist, served as Biden’s chief of staff for two years before resigning in February last year.
During his time in the White House, he was repeatedly accused of distorting the facts and whitewashing Biden’s record.
His work with Biden dates back to his time as a senator and vice president.
Biden’s campaign has repeatedly insisted that a staff shake-up is not on the table since his disastrous showdown with former President Donald Trump.
“The President’s advisers have been with him for years, sometimes decades, watching him triumph and overcome challenges, and the President has great confidence in them,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a statement.
With post wire
