Former Obama Strategist Warns Biden Against ‘Pride’ in 2024 Economic Messaging
Summary from the AllSides News Team
CNN (Lean Left bias) commentator and former Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said President Joe Biden should avoid ‘pride’ in campaign messaging about the economy ahead of the 2024 election.
Quote from Biden: Axelrod was responding to a quote from Biden, saying, “The idea that we’re in a situation where things are so bad … when I started this administration, people were saying there’s going to be a collapse in the economy. We have the strongest economy in the world.”
Quote from Axelrod: While the former Obama aide said it was “absolutely true” that the economy was strong, he added that “that’s not the way people are experiencing the economy…They are experiencing it through the lens of the cost of living. He is a man who’s built his career on empathy, why not lead with the empathy?” Saying Biden was making a “terrible mistake,” Axelrod concluded, “If he doesn’t win this race, it may not be Donald Trump that beats him, it may be his own pride.”
For Context: Negative economic perceptions have been out of step with positive economic data in 2024. This has created a unique political challenge for Biden, who is rumored to have privately referred to Axelrod as a “prick.”
How the Media Covered It: Coverage on Thursday appeared to be limited to news outlets focused on partisan politics, on both sides of the spectrum. While Fox News (Right bias) displayed sensationalism in its headline with words like “pummels” and “defiant,” the content of articles was generally similar across the spectrum.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
David Axelrod pummels Biden's defiant stance on economy following CNN interview: A 'terrible mistake'
Former Obama adviser and CNN political analyst David Axelrod lambasted President Biden's defiant stance on the economy Wednesday, calling it a "terrible mistake" so much so that it could result in his defeat in the upcoming election.
"I don't understand this," the famed Democratic strategist reacted. "I don't understand all these months later, you know, I thought they spent $25 million mistakenly last fall touting Bidenomics and making the same argument that the president is making here."
In an interview with CNN, Biden attempted to boast about his record despite polls...
From the Center
Axelrod: Biden ‘pride’ may cost him election
Senior Democratic strategist David Axelrod hit President Biden over his economic messaging Wednesday following a campaign event in Milwaukee, saying the president’s “pride” could be his undoing in November.
Biden has consistently framed struggles with the economy in the past tense, and treated the issue as already won. Most Americans disagree, with polls showing most trusting former President Trump on the economy more.
Axelrod, who was former President Obama’s campaign strategist, said it’s “absolutely true” that the economy has significantly improved under Biden.
“But that’s not the way people are experiencing the economy,” he said in a CNN...
From the Left
Ex-Obama Strategist Names ‘Terrible Mistake’ That Could Cost Joe Biden The Election
Barack Obama campaign strategist-turned-CNN commentator David Axelrod suggested President Joe Biden’s pride may see him lose the 2024 election to former president and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Axelrod’s warning came Wednesday during a panel discussion on Biden’s bold claim, in an earlier interview with “OutFront” anchor Erin Burnett, that his administration had “already turned” the U.S. economy around. Burnett, though, had noted “real income when you account for inflation is actually down” since 2021.
It’s “absolutely true” that America has bounced back exceptionally well from the global economic slump caused by the COVID pandemic, admitted...
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