Democrats say staff must change the way Biden is managed

If President Biden is going to continue to be their nominee, he must adjust his strategy and his aides and advisers must change the way they manage him, Democrats say. 

Party operatives argue aides have mismanaged Biden in a variety of areas, from communications to events to the president’s public and personal interactions.

They say aides seeking to control the narrative around Biden have shielded him from big moments, including sit-down interviews and off-the-cuff interactions, to his detriment. That strategy, they now argue, backfired at the debate.

“Everyone has been on eggshells about this sort of thing happening,” said one Democrat who has had a personal view into the internal operations at the White House. “The staff watch him like a hawk to step in before a thing happens.”

“And you can always feel some tension like, ‘Oh God, is this the day when something sideways happens?’” 

Some of those closest to Biden are already calling for him to do an interview or a town hall soon to show his capability of handling unscripted events.

“We do need to see more unscripted and off-the-record moments. That is something I’m encouraging,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told Kasie Hunt on Monday’s “CNN This Morning.”

Democrats have been in a panic since last week’s debate, which underscored fears for many about Biden’s age. It shook many in the party, who see Biden as having exited the debate as a bigger underdog to President Trump.

“Any Democrat who doesn’t think he’s an underdog at this point of time needs to get their head examined,” said Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist and former Senate leadership aide. “There’s a real problem here. Hopefully the Biden folks understand that and are trying to figure out what to do.”

The complaints about how Biden has been managed are coming from different directions and can feel like a bit of a pile-on.

Some Democrats have blamed the White House for overscheduling Biden for the sake of optics to show the president has enough vigor to win reelection. Other Democrats have complained about his debate preparation. There have even been complaints about agreeing to the time of the debate.

The New York Times reported Sunday that some family members have been pointing fingers at longtime Biden advisers who helped prepare Biden for the debate, including senior adviser Anita Dunn; the president’s personal lawyer Bob Bauer, who is married to Dunn; and former White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

Democrats told The Hill that Biden was “overloaded” with statistics and off-topic points, and that the team didn’t adequately prepare the president for pithy sound bites or even the right facial expressions when he wasn’t speaking.

“All he really had to do was show vibrance,” said one staunch Biden ally. “That’s really it. So while I hate to point fingers, someone is to blame there.” 

Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), one of Biden’s closest allies, said publicly that Biden was overprepared by his team.

“Yes, it was a bad performance. I’ve been around these things. I’ve been a part of debate preparation before, and I know when I see what I call preparation overload. And that’s exactly what was going on,” Clyburn said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Jen Psaki, the former White House spokesperson who now hosts an MSNBC show, defended the debate team and called some of the criticism “absurd.”

“It was a bad debate. I have no doubt they were tough, strategic and direct. (Believe me I have seen them in action) but prep does not always determine the outcome,” she said on the social platform X. “Biden was bad. Important convos about what happens next. But if you are directing your ire at ‘prep’ you are not talking about the right things.”

Klain responded to Psaki with a “thank you.”

One Democratic strategist who is close to aides at the White House said it was tough not to armchair quarterback at such a shaky and uncertain time for Democrats. But the strategist said the White House should have done better to work age into the narrative all along. 

“I know it seems counterintuitive to remind people every single day of the president’s weakness — his age — but it could have worked in normalizing this a little more,” said one top Democratic strategist. “Because you don’t see him often, when you do, it becomes more jarring.” 

Former Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) in a Monday night interview on The Hill on NewsNation said he was frustrated with the campaign staff, calling the debate prep “pretty god awful.”

“I’m frustrated with the campaign staff. Because I think that first of all, the prep for this debate was pretty god awful. I mean, you look at the fact that they went for seven days, as reported by The Washington Post, at least 18 White House staff took part in this prep,” he said.

At the same time, other Democrats said this isn’t a staff problem. 

“It was pretty clear in the debate that there was something wrong and maybe that’s why they have been so careful with him,” said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon.

But Bannon said there is a larger messaging problem: “Throughout this thing, Biden has been trying to play Mr. Nice Guy, and it’s time for him to be more angry and aggressive,” he said. “I think it’s time for a change in message. … If that means a change in staff, yes, I’m all for it.” 

Republican strategist Susan Del Percio — who does not support Trump, nor any of his previous candidacies — said the debate showed the staff is doing the best with what they have. 

“What the debate showed me is that they’re making the right decisions,” Del Percio said, adding that the performance showed what the nation already knew. “If the principal stumbles you can’t blame the staff unless the rug wasn’t smooth.” 

Alexander Bolton contributed.