MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said Thursday that President Biden’s campaign believes former President Obama is behind growing calls for his former vice president to drop out of the 2024 race.
“One thing that we do have to underline here — just so viewers can follow what’s going on behind the scenes — is the Biden campaign and many Democratic officials do believe that Barack Obama is quietly working behind the scenes to orchestrate this,” Scarborough said on “Morning Joe.”
Scarborough added during Thursday’s broadcast that Biden is “deeply resentful of his treatment under not only the Obama staff but also the way he was pushed aside for Hillary Clinton” in 2016.
Mika Brzezinski, Scarborough’s co-host and wife, added, “I think Barack Obama has a lot of influence, and there’s a lot there.”
Biden is facing calls to drop out of the race and intensifying questions about his mental acuity and ability to defeat former President Trump following his shaky debate performance two weeks ago.
Former aides to Obama have been among Biden’s most vocal critics in the postdebate fallout.
Biden has said he intends to stay in, while Scarborough has defended the president from calls to bow out.
Actor George Clooney, a prominent backer of both Biden and Obama, published an op-ed in The New York Times on Wednesday calling for the president to step aside.
Obama reportedly discussed the opinion piece with Clooney beforehand, though the former president allegedly did not encourage the actor or dissuade him from coming out against Biden.
Biden is a noted watcher of “Morning Joe,” MSNBC’s flagship morning talk show, calling in to it Monday to defend himself from his critics on the left.