On Thursday, a story from NBC News illuminated the legacy of President Biden and the solemn atmosphere that permeates the White House during the president’s last days in office.
During his presidency, Biden failed to live up to his campaign promises “to unite the country, strengthen his party and defend democracy,” as the piece pointed out.
The vice president “leaves a nation divided, a party in tatters and the American people questioning the self-described institutionalist’s respect for the rule of law,” the study states.
Republicans are “blaming Biden for handing the White House to Donald Trump, criticizing the aging politician for staying in office too long and reeling after he pardoned his son,” according to NBC News, because of the disparity between Biden’s campaign promises and his actual presidency.
The president “privately mused about the idea of pardoning [President-elect Donald] Trump as a magnanimous move,” according to a source familiar with Biden’s remarks. Meanwhile, the president was “not on speaking terms with some of his closest allies.”
The story quotes James Carvile, a prominent Democratic political strategist, who offers his thoughts on Biden’s legacy and last days in office.
One of the greatest political catastrophes in American history is the Joe Biden narrative. Trust me when I say that. He ought to be enjoying a magnificent retirement that is rich with accolades and merit. Along with the statement, “It’s hard to blame anybody but him,” Carville emphasized that he is not.
Someone who has spoken with White House officials lately said that the atmosphere is “like a morgue,” and that staff are attempting to keep their emotions in check until Biden formally steps down as president.
“It’s hard to reflect, it’s hard for it to sink in that we’re done here — until we’re actually done and out the gates with our stuff,” NBC reported that a White House source said, “it hasn’t sunk in for people who are still here yet because we’re working until the last minute.”
The article describes Biden’s “many fractured friendships,” asserting that, “He is estranged from some of the people who were once among his most powerful allies.”
NBC News reports that “He [Biden] harbors, along with first lady Jill Biden, a simmering resentment toward former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several former aides, including Bob Bauer and Anita Dunn, all of whom he believes either failed him or pushed him out of the 2024 race, according to several people close to him.”
According to an aide of former California Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Biden and Pelosi have not met in person since July, when Pelosi pushed him to withdraw from the presidential campaign.
Someone with knowledge of Biden’s situation confirmed the accusation, stating, “That relationship is permanently damaged.”
This week, Jill Biden expressed her “disappointed” with Pelosi’s behavior in a piece published by the Washington Post.
Ben Rhodes, a former Obama staffer, brought attention to Biden’s apparent snub of Obama by naming aircraft ships after Bush and Clinton, even though President Biden has not publicly voiced his displeasure with Obama.
According to Rhodes, “Barack H. Obama did not get an f—ing personnel carrier named after him” on an episode of the “Pod Save The World” podcast.
“Biden went back on his promise to protect the norms he said undergirded the nation’s stability by pardoning his Hunter Biden on federal gun and tax charges,” NBC News wrote, further criticizing Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter.
The report goes on to say that Bob Bauer, a former Biden lawyer, and Anita Dunn, a former Biden advisor, both said that the president “unceremoniously” removed members of Biden’s family from his inner circle.
“Dunn and Bauer resented being unceremoniously cast out of the president’s inner circle and blamed two Biden family members in particular for that — Hunter Biden and Jill Biden,” NBC News said.
At the article’s conclusion, James Carville offers a somber comment that appears to capture the spirit of the Biden presidency’s demise.
Throughout his life, Joe Biden accomplished a great deal. He lamented that people remember people based on their final actions. “Right now, he’s remembered as the guy who stayed too long.”