The Obama team is not happy with the Democrat party.
On Friday, the co-hosts of the popular left-wing podcast Pod Save America appeared on ABC’s The View to discuss the significant struggles facing the Democratic Party heading into the 2024 election cycle. Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, and Dan Pfeiffer, all former staffers in the Obama administration, didn’t mince words when assessing the state of the Democratic Party, pointing to President Biden’s age and lackluster polling as central to the party’s disarray.
Vietor acknowledged that one of the major issues plaguing the party has been a refusal to confront the reality of Biden’s diminishing appeal. “We’ve been dishonest with ourselves,” Vietor admitted, noting that many voters felt Biden was too old to continue for another term. “There were a lot of voters who felt like Joe Biden was too old to get another four years,” he added, a candid admission from one of the most influential voices in the Democratic establishment.
The former Obama aides also discussed the deep divisions within the party, particularly after Biden’s 2020 victory and the subsequent struggles over his re-election bid. Democrats have faced mounting internal criticism over their handling of Vice President Kamala Harris’ role in the 2024 campaign, and some, like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have even suggested Biden should have stepped aside sooner. Pelosi said as much in a November interview with The New York Times, suggesting that had Biden dropped out earlier, other candidates may have emerged as serious contenders.
The former Obama staffers were equally critical of how Biden’s team handled polling, with Favreau making it clear that Biden’s own internal polling had shown a much weaker position against former President Trump. “His polling showed Trump was on track to win over 400 electoral votes,” Favreau said. “I don’t blame Biden himself for this—his advisors failed to show him the reality of the situation.”
Vietor added, “Democrats ignored the warning signs. They thought they could coast on the idea that Trump is bad enough to carry them to victory.” The key takeaway? For the Democrats to stand a chance, they need a course correction—one that involves confronting the truth, returning to their working-class roots, and shedding the political infighting that has defined recent years.
With 2024 just around the corner, it’s clear that the Democratic Party is in disarray. The left may be learning the hard way that ignoring the signs of failure could cost them the presidency. The Republicans, on the other hand, are watching all of this unfold with a growing sense of optimism for what lies ahead.