Democrats are eager to move beyond the 2024 elections, but the Bidens are making it difficult. Jill Biden has reignited tensions around the pivotal debate that marked the end of her husband’s political journey by promoting her new memoir. Joe Biden is seeking to block the release of audio interviews conducted by Special Counsel Robert Hur as part of a lawsuit against the Justice Department. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden, often a target for Republicans during campaigns, is back in the spotlight following his appearance on a podcast with Candace Owens, known for her controversial views.
This week, Jill Biden revealed her fears that her husband might have been suffering a stroke during a June 2024 debate. This admission was a stark contrast to her positive portrayal and defense of him at the time. Her comments have reopened wounds from the Democrats’ failed attempt to retain the White House, leading to renewed internal blame games just days after the party’s flawed review of the 2024 election.
Key Democratic figures view this as an unnecessary diversion as they aim to keep the party centered on the upcoming midterms and issues that matter to voters.
“We shouldn’t be sidetracked by the DNC’s review or anyone’s book,” said New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham at a Democratic National Committee meeting in Washington. “My focus is on impacting people’s lives positively. This is the frustration we’re seeing—it’s all this noise. The average Democratic voter, especially in New Mexico, doesn’t care about that book or the debate anymore.”
Lujan Grisham, who served on the advisory board for the 2024 Biden-Harris campaign, emphasized her respect for Jill Biden and expressed her support for Joe Biden.
Despite this, Jill Biden’s concerns about her husband’s debate performance were met with disappointment by former Biden White House and campaign staffers who had been instructed to treat the event as a minor setback.
Meghan Hays, a former special assistant to Joe Biden, warned that the timing of Jill Biden’s memoir could harm Democrats, who are currently experiencing electoral success.
“They are trying to sell books, and Dr. Biden wants to share her story,” Hays explained on C-SPAN’s “Ceasefire” with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns.
“This isn’t something Democrats want,” Hays added. “We have strong momentum, and revisiting discussions about age and the 2024 election isn’t beneficial for Democrats. It’s a challenging situation.” Hays wasn’t the only former Biden aide expressing discontent.
“My reaction was, ‘Welcome to the club.’ Everyone in the country and in your administration had the same thought, but we were told to dismiss it—it was just a bad night, an anomaly,” said another former Biden White House staffer, speaking anonymously.
Despite the frustrations, many Democratic strategists, former party leaders, and previous Biden-Harris officials downplayed the impact of revisiting 2024, dismissing it as inconsequential noise unlikely to affect the party’s future prospects in 2026 or 2028.
“Let everyone vent about 2024 now and get it over with,” suggested former Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), who narrowly lost her reelection as Trump won her state, in a message to POLITICO. “Voters won’t remember this in 2028.”
However, she expressed dissatisfaction with the DNC’s delayed release of the 2024 review. “We don’t need written reminders, nor do we need to give Republicans more ammunition to highlight our mistakes from 2024.”
The Bidens declined to comment, and another former Biden staffer noted that the party has already moved on.
“The public is now focused on the current president and issues like high gas prices, immigration, [Jeffrey] Epstein,” the source said.
The renewed debate controversy coincides with other actions by the Biden family, forcing Democrats to confront Joe Biden’s decline directly.
Joe Biden is attempting to prevent the release of recorded interviews with a ghostwriter by suing the Trump administration. These interviews were obtained by the Justice Department during a closed investigation into whether Biden mishandled classified information. This effort has revived another challenging episode that dashed his hopes for a second term.
Hur chose not to charge Biden, believing that jurors would view him as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” a decision that sparked political controversy. The released audio of Hur’s interviews with Biden supported this view.
While Biden seeks to keep these tapes private, his son has drawn more attention to the family.
Hunter Biden recently made news after recording a podcast with Candace Owens, a conservative influencer known for criticizing the Biden family and questioning Joe Biden’s mental capacity. In the interview, Owens refrained from disparaging Joe Biden and praised Hunter Biden for defending his father. Nonetheless, the media coverage generated backlash within the party.
Many Democrats are eager to move past the Bidens to allow the party to progress.
“No one wants to revisit the worst debate performance since the Greek Republic. Why are we discussing this? Why is Hunter Biden discussing himself?” asked Pete Giangreco, a Democratic strategist who worked on Barack Obama’s campaigns, though not on Biden’s or Harris’s.
“It’s time to move on. The Republicans and their super PACs will outspend us significantly—that’s where our focus should be,” he advised.
However, the Bidens and Harris are not retreating from the limelight. Harris, who published a book last year criticizing the president she served with, has indicated she might pursue a third presidential run in 2028. Joe Biden has begun endorsing former administration officials running in midterm elections; one such candidate, Keisha Lance Bottoms, recently won her gubernatorial primary in Georgia, a crucial swing state. Jill Biden is also embarking on a book tour.
Some Democrats find themselves more frustrated with the party’s vocal factions than with the Biden family. These factions often engage in internal disputes with each new detail about 2024.
“I’d prefer not to discuss it. But they have the right to do what they’re doing,” noted Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist who supported Biden’s reelection, during the DNC meeting. “We control our reactions. They’re no longer in charge of the party. We don’t need to revisit every word they say.”
