Democratic strategist David Axelrod, an ex-adviser to former President Barack Obama, criticized President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign again, specifically citing the “age issue.”
Axelrod, a chief strategist for Obama’s presidential campaigns and senior adviser in the Obama administration, told CNN’s Dana Bash in a conversation with former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Sunday that Biden’s age “is the one thing you can’t reverse no matter how effective Joe Biden is behind the scenes,” adding that those watching him in front of the camera are concerned.
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Axelrod cited two recent polls showing the age concern remains a formidable challenge, while other problems his reelection campaign faces are addressable. A New York Times/Siena College poll last week showed former President Donald Trump leading Biden in five of six critical swing swings, and 71% of voters said the president is “too old” to be an effective commander in chief, with 39% feeling similarly toward Trump. A CNN poll released days later showed only a quarter of people believe Biden has the “stamina and sharpness” to be an effective president, compared to 53% for Trump.
“I think that there is one issue that is hanging over him,” Axelrod said on Sunday. “There are concerns about inflation; that’s a problem. Those could be overcome. And I think with Donald Trump on the other end, he could still win this election. But the age issue is difficult. And so, Phillips is trying to exploit that.”
The president is 80 and would be 86 at the end of a second term.
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Axelrod was asked about Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who launched his presidential bid against Biden last month and has pushed for the president to step down and allow a new generation to take over, citing concerns about his age.
Axelrod caused a stir last week when he said in a post on X that Biden “needs to decide” if becoming the Democratic nominee “is wise,” with many taking that statement to suggest he was calling for Biden to drop his bid. Axelrod told Politico that it’s “overreacting to say” he told Biden to drop out of his Democratic presidential campaign.