Obama is reportedly 'tickled' by Biden's big polling lead over Trump

Former President Barack Obama is at an impasse.

After eight years in office, Obama was ready for a break, and still doesn't seem inclined to get back in the ring to promote the candidacy of former Vice President Joe Biden. But he still knows he needs to be an "enthusiastic supporter" of the Biden campaign, leaving him stuck trying to balance campaigning for the Democrat without furthering a "proxy war" between himself and President Trump, The New York Times reports.

Obama largely retreated from the spotlight after Trump's unexpected 2016 win, and wasn't eager to get too involved this time around. But Biden's presumptive nomination has given Obama a "semi-starring role in a production he has not written or directed," especially as Biden proves "covetous of [Obama's] support and fiercely determined to win on his own," the Times writes. Obama has reportedly been hesitant to headline more Biden fundraisers for this reason, and when some people close to Obama suggested it's just his attempt to avoid "overshadowing" Biden, Biden aides told the Times, "by all means, overshadow us."

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Still, Obama "takes pride" in the fact that he has millions more Twitter followers than Trump even though he seldom uses his account, the Times reports. And while aides tell the Times that Obama isn't trying to make himself into a "proxy" for Biden, he has been closely following recent polls and finds himself "tickled by the lopsided metrics of their competition of late," the Times continues. Read more about what Obama is up to at The New York Times.