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."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Political cartoons for January 19Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Greenland tariffs, fighting the Fed, and more
-
Spain’s deadly high-speed train crashThe Explainer The country experienced its worst rail accident since 2013, with the death toll of 39 ‘not yet final’
-
Can Starmer continue to walk the Trump tightrope?Today's Big Question PM condemns US tariff threat but is less confrontational than some European allies
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
