Democrats are complaining that President Joe Biden has essentially disappeared since Donald Trump won re-election last month, which sources inside the party told Politico has left many inside the party feeling has created a leadership vacuum.
The president has not yet scheduled a post-election press conference and has spoke only seven words to reporters during nearly two weeks since vice president Kamala Harris' loss, and his schedule has been notably light in the final weeks in the White House, reported the outlet.
“He’s been so cavalier and selfish about how he approaches the final weeks of the job,” said a former White House official.
Aides concede that Biden has seemingly receded from view, which they say is rooted in his understanding that the Democratic Party has moved on without him and lingering resentment over the way he was pushed aside in favor of Harris, and he's also concerned about facilitating a peaceful transfer of power.
“Democrats in Washington just want to get him and the people around him out the door,” said the former White House official. “All he’s done in the last year has hurt the party every step of the way.”
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Some allies say that Biden is simply "reading the room" and getting a sense that his contributions weren't welcome.
"If him speaking out doesn’t achieve any actual strategic objectives, there’s no real point in doing it,” said Democratic strategist Caitlin Legack.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates insisted the president was "making every day of this term count" and “leading by example for the sake of American democracy, honoring his campaign promise to respect the will of the voters and provide an orderly transition," but some party officials believe there's not a coherent strategy for pushing back against Trump.
“In conversations that I’m having, they don’t even mention the president – it’s kind of sad,” said the Democrat close to senior lawmakers. “It feels like Trump is president already.”