Democratic strategist David Axelrod brushed off President Joe Biden‘s reported nickname for him, saying he doesn’t care and doesn’t “blame him.”
Biden reportedly called Axelrod a “prick” in response to numerous critiques from the former adviser to President Barack Obama on the president’s reelection campaign. Axelrod said in an interview with Politico that he recently received a box of pins labeled “Pricks for Biden” and said, “I don’t really give a s***.”
“I don’t care about that. I don’t blame him. He’s frustrated and probably thought it was unhelpful,” Axelrod said. “Someone who you know, but I won’t say who, sent me a box of buttons that said ‘Pricks for Biden.’ So I guess I’m the chair of that.”
“You know, everybody in Washington sort of thinks that the most important thing is that the president likes you and that you get invited to parties and s*** like that. I’ve been to plenty of parties. I worked in the White House. That’s not the thing,” the strategist continued.
Axelrod has said Biden’s “age issue” is hanging over him and that the president “needs to decide” if becoming the Democratic presidential nominee “is wise.” Axelrod has also called on Biden to “get out or get going” on his presidential campaign — noting that relying on former President Donald Trump to miss the mark in 2024 rather than Biden landing voters and winning could be detrimental to his reelection chances.
He said he believes Biden is a “far more competent president than his ratings suggest.” In several recent polls, Biden is trailing Trump in some key battleground states and hitting record-low ratings in states he solidly won in 2020, such as Michigan.
However, Axelrod said there are “communication issues” within the reelection campaign, noting that the choice between “two old guys” is clear. Biden, at 81, is the oldest president in U.S. history. Trump is 77 years old.
“One of them is consumed by his past, and the other has an eye on your future,” Axelrod said of Trump and Biden, respectively. “That’s the choice. To me, that’s a compelling argument for Biden. It transcends whatever concerns people have about his presentation and so on. Look at the work product and explain the work product in context.”
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He said there are a lot of “really smart and committed supporters” who have concerns about Biden’s reelection campaign. Those who call people with concerns “bedwetters” are “deeply, deeply unhelpful because sometimes there’s a reason to be concerned.”
“I certainly didn’t say what I said to be injurious to Joe Biden,” Axelrod added. “Sometimes, the most injurious thing is to say nothing at all.”