The hosts of “Pod Save America” went after individuals surrounding President Biden in their latest episode on Friday, accusing the White House of picking losing battles and spreading false rumors.
The hosts, who worked with Biden in the Obama White House, have been leading calls for the president to step out of the 2024 race against former President Trump, drawing barbed comments from the Biden campaign about "self-important Podcasters."
Dan Pfeiffer, one of the co-hosts, criticized Biden's team for what he said were jabs through the media at their podcast, as well as George Clooney, who wrote an op-ed this week calling on Biden to step aside; David Axelrod, a former Obama adviser who has long questioned Biden's candidacy, and even former President Obama.
"Just as a political operative, just the incompetence of spending your time fighting 'Pod Save America,' David Axelrod, George Clooney, and the most popular figure in the Democratic Party, at a time when you're struggling with Black voters, is f---ing insane."
Jon Favreau, another co-host, said he heard from reporters that people at the White House were seeking to spread rumors that he wrote Clooney's op-ed.
"I don't know who's doing it in the White House, and like I believe firmly that it's not the people that we know and are friends with — not just because they wouldn't do that to us, but because I think they're smarter than this. Because this is, this is just like really stupid s--t," he said.
“Why are you spending time on us for?” Favreau added later. “Go f---ing, just beat [President Trump.] Or like, help your candidate be on message and deliver a message.”
Neither the Biden campaign nor the White House has publicly accused Obama of being involved in calls for Biden to step aside, but MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a Biden favorite, said on his show Thursday that the Biden campaign sees Obama's hand in the turmoil.
“One thing that we do have to underline here — just so viewers can follow what’s going on behind the scenes — is the Biden campaign and many Democratic officials do believe that Barack Obama is quietly working behind the scenes to orchestrate this,” Scarborough said.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski, who has defended Biden amid calls to quit after his disastrous debate two weeks ago, specifically suggested that Obama was involved in Clooney's op-ed.
Axelrod and the podcast co-hosts were early members of a growing chorus of Democrats making the case that Biden is likely to lose to Trump following his rocky debate performance last month. More than 20 House members have now called on Biden to quit, and Democratic donors are reportedly panicking as well.
Clooney, in his op-ed in The New York Times Wednesday, said he had seen Biden's decline during a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles earlier this summer.
"It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe 'big F-ing deal' Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate," the Hollywood star wrote.
Later that day, New York Times correspondent Annie Karni wrote that Biden's team was fighting back.
"From a source familiar with event planning: 'The President stayed for over 3 hours, while Clooney took a photo quickly and left,'" she posted on X.
Biden has repeatedly said he's not going anywhere, and still believes he's the party's best choice to beat Trump.
At a press conference Thursday night, Biden said he is “the most qualified person to run for president.”
“I believe I’m the best qualified to govern,” Biden said. “And I think I’m the best qualified to win. But there are other people who could beat Trump, too. But it’s awful to start...from scratch."
“So let’s start there, No. 1,” he continued. “The fact is, the consideration is, that I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once, and I will beat him again.”
The Hill has reached out to the Biden campaign and the White House for comment.
