Former President Joe Biden’s health and failed reelection bid continues to dog Democrats as they look ahead to the 2026 midterms, and as former Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to release her book, “107 Days” on Sept. 23.
Harris wrote in her memoir that it was “recklessness” to allow Biden and his wife, Jill, to make the sole decision to initially mount a reelection campaign, according to a recently released excerpt of the memoir. Several Democrats are “dreading” Harris’ forthcoming book tour as it seems likely to spur further inescapable questions about Biden, the Washington Post reported.
Tommy Vietor, a former Obama aide and co-host of “Pod Save America” told the Post that although Democrats don’t want to discuss Biden, they likely will not have a choice.
“The overwhelming majority of elected Democrats are focused on moving forward. There’s no interest for them in re-litigating this and neither are the vast majority of voters,” Vietor said. “But that kind of candor is going to be a prerequisite to be seen as credible. I think it will be important for the 2028 primary; people will be asked, ‘What did you know when?’”
Ammar Moussa, a veteran of both Biden and Harris’s campaigns, told the outlet the failed reelection bid eroded Democrats’ reputation with voters and will result in the party’s politicians facing questions on Biden’s initial decision to run again.
“The Joe Biden age question really fundamentally broke America’s trust in the Democratic Party after years of them feeling that promises had been broken,” Moussa told the Post.
“I don’t think it’s a top concern. I don’t think voters are going to make their decisions for 2026 based on who said what about Joe Biden,” he added. “But if you’re a politician running for office in 2026 and 2028 and you don’t have a good answer on ‘Should Joe Biden have run in 2024’ and come up with the same spin, voters are going to see through you.”
Multiple Democratic Party officials also said that Democrats have struggled to unify their messaging ahead of the midterms, according to the outlet.
Matt Bennett, executive vice president for public affairs at liberal think tank Third Way, told the Post that the lack of a singular leader of the Democratic Party makes the party’s attempt to win back the trust of voters an even more daunting task.
“As time goes on, Biden and 2024 controversies will fade because we live in this overwhelming Trump era where it’s going to seem like ancient history to talk about, ‘Where were you on Biden’s age?’” Bennett said.
The House Oversight Committee’s current investigation into Biden’s use of the autopen and mental decline may also be a cause of concern for Democrats hoping to win back electoral power. Biden’s Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, was probed by the committee on Friday, marking one of the investigations’ highest-profile depositions thus far.
Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the committee, said Jean-Pierre would be one of the last people brought in to speak with investigators due to their interest in the contents of her new book, “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines,” slated to release in October.
The Bidens and Kamala Harris did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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