Tensions between Joe Biden and Barack Obama have erupted into public view as the former president, now 82 and recently diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, launched a round of media appearances criticizing party leaders he claims forced him to abandon his 2024 re-election bid. Biden's candid remarks have drawn sharp internal backlash, including reported frustration from Obama himself, as Democrats attempt to regroup following Donald Trump's general election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
In appearances on the BBC and ABC's The View, Biden insisted, "The only reason I got out of the race was because I didn't want to have a divided Democratic Party." He pushed back against the narrative that age or incapacity drove his decision, adding that critics were "dead wrong."
Party leaders, however, have shown little patience for Biden's attempts to relitigate his withdrawal. "Honestly, what good does that do now?" said Democratic strategist Anthony Coley. "Many Democrats - from elected leaders to the party faithful - are just ready to turn the page. I just don't think he understands how wide and deep this sentiment is."
Sources familiar with the situation say Obama was "furious" over Biden's televised grievances, particularly after Biden assured confidants last year he was prepared for another term. Behind the scenes, concerns reportedly grew over Biden's ability to sustain even a limited workday, fueling pressure from senior Democrats to avoid a potentially fractured ticket in the face of Trump's candidacy.
"The message was thus delivered, loud and clear, that he either recede peacefully into the sunset or be thrown mercilessly to the wolves," one longtime Democratic operative told RadarOnline.
The Biden-Obama rupture has been brewing since at least mid-2024, when reports surfaced that Obama had joined a chorus of influential Democrats urging Biden to step aside. According to The New York Times, Biden has grown "increasingly resentful about what he sees as an orchestrated campaign" to sideline him and is privately indignant that Obama would "lecture him about how to save the party."
Biden reportedly sees his performance in the 2022 midterm elections-where Democrats outperformed expectations-as a stronger political legacy than Obama's 2010 midterms, in which the party suffered severe losses. One source said Biden found it "particularly rich" that Obama would position himself as the party's guiding force given that contrast.
Insiders say the fallout has strained what was once one of the most closely watched political friendships in modern American history. "He wants Joe to go away quietly and with whatever dignity he has left," a Democratic insider said of Obama's current posture.
Although Biden told supporters last year that he would only drop out if faced with a serious health crisis, his tone has shifted following the cancer diagnosis and the loss of the presidency to Trump. However, a memo from his campaign circulated at the time emphasized unity: "Joe Biden has made it more than clear: He's in this race and he's in it to win it," it read. "In a few short weeks, Joe Biden will be the official nominee. It is high past time we stop fighting one another. The only person who wins when we fight is Donald Trump."
Now, out of office and at odds with the Democratic establishment, Biden is defiant in the face of internal criticism but increasingly isolated. "Now he needs to embrace the silence," said one source, "if he ever wants the support of the party again."
