Tommy Vietor, a former Obama administration spokesperson, said he and his “Pod Save America” co-hosts are speaking out against President Biden’s candidacy because the “stakes are so high.”
“It’s a challenging moment. We are about political engagement, encouraging people to get involved in politics and knocking on doors and campaigning,” Vietor said in an interview with Semafor. “But the reason we’re speaking honestly, is solely because the stakes are so high.”
Vietor hosts “Pod Save America” alongside former Obama aides Jon Lovett, Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer. The podcast co-hosts have loudly called for Biden to step aside from the presidential race in favor of a new Democratic candidate, following his poor showing during the first presidential debate two weeks ago.
“The concern about his age and ability to win is broadly held in the country. Your average listener watched the debate and felt the way we all did, which was deep concern about our ability to win the race,” Vietor said.
Biden has made a string of public appearances since the debate to challenge concerns about his abilities, including a prime-time ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos last week and a press conference at the conclusion of the NATO summit Thursday.
Vietor criticized the campaign for spreading Biden’s appearances out, and consequently allowing for speculation to build before his public events.
“The obvious advice that everyone’s been giving Biden from the beginning is get out there more, do more interviews or events,” he explained. “And the fact that he has not been doing that for months and months now suggests that they don’t think he’s capable of pulling it off.”
Vietor, who worked in the Obama campaign and White House, also expressed sympathy for how his criticism might be impacting the staff on the Biden campaign, and noted that speaking out has damaged those relationships.
“I’ve been on a presidential campaign. I’ve worked in the White House. They are grinding it out every day and are just trying to get this thing over the finish line, and if I make their lives harder, I genuinely feel bad about and guilty about that. But I think all of us feel like we have to,” he said.
“There are people on the Biden campaign who I just no longer hear back from,” he added.
The Biden campaign took a swing at Democrats pushing for Biden to step aside in a fundraising email in the days after the debate, specifically calling out “self-important Podcasters.”
“If Joe Biden decides that he is not going anywhere, and he is formally nominated in August, after that, we will saddle up and fight for him and encourage people to knock doors and donate and support the campaign,” Vietor said.