Joe Biden’s biographer delivered a sharp critique of the president, stating Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat by Donald Trump is a stain on Biden’s “legacy.”
Franklin Foer, author of “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future,” asserted that Harris’ shortcoming reflects on Biden more than it does on her.
“Joe Biden cannot escape the fact that his four years in office paved the way for the return of Donald Trump. This is his legacy. Everything else is an asterisk,” Foer penned in his Atlantic piece.
Foer noted that some of Biden’s staff foresaw the impact Harris’ loss would have on the president’s legacy, which he secured by promising to dismantle Trump’s policies.
“Earlier this fall, one of Joe Biden’s closest aides felt compelled to tell the president a hard truth about Kamala Harris’s run for the presidency: ‘You have more to lose than she does.’ And now he’s lost it,” Foer wrote.
He gave insight into Biden’s team’s reaction on Election Day, noting their downcast mood and internal criticism of Harris’ campaign.
“They sounded as deflated as the rest of the Democratic elite,” he added, noting some feared Biden might claim he could’ve won himself.
Biden’s aides reportedly believed they could have performed better, critiquing Harris for abandoning her strong anti-corporate stance, partly due to influence from her brother-in-law.
“Suddenly, this strain of populism disappeared. One Biden aide told me that Harris steered away from such hard-edged messaging at the urging of her brother-in-law, Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer,” Foer revealed.
Foer also mentioned criticism regarding Harris not challenging identity politics enough. Biden, according to his staffers”would have clearly rejected the idea of trans women competing in women’s sports.”
However, he noted Biden never took this position while in office, whereas Harris portrayed herself differently.
“She bathed herself in patriotism,” he wrote. “She presented herself as a prosecutor, a friend of law enforcement, and a proud gun owner.”
The final point Foer makes is that Biden’s achievements, like the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure initiatives, may be credited to Trump during his second term, even though these lay the groundwork for future economic growth.
“Despite Trump’s opposition to those pieces of legislation, the benefits of those bills could bolster his presidency. Biden will have passed along his most substantive legacy as a gift to his successor,” Foer concluded.
