With the Democratic Party struggling to find a new direction, former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden have offered to jump in and help with fundraising and rebuilding.
Former President Joe Biden has told some Democratic leaders he’ll raise funds, campaign and do anything else necessary for Democrats to recover lost ground as the Trump administration rolls back programs the party helped design, according to people close to him.
Biden privately met last month with the new Democratic National Committee chairman, Ken Martin, and offered to help as the party struggles to regain its viability amid polling that shows its popularity has been sinking, the people said.
So far, Biden’s overture seems to have fallen flat. Democrats find themselves adrift, casting about for a compelling messenger.
Whoever that is, it’s not Biden, many party activists and donors contend. He’s tethered to the 2024 defeat and, at 82, is a symbol more of the party’s past than its future, they argue.
“Who’s going to want Joe Biden back in the game?” said a major Biden supporter, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about him.
A spokesperson for the DNC didn’t provide a comment or make Martin available for an interview.
A new NBC News poll shows that the Democratic Party’s popularity has dropped to a record low. Only 27% of registered voters said they held positive views of the party — the lowest figure in the network’s polling dating to 1990.
Former first lady Jill Biden is also prepared to campaign and raise money for fellow Democrats as she and her husband settle into life back home in Delaware, a person close to her said.
“She recognizes that serving in the capacities that she served is an honor and it comes with responsibilities to the party. And she’s prepared to help in any way she can,” the person said.
Both Bidens are carving out post-presidential lives aside from the partisan political work they’ve volunteered to take on.
Each plans to write a book. As Biden develops a theme for his memoir, he has been consulting former senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior White House advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti.
He has been splitting his time between Delaware and Washington for meetings in office space supplied by the federal government. As was his habit as a U.S. senator, he often commutes via Amtrak.
The onetime first couple were shocked when President Donald Trump abruptly announced this week that he was ending Secret Service protection for their two adult children, Hunter and Ashley, the person close to Jill Biden said. They’d gotten no warning, another person familiar with the matter said. Their first question was whether their two children would be safe.
The Bidens have been out of office for only two months. After Trump’s first term ended in 2021, then-President Biden extended protection for Trump’s adult children for six months.
Though Biden is willing to help, Democrats aren’t unanimous in wanting them to. Some party activists believe Biden is an admired figure who remains a draw inside a grateful party.
Jane Kleeb, a vice chair of the DNC, said in an interview: “If you were to call any state party chair and ask them if they wanted Joe Biden to be a keynote speaker for their annual dinner, the answer would be yes. He is beloved by the party and beloved by the voters.”
Others argue that reminding voters of a 2024 campaign that went sour isn’t the best strategy for a party that is grasping for a message and searching for new, younger leaders. A CNN poll this month asked Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents which leader best reflects the party’s core values. Only 1% chose Biden.
What’s more, the wounds of 2024 are still fresh, with many Democrats aggrieved over Biden’s decision to run again and remain in the race until just a few months before the election, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris little time to organize a campaign of her own.
Alan Kessler, a longtime Democratic fundraiser from Philadelphia, said in an interview: “There are plenty of people in the Democratic Party who were obviously very frustrated with how things played out last year, but there are plenty of people who still love Joe Biden.”
At the “appropriate time,” Biden can be an asset to the party by campaigning in selected areas, such as his hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania, but now isn’t it, Kessler added.
“It’s time to move on with new leadership,” he said.
