Former President Barack Obama expressed doubts about Joe Biden's chances of winning in November, according to Politico, telling a Democratic party source, "Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f*** things up."
"And you know who really doesn’t have it? Joe Biden," Obama said, according to a source.
Yet searing, anonymously sourced quotes from Obama kept appearing through the race. One Democrat who spoke to Obama recalled the former president warning, "Don't underestimate Joe’s ability to f*** things up." Speaking of his own waning understanding of today’s Democratic electorate, especially in Iowa, Obama told one 2020 candidate: “And you know who really doesn’t have it? Joe Biden.”
Biden’s weaknesses were such that even Clinton reconsidered her decision not to get into the race last fall, according to Reines.
"There were a number of people who decided not to run and then around, October, before Thanksgiving said to themselves, ‘You know, did I make the right decision?,’ he said, name-checking Mike Bloomberg and Deval Patrick who did make late entries. "She went through that exercise."
WILMINGTON, DE - AUGUST 12: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden listens as his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks during a virtual fundraising event, in makeshift studio at the Hotel DuPont n August 12, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to be a presumptive nominee on a presidential ticket by a major party in U.S. history. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)