A White House aide reportedly called Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention an “implicit rebuke” to President Joe Biden’s term, perpetuating rumors that there is a rift between the president and his former boss Barack Obama.
The former first lady delivered a powerful speech on the second night of the DNC. She anticipated that a Kamala Harris presidency would bring a long-dormant sense of “hope” back to the country, reminding the nation of the enthusiasm felt during the Obama years — while glossing over President Biden’s term.
“Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it?” Michelle Obama began. “Not just here in this arena… but spreading all across this country we love… a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for too long.”
“Hope is making a comeback!” the former first lady said.
While the focus of her speech was on the promise of a brighter future with Harris at the helm, a White House aide believed her words could have served as a slight to Biden.
“It was an implicit rebuke of the Biden era,” the source told Politico, claiming that the former first lady seemed to be blending together the Trump and Biden presidencies into one dreary era in US history.
The aide’s comment furthers swirling theories that there is some continuing tension between Obama and Biden.
Last week, sources told Politico that Biden will not stay in Chicago to hear Obama’s speech because he harbors resentment toward his former boss for not directly calling him to voice his concerns about his re-election chances.
Months ago, following the Trump-Biden debate in June, Obama did not offer public support for Biden to stay in the 2024 race while a chorus of Democratic donors, voters and party leaders loudly called for him to step aside.
Since Biden’s fumbled debate performance, Obama allegedly privately expressed concern about the 81-year-old president’s re-election bid. Obama was also reportedly given an advance warning about George Clooney’s an op-ed in the New York Times, in which he called for Biden to step aside, and did not object to it.
Some had remarked that the Illinois Democrat’s lack of vocal support for Biden was actually saying a lot.
Obama’s silence “is deafening,” Democratic congressman Mike Quigley, toldVanity Fair in July. “If President Obama was all in, he would be all in.”
The former first lady made no explicit comment about Biden — good or bad — but she did underscore the damage of Donald Trump’s presidency, calling him a “racist” and “misogynist.”
In his speech, Barack Obama also signaled that the nation would welcome a change, without distinguishing between Trump and his former vice president: “America is ready for a new chapter. America’s ready for a better story.”
However, the former president spoke of Biden fondly numerous times throughout his speech, telling the crowd: “History will remember Joe Biden as a president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger. I am proud to call him my president, but even prouder to call him my friend.” He also hailed Biden ‘s “hard-earned resiliency and his unshakable belief” that came when America needed them most.
He hailed Biden for being “selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics: putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country.”
