(New York) In Quebec politics, the expression “mother-in-law” has aged badly, but it has long been used to identify a former prime minister who embarrasses his former party with criticism or controversial remarks.
In the United States, no former president has truly deserved this term or the similar term “dais manager”. In 2021, George W. Bush certainly lamented what the Republican Party had become in the era of Donald Trump and disinformation. An “isolationist, protectionist and, to a certain point, nativist” party.
But his words had very little effect on the Republicans.
Barack Obama, in 2019, criticized young people for their tendency to give in to the excesses of the “culture of denunciation” and “wokism”. But since leaving the White House, he has reserved his sharpest criticism for Donald Trump and the Republicans. Ditto for Bill Clinton.
The same cannot be said of David Axelrod and James Carville, two former Democratic strategists, to whom the term “mother-in-law” fits like a glove.
One became famous serving Barack Obama, the other advising Bill Clinton. If Joe Biden loses, they can say, “We told you so.” » If he wins, they will have proven that… Let’s go no further.
In fact, for Joe Biden, David Axelrod is much worse than a “stepmother.” He’s a “con” (according to journalist Jonathan Martin of the Politico site, the president used the word prick in English to denigrate the ex-strategist).
Axelrod received this insult last November. He then dared to declare publicly that the Democratic president should seriously ask himself whether the idea of seeking a second term was the right one. He was worried not only about his age, but also about the polls that placed him behind Donald Trump in key states and about his limitations as a communicator.
PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
David Axelrod
Despite the insult, David Axelrod continues to criticize Joe Biden’s campaign. And there is no shortage of forums to do so. In addition to his role as a frequent commentator on CNN, he hosts or co-hosts two popular podcasts and conducts numerous interviews. One of his favorite targets is Mike Donilon, a member of the triumvirate of advisers who have surrounded Joe Biden for decades (and who isolate him, in the opinion of some).
Daily concerns
According to David Axelrod, Mike Donilon is wrong in estimating that voters’ concerns about the survival of American democracy will have a determining importance in the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
“I think the people who are sitting around their kitchen table talking about this topic are people who don’t care what they paid for the food that’s on the kitchen table,” said the former strategist on CNN last April.
“If you live with the concerns of inflation and the day-to-day concerns of life, then you probably aren’t talking about this topic. »
He has since linked the disaffection of a certain number of black and Latino voters for Joe Biden to the latter’s difficulties in understanding the reality faced by less fortunate Americans.
When asked by an NBC personality on Easter Monday what he would say to Americans who are worried about their economic situation, the president replied: “I would tell them that we have the strongest economy in the world . »
He offered a similar response last May to a question about Americans’ dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy. David Axelrod’s review was quick to follow.
“I think he’s making a terrible mistake. If he doesn’t win this race, it may not be Donald Trump who will beat him, but his own pride,” the former strategist said on CNN.
The “asshole” opinion may not have fallen on deaf ears. In his recent messages, Joe Biden has been quicker to acknowledge that Americans are still struggling because of the rising cost of living. But is it too late?
Too “old”, according to Carville
As far as we know, James Carville has yet to inherit an insulting epithet from the Oval Office. But he is no less severe in his criticism of Joe Biden than David Axelrod.
“I thought President Biden should have considered not running, but that’s not the choice he made,” the former strategist lamented on New York radio channel WABC, there. two weeks ago.
PHOTO LILY BROOKS, THE NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVES
James Carville
Carville fears that the octogenarian president will not be able to mobilize young people, a key constituency in Democratic victories in presidential elections over the past three decades. This is not his only fear about Joe Biden, but it is important.
“If you do a focus group, the first thing out of everyone’s mouth is ‘old,’ so how can you say we’re going to pretend it doesn’t exist? », he asked during an interview with the columnist of New York Times Maureen Dowd last March.
The word “old” can also apply to Donald Trump. But where are the Republicans who are both willing to harshly criticize their party’s presidential nominee and, like David Axelrod and James Carville, vote for him anyway?