Former Obama Aides Raise Alarm on Biden ‘Struggling’ with ‘Cynical and Frustrated’ Voters

The hosts of Pod Save America joined Morning Joe on Tuesday to discuss the “health of the Democratic Party” and potential voter apathy working against President Joe Biden.

Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor, authors of the new book Democracy or Else: How to Save America in 10 Easy Steps, acknowledged the president’s struggles in polling, but argued many voters will support him once the contrast between him and Donald Trump becomes clearer closer to the election.

Favreau, a former speechwriter for Obama, argued Biden is “struggling” with voters who aren’t paying close enough attention.

“I think the biggest divide in politics right now is between people who are paying close attention to politics and people who are not, and so if you look at polls of voters who say that they’re following the race closely, getting their news from TV, getting their news from newspapers — Joe Biden has a huge lead with those voters,” Favreau said.

The best strategy, he added, is to “force the choice” between Biden and Trump.

“Where he’s struggling is among younger voters, Black voters, Latino voters, white voters, people who just aren’t paying close attention to politics and who aren’t tuned in, and one of the reasons they’re not tuned in is because they’re cynical about politics and they’re frustrated about politics and the way to turn that around… trying to get people’s attention as best you can and try to force the choice in the election,” he said.

Lovett said many progressive younger voters view politics as “a lot of noise” and typically get their news from social media, an “inherently cynical and negative place.” He argued though that Trump’s support of things like cutting the Department of Education budget and ending vaccine mandates are “incredibly unpopular” with voters.

Vietor called Gaza a “huge challenge” for Democrats. Biden has faced backlash from some within his own party for his support of Israel amid the country’s strikes on Gaza, which have led to thousands of civilian deaths. A number of Democratic lawmakers have backed calls for a ceasefire, and activists have supported the same calls through college campus protests across the country.

“It’s going to take work,” Vietor said. “You’re right that Gaza is a huge challenge, I think especially with young people and progressives, but their bet is that over time they can educate younger voters about the stakes involved and that people will eventually come back to them.”

Watch above via MSNBC.

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