On Thursday, Beto O’Rourke, a former representative from Texas, torched former President Joe Biden, claiming that he failed his country by running for reelection in 2024. O’Rourke went on to say that the younger generations will be the ones to pay for Biden’s decision. O’Rourke appeared on “Pod Save America” and blamed Biden for paving the way for Trump to return to power.
O’Rourke Says Biden Failed the Country
“Just to be clear, Biden should not have run again,” O’Rourke said. “He failed this country in the most important job that he had. … And it’s not just you and me, but our kids and grandkids and the generations that follow that might have to pay the price for this.”
The former Texas representative ran a failed campaign for president in 2020. His latest comments seemed to suggest that Biden should have been happy with one term and called for an open primary. O’Rourke said the idea of an open primary would have excited Democrats and the people of this country who did want change.
New Book Highlights Biden’s Decline
A newly released book accused Biden and his closest allies of intentionally covering up that Biden’s health and mental state were rapidly deteriorating before he pulled out of the 2024 race. There has since been a lot of talk about whether Democrats should have stepped up and demanded that Biden withdraw from the race much earlier.
Pete Buttigieg Comments
Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s former transportation secretary, who is said to be a likely presidential candidate in 2028, has said that Democrats may have done better if Biden had not sought reelection. “Right now — with the benefit of hindsight — I think most people would agree that that’s the case,” Buttigieg said. Biden’s campaign co-chair, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), is also a name that has been brought up as a possible presidential candidate in 2028. When asked if she thought Biden’s running in 2024 helped Trump, she was a bit evasive. “Maybe, maybe not,” she said.
O’Rourke May Run Again
Biden did not end his reelection bid until midsummer, with only 100 days left until Election Day. O’Rourke believes that Democrats should accept the fact that they were wrong for supporting Biden’s reelection and that they won’t regain the trust of voters until they do.
“I think that credibility problem is going to persist up until when Democrats say we fucked up and we made a terrible mistake,” he said. During the podcast, O’Rourke, who lost the governor’s race in Texas to Greg Abbott in 2022, says he has not closed the door on running for office again in the future.
