Obama opens up about hurdles Biden faces in battle against Trump
Former President Barack Obama harbors concerns about challenges that could sink presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the next 80 days before his general election against President Trump. Obama told David Plouffe, his 2008 campaign manager, that the virtual nature of this cycle's Democratic National Convention and the prospect of a coronavirus vaccine could affect the outcome of the Nov. 3 contest, for better or worse. For Obama, who is slated to speak at the convention next Wednesday, the quadrennial gathering is an important platform for Biden, his former two-term vice president, to share his vision for the country with the party faithful. "But let's face it. The fact that it's not a live convention probably alters its impact somewhat. We don't yet know. We've never been in this circumstance before," Obama said. While hoping for a safe, effective vaccine to combat the coronavirus, Obama conceded it may have electoral consequences as well. "There's no possibility of a vaccine for COVID being developed and distributed between now and the election, but it is possible that some of the trials that are being done result in us knowing before the election that a vaccine is on the way," he said. "That might relieve people's anxieties, and that's good. We should hope for that, but that also can change the dynamic, particularly when you have a president who takes responsibility for nothing but takes credit for everything. And you don't know how the economy might react to that."
Instead, Obama advised his former No. 2 to focus on what he and his team can control, such as encouraging voter registration and turnout. Obama also opened up about picking Biden, who served as senator from Delaware for 36 years, as his running mate. "You'll remember, at the time, Joe was not the person I was closest to of the candidates," he told Plouffe. "We were different in age, different in background, his politics were a little bit different than mine, but it was precisely those differences that I thought made him ideal." Repeating praise from this week's vice-presidential rollout, Obama applauded Biden for selecting California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. "Kamala is somebody I've known for years. She is smart. She is tough. She is somebody who I think will be able to share the stage with Mike Pence, or whoever else, and dissect some of the terrible decisions that have been made over the last four years that have helped create worse problems than were necessary in the midst of this pandemic," he said.
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