One of Barack Obama's closest allies is sharing some candid criticism of Joe Biden's re-election message - even as Obama himself gives his blessing.
David Axelrod confessed that it drives him "crazy" when Biden starts bragging about the economy, as Americans continue to struggle with crushing inflation.
Biden's boasts on this subject are a regular topic of criticism, with many calling Biden's tone out of touch.
Most Democrats, however, are falling in line, including Biden's former boss Barack Obama.
At a recent Manhattan fundraiser that was slammed by many as elitist, Obama praised Biden's "ground-breaking" record on the economy, echoing Biden's spurious claims about creating millions of new jobs, the vast majority of which were lost during the pandemic recession.
"From record-breaking job growth to expanding health care coverage, @JoeBiden has spent each and every day working on behalf of the American people. I can’t say the same about the guy running against him," Obama tweeted.
While Obama is staying on message like a good party man, Axelrod is concerned that Biden's rhetoric about an economic "miracle" could backfire with poor and working class voters.
"I wouldn’t go out there and extol the miracle of the Biden economy. It just drives me crazy when he does that," Axelrod told Bill Kristol's podcast.
While inflation has slowed since peaking in 2022, wages have not kept pace, making life more expensive for most Americans.
Housing is particularly unaffordable for many buyers, leaving the American dream out of reach, and the Federal Reserve is sounding a cautious tone about cutting interest rates.
Axelrod noted that Biden's bragging undercuts his carefully cultivated image as an "empathetic" child of the working class.
"Bottom line, be more like Joe from Scranton and less like President Biden from Washington," Axelrod said.
"Because those are the voters, Bill, who are going to decide this election. Working class people, Black, White and Hispanic, who are very much scuffling still in an economy that has improved."
According to Politico, Biden has used a cuss word to describe Axelrod in private. Axelrod previously suggested that Biden consider whether to drop out, angering Democrats who have ignored Biden's age problem to march in lockstep behind him.
