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Biden Absent From Campaign Trail as Obama and Harris Step Up
Developing
In Short: Former President Joe Biden has been notably absent from the campaign trail as Democrats prepare for the midterms, with Obama and Kamala Harris stepping up their efforts to support Democratic candidates.
Biden, 83, has kept a limited public schedule while battling advanced prostate cancer, according to Fox News.
Obama is cutting ads for Senate and gubernatorial candidates and helping the party raise funds, while Harris is campaigning across key battleground states, including a recent stop in Michigan with Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
Biden has endorsed candidates and helped raise money for the party, but has appeared at only a handful of political events this year.
Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist, told Fox News that some in the party's elite and fundraising class are concerned that Biden could be a liability if he were to campaign in person or virtually.
Cardona, a Democratic National Committee member, emphasized that no one would try to bother Biden to campaign for them while he is battling cancer and in the toughest fight of his life.
Jill Biden's memoir has sparked anger among Democrats, adding to concerns about the president's health and the party's 2024 strategy.
Kyle Peterson, Jason Riley, and Kim Strassel of the Wall Street Journal reignited debate over the party's 2024 strategy, focusing on Biden's health and policy failures.
Despite these concerns, Biden has written on social media about the importance of voting, stating, 'American democracy begins and ends at the ballot box.'
What this adds
WarpBeat previously reported that Kamala Harris would campaign with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, focusing on Black maternal health.
Background
Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan next week, focusing on Black maternal health, according to Harris' spokesperson Eduardo Negrón.
What's still developing
- Biden did weigh in on a handful of Democratic primary showdowns this cycle.
- The former president also backed Dan Koh, another Biden administration veteran, who captured the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District.
- "American democracy begins and ends at the ballot box. There is no more important civic duty nor fundamental right to be defended," the former president wrote on social media last month, as he cast his ballot in his home state of Delaware's primary.
- Fox News Digital reached out to a Biden spokesman for comment, but did not receive a response at the time this story was published.
- Former President Joe Biden has been largely absent from the campaign trail as Democrats fight to win back House and Senate majorities in November, even as former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris step up efforts to boost the party’s candidates.
- "There are still a ton of Americans who love Joe Biden."
- "Voting defines our freedom and makes everything possible."
- "I do not think Biden has the same level of charisma as Vice President Harris and former President Obama, and if I'm organizing an event to get thousands of people to come out, I would not do that around Biden."