President Joe Biden faces a growing chorus of criticism from within his own party for the way he has basically faded into irrelevancy in the final weeks of his presidency, and now, Tommy Vietor, a former Obama aide who co-hosts Pod Save America, is accusing him of “quiet quitting.”
Quiet quitting is a term for doing the bare minimum at work at your job because you simply don’t care anymore. And from the left’s point of view, it looks like that’s what Biden is doing based on his reduced public presence and disengagement during the transition. With the exception of his mass clemency, it feels like he is pulling back rather than even attempting to appear as though he’s finishing strong.
“I mean, like, I get the recognition that maybe people aren’t willing to hear from him, it’s understandable that he might think that, right, “ former Obama aide Jon Favreau observed. “…I don’t know, what do you guys think he could be doing?”
“Quiet quitting,” Vietor replied.
“Yeah, that seems like what he’s doing,” agreed fellow co-host Jon Lovett.
Biden’s public appearances have dwindled in recent months. He’s largely avoided the press, sidestepped questions, and refrained from calling out President-elect Donald Trump, a stark shift from his earlier rhetoric branding Trump a “threat to democracy.” This withdrawal has sparked frustration among Democrats, who describe Biden’s approach as a leadership “vacuum.” One insider bluntly remarked that it already feels like Trump has resumed control of the presidency.
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“I’m trying to, like, separate my frustration with basically Joe Biden in his final year and culminating [in] that debate and hanging on that, like, how much we paid for having somebody who just wasn’t an articulate and comprehensible messenger,” Vietor said. “I’m very angry about that and I’m a little bit mad at myself for not being more honest about how I felt or not seeing it as plainly because I think we’re obviously paying dearly for it.”
“It’s just odd that, you know, he talked about Donald Trump being an existential threat to democracy for so long. And I wasn’t necessarily critical when he met Donald Trump and smiled for the cameras, ’cause he clearly wants to prove and show that he believes in democracy and the peaceful transfer of power,” Vietor continued. “There’s all these things you could do that really would be historic and important. And when you’re unencumbered by politics, why not run through the tape?”
Insiders attribute Biden’s withdrawal to diminished influence and lingering resentment toward a party that pressured him to step aside after his disastrous debate performance against Trump in June. Reports have suggested that Biden is still bitter about it, and he has maintained his belief that he still could have won the election had he been able to stay in the race. I don't think anyone believes that's true, but Biden certainly sees that as a key element of his legacy.
Of course, just because Joe Biden has essentially checked out doesn't mean things aren't happening behind the scenes that we don't know about. Heck, we've never believed that Biden was the one in charge during the majority of his presidency anyway.
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