At least three of President Biden’s top campaign aides could be on the chopping block as his family rages over how the 81-year-old commander in chief crashed and burned at last week’s debate, a new report says.
As Biden continues to face mounting calls to give up his 2024 re-election campaign in the wake his disastrous performance, the blame is shifting — at least in part — to those who helped him to prepare behind the scenes.
Senior adviser Anita Dunn, her husband and Biden’s lawyer Bob Bauer, and Biden’s ex-chief-of-staff, Ron Klain, were among the names floated to be on the firing line when the first family went into crisis mode at Camp David over the weekend, Politico reported, citing three people briefed on the conversations.
President Biden’s train wreck debate last week has led those within his own family to start questioning whether heads should now roll, sources said. APHere’s a closer look at the top names privately being trashed by members of Biden’s family:
Anita Dunn
Dunn, a West Wing senior adviser for communications and former Barack Obama campaign strategist, is a longtime Biden aide who frequently has the president’s ear.
As part of Biden’s inner circle, Dunn, 66, was heavily involved in the debate prep, according to campaign officials.
She is said to have backed the debate strategy, which was initially signed off on by campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, who helped Biden win in 2020 and was appointed in January to boost his flailing re-election campaign.
Anita Dunn, a West Wing senior adviser for communications and former Barack Obama campaign strategist, is a longtime Biden aide. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY PostDunn was among the aides who unsuccessfully hatched a plan last year to push White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre out the door over concerns she’d be an ineffective election-year champion for Biden.
A top Biden fundraiser, John Morgan, was quick to rip Dunn after the debate — as he accused her and others from Biden’s prep team of being guilty of “political malpractice.
“It is my belief that he was over-coached, over-practiced. And I believe [senior aide] Anita Dunn … put him in a venue that was conducive for Trump and not for him,” said Morgan, a Florida-based lawyer.
He added that Dunn and her husband should “be fired forever and never let back anywhere near the campaign.”
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Bob Bauer
Dunn’s hubby, who serves as the president’s personal lawyer, was also heavily involved — even taking on the role of Trump during pre-debate rehearsals, sources said.
The 72-year-old lawyer, who helped Biden dodge criminal charges in special counsel Robert Hur’s probe into the alleged mishandling of classified records, played Trump during Biden’s 2020 election debate prep, too.
Bauer is said to be among Biden’s most trusted aides and is highly regarded for his intellect, insiders have said.
Dunn’s husband, Bob Bauer, is the president’s personal lawyer. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesStill, in the lead up to last week’s debate, several sources close to Biden’s campaign had already expressed concerns that Bauer and his wife potentially weren’t “cutting edge” enough to anticipate the attacks likely to come from his Republican rival.
“Will [the Biden camp] run debate prep like a Bravo reality TV show? Because they should,” a source speculated to CNN, alluding to looming blows from Trump.
“Will they be innovative and creative enough in prep to coach [Biden] to expect the unexpected and the unconventional? That’s all that matters.
“Bob and Anita aren’t exactly known in Democratic circles for being cutting edge or seeing around corners,” the Dem source added.
Ron Klain
Klain, who has been close to Biden for decades and served as his first White House chief of staff, is said to have run point on debate preparations.
As rumors swirled that Biden’s family were pointing the finger at Klain and the other aides, the president apparently phoned his ex-chief of staff to smooth things over, sources claimed to Axios.
Klain, who is also expected to be in charge of preparations for the second presidential debate in September, addressed the debate backlash in a brief statement.
Ron Klain has been close to Biden for decades and served as his first White House chief of staff. AFP via Getty Images“In 38 years of working with Joe Biden, we’ve had many successes and some failures,” he said. “I’m always happy to share in the good results and assume my share of the responsibility for the times we’ve come up short.”
Klain, a wealthy lawyer and former lobbyist, worked as Biden’s chief of staff for two years before stepping down in February last year.
What to know about the calls for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race:
- President Biden’s poor performance in the first 2024 presidential debate left some Democrats unsure of his fitness for office and future as the party’s candidate.
- More than a dozen congressional Democrats have joined in calling for Biden’s exit from the race. Former Biden supporter George Clooney echoed these calls in an op-ed published in the New York Times just weeks after he helped lead a record-breaking fundraiser for the Democrat.
- Democratic voters have continued to raise concerns about Biden’s nomination since the debate, with speculations and suggestions for replacement nominees running rampant.
- Biden’s former running mate Barack Obama has reportedly been trying to pressure him to drop out, and had prior knowledge of Clooney’s op-ed. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allegedly told Biden he could not beat former President Donald Trump this time around.
- As the Democratic National Convention approaches, California delegates for the Democratic Party are reportedly in disarray as debate over the president’s chances of re-election threatens to tear the party apart.
- However, the Biden campaign has denied any plans for Biden to bow out and for Kamala Harris to step in as the Democratic nominee. Sources close to the president believe he might not be willing to drop out, while other sources claim he is “receptive” to giving up on a second term.
During his tenure in the West Wing, he was repeatedly ripped for spinning facts and whitewashing Biden’s record.
His work history with Biden dates back to Biden’s time as a senator and vice president.
The Biden campaign has repeatedly insisted since the president’s disastrous face-off against former President Donald Trump that no staff shake-up is under consideration.
“The aides who prepped the president have been with him for years, often decades, seeing him through victories and challenges. He maintains strong confidence in them,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a statement.
With Post wires






