Obama steps in to help Biden defeat Trump again

Barack Obama spent several hours last Friday in the White House family dining room, visiting with his former vice president, Joe Biden.

The mood was light-hearted as the pair exchanged jokes, and the meeting served as a little get-together of sorts for the two presidents' respective staffers — many of whom knew each other from the Obama White House.

Still, the occasion wasn't just two old friends catching up.

Obama has made it clear to associates in recent months that he believes Biden's intensifying rematch with Donald Trump in November will be incredibly close and that the 2024 election marks an “all hands on deck” moment, they told CNN people familiar with your opinion.

To that end, his return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue last week was largely a working visit.

Biden and Obama, along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, participated in a organizing call at the White House residence, announcing the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act.

“We have the opportunity to do even more, but that will only happen if we send Joe and Kamala back to the White House in November,” Obama said in the video. “So we have to keep working.”

Off camera, Obama told Biden that he thought the president's State of the Union remarks earlier this month had been effective and was proving successful, according to people familiar with the conversation.

Obama also emphasized to Biden how much he believes health care will be a politically potent and important issue in the upcoming election.

The campaign has also recorded other content featuring the two presidents, sources said, which they plan to release in the coming weeks.

Obama and Biden speak frequently, sources said, and the former president remains in direct contact with some senior White House officials, including Biden's chief of staff, Jeff Zients, who worked in the Obama administration.

The former president has given Biden an occasional helping hand since announcing the current president's re-election last year, particularly through public fundraising appeals and in quiet conversations hoping to calm some Democrats' concerns about Biden's search for office. a second term.

His involvement with Biden's campaign is expected to intensify as the general election progresses, and aides said he has already agreed to several campaign appearances before November as he works to help rebuild Biden's winning coalition from 2020.

Obama's biggest endorsement of Biden's re-election effort comes this Thursday at a star-studded fundraiser in Manhattan featuring Biden, Obama and former President Bill Clinton. The three presidents will have a rare conversation, moderated by Stephen Colbert.

It will hardly be a routine meeting of the Presidents' Club, and when Clinton and Obama take the stage at Radio City Music Hall, their appearance will underscore the extraordinary moment in American history when a sitting president finds himself embroiled in a bitter struggle to keep his predecessor to return to the White House.

“No one can speak to disillusioned Democrats better than President Obama,” he told CNN a senior strategist who worked closely with Obama and Biden, speaking on condition of anonymity to be candid about the campaign.

“But there are limits to what Obama can do. The burden of winning this race still falls on President Biden.”

Participating in the high-value, sold-out event on Thursday night will be numerous celebrities and artists including Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Cynthia Erivo, Mindy Kaling, Ben Platt and Lea Michele, according to the campaign.

The night will be overseen by high-profile producers Jordan Roth and Alex Timbers, and tickets will range from $225 to $500,000.

Taking advantage of the rare joint appearance by Biden and two of his predecessors, the campaign is offering some of the most valued guests the opportunity to have photos taken with the three presidents by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

As president, Biden was also in frequent contact with Clinton, familiar sources say. Steve Ricchetti, a top Biden adviser who also worked in the Clinton White House, is also in regular contact with his former boss.

Advice and consultation related to the 2024 election was part of all of these conversations, these people said.

Obama's appeal and popularity as one of the best-known national Democrats has been undeniable.

The campaign's fundraising efforts featuring the former president have raised more than $15 million so far this cycle, with a “Meet the Presidents” contest featuring just Biden and Obama raising about $3 million, according to the campaign.

Over the next seven months, a specific area of ​​focus for Obama will be making fundraising appeals and helping to motivate young Americans, especially black and Latino voters, who are seen by campaign advisers as a weak point for Obama's candidacy. Biden.

Obama has no plans to strike aggressively until the fall, when early voting begins, following a pattern he has adopted since leaving office. Saving the former president until the end of the race – when voters pay most attention – is how Obama and his advisers believe he can be most effective.

Firm travel plans have not yet been made, aides said, but the former president will likely visit college campuses in the fall as well as major cities in swing states.

Obama has not been shy in expressing his concern about Israel's war in Gaza, which has become one of Biden's biggest challenges – both in foreign and domestic policy. This, along with reproductive rights, will be the main focus of Obama's pitch to voters.

Jim Messina, Obama's 2012 campaign manager who has served as a close adviser to Biden's re-election campaign, told CNN that his former boss plans to do everything he can to help Biden secure a second term in the White House.

That mission, Messina said, has only become significantly more urgent with Trump's emergence as the presumptive Republican nominee.

“President Obama once told me that every president is a reflection of the previous president, and he is right,” Messina said. “Trump was the complete opposite of Obama and Biden is the complete opposite of Trump.”

“Being president of the United States means being part of a small club; there is no other group of people whose warning signs about the direct threat from Donald Trump should be taken more seriously.”

Obama has been unequivocal about his willingness to serve his former vice president's re-election efforts, a senior Biden adviser told CNN .

“He was generous with his time and made it very clear that he is fully involved in this campaign,” the counselor said.

(Kayla Tausche, from CNN contributed to this text)