Joe Biden Told to 'Get Out or Get Going' by Former Obama Strategist

David Axelrod has stepped up his criticism of President Joe Biden, suggesting he needs to "get out or get going."

The former adviser to Barack Obama was interviewed by CNN about a Politico report alleging Biden called Axelrod a "p****" for making negative comments about his re-election strategy.

Newsweek has contacted a representative for Biden to comment.

Axelrod, who worked on Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns and served as a senior adviser in his administration, had posted on X, formerly Twitter, suggesting Biden should think hard about running in the 2024 election after a New York Times/Siena College poll showed voters are backing Donald Trump, Biden's likeliest Republican rival, in five key swing states.

Axelrod said that the polling would spark "legitimate concern" among Democrats and that while "there also is risk associated with changing course now, as there is little time left for a primary campaign... there is a lot of leadership talent in the Democratic Party, poised to emerge.

"The stakes of miscalculation here are too dramatic to ignore," he added, before posting: "Only Joe Biden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it's in HIS best interest or the country's?"

He later added that he had not called on him to drop out, but after it was put to him that Biden may have taken umbrage with these comments, Axelrod defended them.

"Listen, I understand he was irritated because I raised concerns that many, many Democrats had. And again, you know, my feeling is either get out or get going," he said on CNN.

He added that "the stakes are so high" in the election because Biden will likely face Trump and not worrying about the campaign was the wrong attitude.

"It's a fundamental question as to what American democracy is going to look like the day after the next election," he said.

"So the stakes are very high. He knows that. What I think he needs, he needs to take a sober look at the whole landscape. And yes, he's committed to moving forward. I get that, he ought to, but he ought to then look at what his campaign is doing and what they need to do, and get out of this sort of referendum frame and go after Donald Trump every day because Donald Trump will be the nominee of the Republican Party."

The poll that prompted Axelrod's comments about Biden projected that Trump would win more than 300 Electoral College votes, above the 270 votes needed to become president.

It was conducted among 3,662 registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from October 22 to November 3, 2023. The margin of sampling error for each state is between 4.4 and 4.8 percentage points.

Since then, a new poll from Stack Data Strategy, first reported by Politico, found Trump would beat Biden in the Electoral College, 292 to 246, if the election was held today, even if the Democrat wins the popular vote.

However the Democrats challenged critics last week with a strong showing in gubernatorial and legislative elections across the country.

Newsweek has contacted Axelrod by email for further comment.