Former President Joe Biden’s allies are mounting a renewed effort to shape how history remembers his presidency, but not everyone in the Democratic Party appears eager to revisit the events that led to Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
A new report from New York Magazine paints a picture of a Democratic Party still wrestling with the aftermath of the 2024 election, with some former Biden supporters openly blaming the former president’s decision to seek a second term for the political landscape that followed.
“I think it is very hard to ever get over the fact that he is responsible for the hellscape that we live in now,” one former Biden campaign staffer told the magazine. “It is undeniable that his hubris cost us.”
The criticism is particularly striking because it comes from someone who once worked to elect Biden. While the staffer acknowledged that Biden achieved significant legislative and policy victories during his presidency, they argued that those accomplishments have been overshadowed by the events surrounding the 2024 election.
“He was an extremely impactful president who was successful in delivering tangible wins for Americans,” the former staffer said. “But all of that is washed away.”
The comments come as Biden and his inner circle appear increasingly determined to reenter the public conversation. According to the report, the former president recently addressed approximately 1,200 Democrats at South Dakota Democrats’ McGovern Day Dinner in Sioux Falls, delivering a speech focused largely on criticism of President Donald Trump.
Biden reportedly joked about leaving the stage early to attend his goddaughter’s wedding.
“So when I run off the stage it’s not because I’m afraid to hear the response,” Biden told the crowd.
The magazine described a speech that included moments where Biden spoke softly, occasionally raised his voice, and at times appeared to lose his train of thought. Nevertheless, attendees reportedly responded warmly to the former president.
Biden also continued his attacks on Trump, reportedly describing him as “the most corrupt president in the history of the United States.”
The appearance was part of what New York Magazine characterized as an “aggressive effort” by Biden’s family and longtime allies to remind voters of what they view as the successes of his administration rather than allowing his legacy to be defined solely by his failed reelection bid.
Some Democrats welcome that effort.
Rufus Gifford, who served as finance chairman for Biden’s campaign and now chairs the board of Biden’s presidential library, argued that the party is beginning to move beyond the trauma of 2024.
“Without a doubt, every day, there is less of a ’24 hangover,” Gifford said. “It’s not solved, but there’s less of a hangover and more of a nostalgia for normal times.”
Others remain unconvinced.
Longtime Democratic strategist David Axelrod warned that placing Biden back in the spotlight risks reminding voters of exactly why party leaders eventually pushed him aside during the campaign.
“Putting him front and center will remind people why he was forced to leave the stage,” Axelrod told the magazine.
Former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor was even more direct in his criticism.
“Joe Biden is only a victim of what others did to him,” Vietor said. “He never views the country as the victim of what he did to us.”
The effort to rehabilitate Biden’s image extends beyond the former president himself. Former First Lady Jill Biden recently released her memoir, View From the East Wing, and has begun publicly defending both herself and her husband against critics who continue to question decisions made during the final stages of the administration.
Meanwhile, Hunter Biden also weighed in, defending his father and arguing that many critics fundamentally misunderstood him.
“They never truly understood Joe Biden,” Hunter Biden said.
Complicating the former president’s return to public life is his health. In May 2025, Biden’s office announced that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones, a revelation that prompted sympathy from political allies and opponents alike.
The larger question facing Democrats is whether Biden’s legacy can be separated from the election that ended his presidency. Supporters point to legislative achievements and years of public service. Critics, including some within his own party, argue that his decision to remain in the race for as long as he did ultimately overshadowed everything else.
