Thursday’s presidential primary debate was full of attacks on Donald Trump. But the Obama administration also found itself on the defensive, as Democratic White House hopefuls took aim at some of the policies promoted by the 44th president and his second-in-command, Joe Biden. The former vice president has staked much of his campaign on the successes of the Obama-Biden years. But early in the debate, NBC’s JosĆ© Diaz-Balart asked Biden about the 3 million immigrants deported during Obama’s tenure. “President Obama, I think, did a heck of a job,” Biden said. “To compare him to what [Trump] is doing is…close to immoral.”
California Sen. Kamala Harrisāone of Biden’s top rivals for the nominationātook issue with that. “On this issue, I disagreed with my president, because the policy was to allow the deportation of people who, by ICE’s own definition, were non-criminals,” she said. Harris noted that as Californiaās attorney general, sheād told the stateās sheriffs that they didnāt necessarily have to cooperated with federal immigration officials.
Later, Biden touted his efforts as vice president to negotiate a 2012 deal with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff.” This time, it was Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett who objected. “The deal that he talked about with Mitch McConnell was a complete victory for the Tea Party,” Bennett said. “It extended the Bush tax cuts permanently. The Democratic Party had been running against that for 10 years.”
The criticism is striking given Obama’s tremendous popularity among Democrats. During the 2016 primary, Hillary Clinton premised her debate strategy on wrapping herself in Obama’s legacy. The Democratic nominee should be the person who ācan build on the progressive accomplishments of President Obama,” she told voters during a debate in February 2016. āThe coalition that President Obama put together to win twice is a coalition that I can put together and add to.”
But among the 20 Democratic contenders who polled and fundraised their way to the first round of primary debates this year, mention of Obama was scant. On Wednesday night, candidates invoked Obamaās name only twice: Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar praised Obama’s support of a public insurance option as a ābold approachā to health care, and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney noted that the Obama administration had given the wealthy businessman an award for ālending to disadvantaged communities.ā
Biden bucked the trend on Thursday, mentioning his ex-bossā name at least half a dozen times, on topics ranging from gun control to Iraq. When NBC’s Chuck Todd pointed out Obama’s failure to win passage of legislation putting a price on carbon emissions, Biden drew loud applause by praising the former president’s leadership in bringing about the landmark Paris climate agreement.
In some respects, the reluctance of Biden’s competitors to link themselves to Obama this week has been puzzling. As the Atlanticās Edward-Isaac Dovere recently noted, many of the 2020 hopefuls have sought Obamaās counsel as they navigate the crowded primary field. And while Bidenās been the most effusive with his praise of the last Democratic president, he hasnāt been alone in offering it. During Cory Bookerās campaign kickoff in February, the New Jersey senator told reporters, āI miss Obamaāand I miss her husband, too.ā Former Texas Rep. Beto OāRourke called Obama the āgreatest president of my lifetimeā during a CNN town hall in May.
But with Obama’s vice president dominating the early polling and touting the past administration’s achievements at every turn, the strategy makes senseāespecially after Trump’s surprise victory opened space to critique Obama from the left. When Hillary Clinton went negative during the 2016 cycle, she often tore into Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for being critical of Obama. Clinton won that battle but lost the war; Obama’s economic policies have been under particular scrutiny from the partyās progressive wing, and many of Sanders’ ideas have made their way into the Democratic mainstream.
Obama spokesperson Katie Hill seemed to underscore this idea in a statement to Dovere. āThe policy debate has shifted since 2007 and 2008, and thatās goodāitās evidence of the progress made since then by activists and elected officials at all levels,ā she said. āBig, bold ideas are a sign of the Democratic Partyās strength, and President Obama urges everyone running to be transparent with voters about how these ideas will work in the nitty-gritty, how theyāre paid for, and how theyāll affect the lives of all Americans.ā