Jill Biden memoir revives questions about Biden baggage for 2028 Democrats

Jill Biden‘s new memoir is reopening a political wound for Democrats potentially eyeing a 2028 presidential bid.

The conversation surrounding former President Joe Biden’s legacy intensified last week after excerpts from Jill Biden’s memoir, View From the East Wing, surfaced online ahead of its release. In one passage, the former first lady recalled watching Biden’s disastrous June 2024 debate performance and wondering whether “we were watching an AI hologram of the man we knew, and the hologram was glitching.”

“Is he short-circuiting?” she wrote. “Is this a stroke? … Has he been drugged? … Oh God will people watching assume this is how he is all the time?”

The renewed spotlight on Biden’s final months in office has reignited questions about whether top figures tied to his administration, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, could carry political baggage into the next Democratic primary.

At the National Action Network conference earlier this year, Harris acknowledged she is considering another White House bid. “I might,” Harris told Rev. Al Sharpton when asked directly about 2028. “I’m thinking about it.”

Buttigieg appeared to leave the door open during his own exchange with Sharpton. When Sharpton asked whether he should “be reserving a table at Sylvia’s” for another campaign stop, Buttigieg replied: “You save me a seat, I’ll be there.”

Recent polling suggests Buttigieg has gained momentum in the early Democratic field. An Emerson College poll released last week found Buttigieg leading with 18% support, while Harris drew 10% as her numbers slipped slightly.

Democrats themselves remain divided over whether close ties to Biden will ultimately help or hurt candidates in 2028. One Democratic operative, speaking on the condition of anonymity, argued “anyone connected to the Biden administration has sort of a black eye going into 2028.”

“I think we’d be much better served with a fresh face, so we can move forward and not have to keep constantly reflecting on the mistakes of last cycle,” the operative said.

Doug Wilson, a longtime Democratic strategist, similarly said many Democratic voters appear torn between appreciating Biden’s presidency in hindsight while also wanting to move on from the drama surrounding his final campaign.

“I think two things can be true at the same time here,” Wilson said. “At the same time, voters and the party base wants to look forward and not at the past. So I think former Biden administration officials may have a hard time in a Democratic primary, especially if it contains new faces.”

Still, Wilson argued Republicans could struggle to make 2028 a referendum on Biden if economic frustrations under President Donald Trump continue to mount.

“The main reason why voters gave Trump another term was to bring down cost,” Wilson said. “Instead, everyday goods have become extremely unaffordable.”

Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist and pollster, said the renewed focus on Biden may ultimately help former administration officials more than hurt them.

“If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have said any mention of Joe Biden was problematic for Democrats,” Bannon said. “But Donald Trump has made so many enemies with the American public that by comparison Joe Biden looks like a savior now.”

Bannon pointed to recent polling showing voters increasingly view the economy under Biden more favorably than under Trump.

“Joe Biden is starting to look better to the public, and largely it’s because now they’ve seen Donald Trump,” Bannon said. “By 2028 the Democratic candidates may be rushing to get close to Joe Biden’s legacy.”

Other Democratic strategists argued the debate is driven more by political insiders and social media than by rank-and-file voters.

Randy Jones, a Democratic strategist, said he does not believe ties to Biden will become a major liability for Harris, Buttigieg, or other former administration officials.

“I don’t see it as a major liability,” Jones said, arguing many voters now believe the Biden White House’s agenda “was much more beneficial for them and their families than the message and the mission from this Trump administration.”

Jones acknowledged lingering frustration among Democrats over how Biden’s reelection bid was handled, particularly the lack of a competitive Democratic primary in 2024.

“I think that’s where you’ll find the root of a lot of criticism and a lot of hard feelings,” Jones said. “Had we had a primary process … I think the outcome of the past presidential election could have been different.”

Jennifer Holdsworth, a Democratic strategist, similarly argued that voters are largely focused on other issues.

“I think this is a very online conversation,” Holdsworth said. “The voters that I’m talking to day to day are focused on other things.”

Holdsworth added that many Democratic voters, particularly black voters, still feel strong loyalty toward Biden and could react negatively to candidates who aggressively distance themselves from his presidency.

“There is a large majority of both Democratic Party operatives … but also more importantly, voters who still feel great affection and loyalty to Joe Biden,” she said. “Anybody who attempts to tear down that presidency while they’re seeking the Democratic nomination has entirely screwed up priorities.”

Other Democrats have openly signaled frustration with the party’s continued fixation on Biden-era postmortems altogether.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Democratic National Committee meeting last week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) dismissed the attention surrounding Jill Biden’s memoir and the party’s “autopsy” conversations.

“I don’t think the average Democratic voter, honestly, particularly in New Mexico, gives a damn about that book or the debate anymore,” Lujan Grisham said.

Republicans, meanwhile, argue renewed scrutiny of Biden’s presidency will inevitably spill over onto the Democrats who served alongside him.

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Greg Manz, a Michigan-based GOP strategist with Direct Edge Campaigns, argued renewed questions surrounding Biden’s final years in office raise broader concerns about the judgment of those in his orbit.

“The key issue isn’t Joe Biden as an individual. Rather, it’s the failed, flawed, and feckless Biden administration officials who were actually pulling the strings,” Manz said. “That’s where figures from the Biden administration, like Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, could face unique challenges in 2028.”

Manz pointed to inflation, border security, and the Afghanistan withdrawal as issues Republicans are likely to revisit during the next presidential cycle.