Obama alum slams Biden’s ‘incompetent’ Jan. 6 op-ed as ‘stubborn old man’

The liberal host behind “Pod Save America” dismissed President Biden’s Washington Post op-ed circa January 6 as “irresponsible,” Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed on Monday After being elected, Donald Trump blasted Democrats for “showing virtue.”
Jon Favreau, who served as one of former President Barack Obama’s speechwriters, said: “Democrats just have to put things like ‘institution,’ ‘democracy,’ ‘holy’ ‘ and a whole bunch of language thrown into the trash can.
Biden warned on Monday that the United States risks a repeat of the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, if it forgets that day’s history, and called on the country to “commit to remembering” the event every year.
“But we should not forget. We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it. We cannot accept a repeat of what happened four years ago,” Biden wrote.
“Pod Save America” is co-hosted by former Obama staffers Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett and Jon Favreau. (Getty Images)
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Podcast co-host and former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett claimed that Biden had misunderstood a quote coined by philosopher George Santayana about repeating history, going so far as to compare Biden to a “stubborn old man.”
Lovett said: “If you get too stuck in the past, if you become so, and this is from the original philosopher, as stubborn as an old man, you are bound to repeat yourself.”
“It’s obvious,” said co-host Tommy Vitor, a former Obama spokesman.
The host slammed the op-ed as being inconsistent with American voters, admitting that most voters “don’t care” about the events of January 6.
“Biden’s column didn’t say anything,” Favreau said. “A column about January 6 perfectly sums up how irresponsible everything is at this moment.”
Democrats face growing calls to change the way they communicate with voters, with critics saying they rely too much on “woke” and academic rhetoric that alienates ordinary people.
Clinton campaign member James Carville called on Democrats to stop using “stupid NPR jargon” when talking to voters in an interview with MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Sunday.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
“Let’s tell the truth and get to the point,” Cavill said.
The hosts continued to slam Biden’s op-ed, saying it failed to provide any concrete steps to counter what they saw as Trump’s “coup attempt.”
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“Our party is a sad column,” Vito said.
“Democrats showed virtue and explained over and over again why the insurrection was so terrible, but it didn’t work. This style of politics doesn’t work,” Lovett said.
Vito claimed the article made him “very frustrated again about Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.” The three were part of a campaign by liberals to pressure the president to abandon his re-election bid after his dismal performance in a June debate with Trump.
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Despite signs of declining mental health during Biden’s first term, Democrats and the mainstream media frequently reported on his declining mental state.

U.S. President Biden speaks to the media after signing the Social Security Equity Act at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 5, 2025. (Chris Kleponis/AFP via Getty Images)
“His mental acuity is very good. Very good. As good as it has been in years. All this right-wing propaganda about his declining mental acuity is wrong,” then-Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told “Meet the Press” in February.
Vitter called Biden and his close aides “delusional,” before The Washington Post reported that they believed Biden would win the election if he stayed in the race.
In a November podcast, Favreau claimed that Biden’s internal polling had him losing by “400 electoral votes.”
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Biden is not the only Democratic politician facing accusations of tone-deafness. After Harris’ campaign boss appeared on Pod Save America’s November autopsy show, listeners accused them of taking “no responsibility” for her loss.