June 3, 2021- 10:48 a.m.
Former President Barack Obama believes President Biden is “finishing the job” of his administration, he revealed in a new interview.
The 44th commander-in-chief made the comments in an interview this week with “The Ezra Klein Show,” a New York Times podcast, after being asked if he believed policy could persuade people to vote differently in this politically charged era.
“I think that what we’re seeing now, is Joe and the administration are essentially finishing the job. And I think it’ll be an interesting test,” Obama explained.
“Ninety percent of the folks who were there in my administration, they are continuing and building on the policies we talked about, whether it’s the Affordable Care Act, or our climate change agenda, and the Paris [climate accord], and figuring out how do we improve the ladders to mobility through things like community colleges,” he continued.
The former president went on to caution that whether the Biden administration’s work would impact people’s political leanings remained to be seen.
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“If they’re successful over the next four years, as I think they will be, I think that will have an impact,” he noted, “Does it override that sort of identity politics that has come to dominate Twitter, and the media, and that has seeped into how people think about politics? Probably not completely.
“But at the margins, if you’re changing 5 percent of the electorate, that makes a difference.”
Explaining his belief that younger generations were impacted by politics in a different way than their parents, the former president said he thought he was “a manifestation” of the progressive movement in the Democratic party now.
“I was both a manifestation of the more progressive views that young people brought to politics in 2008, and 2009, 2010, and I think my presidency helped to solidify a huge tilt in the direction of progressive politics among young people that is now continuing into their 30s as the millennials, and even the Gen Zers, are starting to marry and have families, who know their political identity has been shaped and changed in pretty significant ways.”
However, Obama’s impression departs from Biden’s perspective on his mandate in the White House.
Asked following his election in November if his presidency would essentially be a third term for the Obama administration, Biden denied that.
“This is not a third Obama term. We face a totally different world than we faced in the Obama-Biden administration. President Trump has changed the landscape,” the 46th president told NBC News at the time.
