We Finally Know Where Biden And Obama Stand In Their Rumored Feud

Barack Obama has seemingly put an end to rumors of a feud between himself and Joe Biden. After Biden stepped down from the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Obama addressed the decision on Medium and called the 46th president, "A dear friend and partner to me." He also heaped praise on Biden and shared gushing words about his character. The things Obama admires most about Biden? "[His] deep empathy and hard-earned resilience; his fundamental decency and belief that everyone counts." Clearly, there's still love between Obama and the man who served as his vice president for both of his terms. Which makes sense, seeing as Biden still turns to Obama for political advice.

However, reports of tension between the duo have hit the headlines multiple times. In 2022, Gabriel Debenedetti, New York Magazine correspondent and author of "The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama," opened up to Time about Biden and Obama's relationship behind closed doors. "It's not exactly a bromance," he admitted. "Beneath the surface, this relationship has had very serious ups and downs over time, both personal and especially political. Their conception of each other has changed dramatically," he added, noting the two are quite different. But that's not the only time it's been speculated these two don't see eye-to-eye.

Chatter that a brutal battle was brewing between Barack Obama and Joe Biden came to a head mere days before Biden (who's endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency) exited the 2024 race. Notably, Obama did support Biden publicly following a debate, posting on X (formerly known as Twitter) on June 28, "Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself." But Obama didn't do much more to encourage others to vote for Biden, aside from including a link to Biden's then-campaign website.

In a Vanity Fair article published on July 17, Congressman Mike Quigley noted Obama didn't throw himself into his Biden support. "If President Obama was all in, he would be all in," he claimed, speculating Obama was worried about Biden's ability to run again. Then, on July 19, Carol Lee, MSNBC's Washington managing editor, stated on "Morning Joe" that Biden and his team felt let down by Obama's quietness over his re-election bid. The Washington Post's White House reporter Tyler Pager added, "The Obama and Biden camps have always had a good deal of tensions that have ebbed and flowed between the two men's presidencies. But, right now, there's a lot of frustration and resentment."

No matter how close these two actually are though, it seems Obama still has a lot of respect for Biden.