MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Asks Biden Spox If President’s Inner Circle is ‘Too Insular’ Because It’s ‘All White Men in Their 60s’
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell asked a senior spokesperson for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign whether it could be a problem that Biden’s closest circle of advisors are “all white men in their 60s.”
Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson Adrienne Elrod joined Mitchell on Monday ahead of Thursday’s CNN debate between the president and Donald Trump. At the end of the interview, Mitchell pointed to a New York Times profile by Katie Rogers and Michael D. Shear about Biden’s “brain trust,” which consists of former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, longtime advisor Mike Donilon, and former Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE).
Mitchell asked Elrod how Biden would handle multiple issues at the debate, including concerns about inflation and the southern border, and she asked if his current team is “too insular” to properly prepare him.
“There’s a profile of the three closest advisors, longest-serving advisors, informal and formal advisors to the president and they’re all white men in their 60s or higher — former Sen. Ted Kaufman is 85 years old — so is that too insular?” Mitchell asked Elrod.
Elrod blasted Trump and other Republicans for killing a bipartisan border bill and accused Trump of “cheering” on increased inflation.
On Biden’s advisor team, Elrod said they have been instrumental in much of what Biden has done in his first term.
“I know them very well. These are loyal, dedicated public servants who have a lot of experience and who were part of the team that really help get some of these major economic policies in place under President Biden’s first term in the White House,” she said.
The New York Times profile revealed the president calls Donilon on a daily basis, brainstorms Trump attacks with Klain once a week, and connects with Kaufman for advice on weekends in Delaware.
She also insisted there are far more advisors helping to prepare Biden and strengthen his campaign than three men.
“There are longtime allies of the president and of course they should be there in debate prep,” she said. “You also have plenty of other women around like Jen O’Malley Dillon [and] Anita Dunn, longtime senior advisor to the president.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
