Hanover, Maryland (CNN) 鈥� As he rallied Maryland Democrats at a state party fundraiser Saturday night, former President Joe Biden decried the actions of the man who succeeded him in the White House, painting him as vain and corrupt.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just his vanity projects, tearing down the East Wing of the White House making room for his ballroom, putting his name on the Kennedy Center, building an arch in his own honor, even hiring his own pool guy to fix the reflecting pool. Woah! What a loser,鈥� Biden told attendees of the gala, which was held at a Maryland casino.
鈥淭he reflecting pool reflects something even worse than the narcissism and incompetence at the core of this administration,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the corruption, the corruption, the brazen, blatant corruption. Corruption on a scale never seen before in American history in any administration.鈥�
Biden鈥檚 10-minute speech amounted to one of his most pointed critiques of President Donald Trump since leaving office. He delivered it exactly two years after he stood on a different stage for , a moment that derailed the Democratic president鈥檚 second-term aspirations and shifted the course of his political legacy.
鈥淲hat makes me angry is that Trump wants to give taxpayers鈥� money, your money, to the January 6th insurrectionists. That鈥檚 what he wants to do,鈥� Biden told the crowd. 鈥淭hese people don鈥檛 deserve to be compensated. They deserve to be put in jail for a long, long, long time.鈥�
Since leaving the White House, Biden has not shied away from criticizing Trump, accepting invites to party events in Maryland, South Dakota and his home state of Delaware in the past month to try to rally Democrats during Trump鈥檚 second term.
But it comes as he continues to navigate a complicated post-presidency as many in his party remain frustrated with his handling of the 2024 election. A recent found only 30% of the American public held a favorable view of Biden 鈥� lower than at any point during his time in the White House.
The latest speech also coincides with his family鈥檚 reemergence on the political scene to the chagrin of some Democrats. Former first lady Dr. Jill Biden released her memoir and embarked on a promotional tour, offering her own take on the 2024 saga, which aggravated who felt it was reopening old party wounds.
鈥淲e had a duty to win and we didn鈥檛,鈥� Andrew Bates, a former spokesperson for Biden who was among his fiercest defenders, told the . 鈥淚 think about that all the time. But I don鈥檛 see why that painful conversation for the party needed to be publicly reopened right now.鈥�
鈥淐all me up, and say it to my face,鈥� the former first lady clapped back when asked about the comment at a book tour stop in Washington, D.C., a response that drew criticism from many former aides. (Dr. Biden and Bates spoke the next day, a source familiar with the matter said.)
The Bidens鈥� son, Hunter, seems to be everywhere and talking about everything. He鈥檚 drawn a large following on social media 鈥� more than 800,000 followers on X 鈥� where he鈥檚 fired off a steady stream of posts on his past struggles with drug addiction and . He鈥檚 sat for lengthy podcast interviews, including a two-hour sit-down with the controversial right-wing podcaster Candace Owens.
In an interview on California Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 podcast, Hunter Biden spoke openly about how one of his father鈥檚 most controversial decisions will be remembered.
鈥淗e chose me over his legacy. Because no matter what you say that鈥檚 going to be one of the first things that is written about him,鈥� Hunter Biden said of his father鈥檚 decision to pardon him after insisting he would not do so.
Attempts to shape Biden鈥檚 legacy could come into sharper focus in the coming months. The former president has spent much of the year working on his memoir, though an official release date has yet to be announced.
His presidential library has gotten off to a slower start than his predecessors鈥�. Biden announced it would be housed in Delaware but has yet to unveil an official location. A source familiar with the situation said those details could be finalized in the near future.
His team continues to fundraise for that operation, but the eventual library is expected to be much smaller in scale than former President Barack Obama鈥檚 $850 million presidential center in Chicago where Biden joined other presidents last week.
All of this has played out as the 83-year-old continues to battle prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bones, undergoing radiation and hormone therapy after receiving the diagnosis months after leaving the White House. 鈥淚 think Joe will live with cancer for the rest of his life,鈥� Dr.
Jill Biden said in a recent interview with NBC.
Continuing the fight
Though he鈥檚 faced pessimism from some corners of the Democratic Party, Biden has still looked for ways to be helpful to Democrats when he can. Biden endorsed two former officials in his administration in the weeks before their primaries: Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is running for governor in Georgia, and Dan Koh, a congressional candidate in Massachusetts.
At the event Saturday in Maryland, Biden visited with Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, two Democrats from the state seen as potential 2028 presidential hopefuls.
Moore introduced Biden at the event, recounting how the former president helped send millions to the state for recovery efforts following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in 2024.
鈥淗e helped us, not just rebuild, he helped us heal. He surged federal assets to the city to help clear wreckage, because he knew that millions were hoping and needed and counting on that,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淲hile President Biden might not be a Marylander by birth, President Biden helped to show us all what it means to be Maryland tough and Baltimore strong.鈥�
Adrienne Green, a Democrat from Baltimore, attended a meet-and-greet with Biden ahead of his speech. She said she was excited to meet him and believes he鈥檚 doing 鈥渨ell for his age,鈥� but also spoke of the need for both parties to find a new crop of leaders.
鈥淚 think they bring wisdom and counsel that鈥檚 valued and should be,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I do think we are at a place and a point in both parties, quite frankly, Democrat and Republican, where the torch needs to be passed.鈥�
Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware is among those who Biden checks in with on a regular basis. The two met for lunch in Delaware last week, talking about President Trump鈥檚 impact on the world stage.
鈥淚 think voters are concerned with the present and the future, and I think that we need an all-hands-on-deck approach, and that that includes the voices of people like Joe Biden and Barack Obama, and retired political leaders from throughout our party鈥檚 history, and I鈥檓 grateful for Joe鈥檚 leadership,鈥� McBride told CNN in a phone conversation Saturday.
As he stood before Democrats on Saturday night, Biden insisted he was 鈥渟till fighting鈥� for the party as he offered encouragement to Democrats in their time out of power.
鈥淭o all you who love our country, my message tonight is straightforward and simple: Get up, dammit. Get up now. Continue this fight!鈥� he said to applause.
The-CNN-Wire
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