Republican political strategist Alex Castellanos on Thursday slammed former Vice President Joe Biden’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying the longtime senator represents the “old, white” candidate out of touch with the rest of America.
Castellanos, a seasoned GOP operative who has worked on scores of senatorial, gubernatorial, and presidential races, wrote in RealClearPolitics Thursday that Biden is everything the modern-day Democratic Party doesn’t want to be.
“Joe Biden is calmer than Donald Trump, but the dead often are. Having lost twice, Biden 2020 is the sequel to movies no one went to see in 1988 and 2008. He is #YesterdaysCandidate, the old, white male that today’s Democrats crave to run against,” he wrote in the op-ed published minutes after Joe Biden announced his presidential run.
[Read more: 2020 candidates are too old, warns Obama’s former doctor: ‘We’re asking for trouble’]
Castellanos’ outlook for the current field of candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination was bleak, saying that while some campaigns, such as South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s race, bring a refreshing sense of urgency to the party, America is still not ready to embrace the party’s radical shift leftward.
“No Democratic candidate provides a brighter alternative to Donald Trump than Pete Buttigieg. Could he give the incumbent a real run for his billions? Maybe, but Trump is still the odds-on favorite for re-election,” Castellanos said.
“First, [Trump is] doing a good job delivering growth, jobs, and higher wages, and Democrats admit as much when they openly hope the economy won’t be in as good a shape in 2020. Desperate prayers for an economic downturn do not usually evolve into promising strategy. Second, Buttigieg is a self-described democratic capitalist and a voice of reason, but only in comparison to the rest of his left-lurching party.”
