Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max When West Wing Playbook reached out to ANITA DUNN about the relationship between DAVID AXELROD and the Biden White House, she politely told us she would be “staying away from this one!” Dunn, a former senior adviser for both JOE BIDEN and BARACK OBAMA, clearly knows better than to comment on the ties between one of Obama’s former top advisers and a current prominent CNN figure and the Biden White House, which have at times been strained. Multiple people with knowledge said Axelrod once again drew the ire of some people in the White House and Biden world with recent comments such as a New York Times op-ed telling Biden that it’s “time for a little humility,” and his criticism of Biden’s performance during a recent marathon press conference. One White House source said there was a feeling among some staff that the former top Obama adviser was hurting the president at a moment when he was already on unstable political ground. The occasional frustration with Axelrod in the White House is the continuation of the love-hate Biden-world view of one of the chief architects of Obama’s presidential bids. While Axelrod often defends Biden on CNN, where he has been a prominent part of the cable news network’s lineup for years, his critical comments on Biden have also occasionally become fodder for conservative media outlets like Fox News. Throughout the 2020 primary and even into the general election, some on Biden’s team felt that Axelrod was one of the Democratic commentators who never truly believed in the former vice president’s viability as a candidate. The CNN analyst publicly chafed at some of the cringier moments of the 2020 primary campaign, when Biden’s strongest message to Democratic voters seemed to be his personal connection to Obama. Axelrod also repeatedly panned Biden’s debate performances. Staff cheered in Biden’s campaign office following the New Hampshire primary after the former vice president’s granddaughter NAOMI BIDEN responded to one of Axelrod’s tweets, dubbing the former Obama adviser a “jerk with a microphone .” Biden’s campaign was also not happy when Axelrod and DAVID PLOUFFE wrote an op-ed in the New York Times during the 2020 election discussing the challenges Biden faced campaigning virtually during the early days of the pandemic, which some on the campaign felt was condescending. The Biden campaign deliberately passed over Axelrod’s longform interview podcast, which hosted a number of Biden's 2020 rivals along with other prominent politicians over the years, including Obama. Some of the hand-wringing among defensive Biden types occasionally seems to miss Axelrod’s overall view of the president. A spin through his Twitter feed paints largely positive view of Biden’s presidency. In recent weeks, he’s regularly used his platform to praise the president’s handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Part of Axelrod’s tough love message for Biden is attributable to his career as a successful political pundit on television. Former Democrats who worked with Axelrod pointed out that in his role at CNN, he hasn’t been eager to simply be a partisan foil to Republicans on the network like former CNN contributor Sen. RICK SANTORUM; instead, he sees his role as an analyst and explainer rather than simply party cheerleader. And Axelrod isn’t necessarily picking on Biden: The former Obama adviser hasn’t gone easy on other prominent Democrats either. During the 2016 election, many of HILLARY CLINTON ’s top advisers were at times frustrated by Axelrod’s criticism of her campaign strategies, including comments that she “wasn’t a very good candidate” in 2007. In several emails made public in the Wikileaks hack, top Clinton confidantes discussed their confusion at his comments, and how to smooth over their relationship with Axelrod. (Some like longtime aide HUMA ABEDIN seemed to recognize that the former Obama strategist was trying to establish credibility in his new role as a political pundit). And he’s even occasionally stirred the pot among those close to his former boss. One source with direct knowledge told POLITICO that Obama’s team was slightly annoyed by some of Axelrod’s questions during a 2018 podcast taping with the former president at the University of Chicago. The White House and Axelrod did not respond to multiple requests for comment. CNN declined to comment. But if anything, the tough love has improved his standing at CNN. Axelrod is seen internally at the cable news network as one of its more valuable on-air political personalities. Higher-ups at the network value his credibility as a campaign guru, and believe his willingness to criticize people in the Democratic party allows for commentary which breaks the typical dynamic of boring left-right crossfire-style panels. He remains a primary figure in the network’s election night coverage, and according to one network source remains under contract with CNN for several years. MEA CULPA: Yesterday, we reported that ERNESTO APREZA, KAMALA HARRIS’ new deputy press secretary, was previously the vice president’s senior adviser for public engagement. That was wrong. He was transitioning over from being the White House's senior adviser for public engagement. We feel stupid about the error. TEXT US — Are you RACHEL PALERMO, Harris’ new deputy communications director? We want to hear from you (we’ll keep you anonymous). Or if you think we missed something in today’s edition, let us know and we may include it tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal/Wickr/WhatsApp Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427.
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