Obama Reportedly Boosting Warren In Private But He Could Just Be Protecting Democrats' Cash Flow

Though former President Barack Obama has been hesitant to officially endorse his former vice president, Joe Biden, for Democratic presidential nominee, he has been reportedly promoting Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in private.

While Obama has said that he will not publicly endorse anyone in the running for the Democratic nomination, the former president has been speaking glowingly of Warren behind closed doors. According to one former Obama aide who spoke to The Hill, Obama recently said that “he appreciates [Warren’s] intellect and is impressed by the campaign she’s run,” adding that “if anything, she has the most substantive achievements from his time in the White House.”

Another Democratic donor said that Obama “thinks [Warren’s] policy ideas matter. And I think he sees her running the campaign with the most depth.”

Warren chaired the Congressional Oversight Panel when it was formed under Obama in 2008 in response to the Recession. Both worked closely together during her time there, but later clashed over the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

During her campaign, Warren has been careful to make clear that she has certain disagreements about policy during Obama’s presidency while not completely distancing herself from the former president. This balancing act is important, as Obama remains quite popular among Democrats.

Although Obama has no plans to formally endorse any nominee hopefuls, he has made it repeatedly clear that, regardless of who Democrats choose as their presidential candidate, he will do everything he can to see that they take the White House next year.

While reports of Obama’s quiet support of Warren could be viewed as a slight to Biden’s campaign, it’s likely that he is merely being pragmatic. The former president’s kind words for Warren seem to be largely directed as wealthy Democrats on and off Wall Street, both of whom have felt antagonized by Warren’s regulation and taxation platforms. It’s more likely that Obama wants these powerful individuals to warm up to Warren in the event that she does win the nomination – rather than turn tail and throw their support behind President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.

National polling shows Warren ranking third among the Democratic candidates, closely behind Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). She is also finding strong support in several key battleground states, meaning Warren still has a strong shot at going head-to-head with Trump next fall.