Former White House officials have taken to the press to complain about current White House interns and young staffers attempting to embarrass President Joe Biden through media-based pressure campaigns.
"There’s this whole, ‘You’re not the boss of me’ attitude now. ‘I might work for you but I have my own views,’" Democratic strategist James Carville told Politico in a Wednesday article. "If you said you didn’t like some of President Clinton’s policies, the idea that you would go public with that would be insane. Just wouldn’t do that. It wouldn’t even cross your mind."
Interns at the White House have urged Biden to push for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, according to a letter first shared with NBC News and supported by more than 40 interns who work in the White House and other executive agencies, the outlet reported. Biden has faced criticism from within the Democratic Party by leftist "Squad" members and other politicians for not doing enough to push for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
While current White House staffers argued that they were using their influence for good and doing what was right for the country in the anonymous letter shared to Politico, former staffers criticized them for overstepping boundaries.
"The bargain a staffer strikes has always been this: You get to influence the decisions of the most powerful government in the history of the world," former Clinton staffer Paul Begala told Politico. "In exchange for that influence, you agree to back the final decision even if it goes against your advice. If confronted with a decision that crosses one’s ethical, moral, social, political lines, the choice is clear: Shut up and support it, or resign."
A "former senior White House official" told Politico that young staffers' attempts to put pressure on Biden through media attention is not "effective."
"What they don’t know is Joe Biden and that doesn’t work on him," the former staffer said. "That is not an effective way to get his attention."
The person continued: "The staffers who believe that writing the letters or resigning and doing an interview with Joy Reid is going to put pressure on the White House — that just makes the president himself more reticent to engage and his advisers more reticent to engage, but the direct conversation has been effective."
Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates responded to calls for a cease-fire in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"As Hamas continues to fire rockets at Israel and promises to carry out attacks like 10/7 ‘again and again,’ President Biden is standing with Israel’s fundamental right and obligation to defend its people against an existential threat while working to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza to the greatest extent possible," Bates wrote.
He continued: "Hamas terminated the deal that established a week-long humanitarian pause and secured the release of over 100 hostages. And they have so far refused to agree to a new arrangement to pause the fighting. President Biden is also pressing to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, and supporting a two-state solution."
