A top Democrat strategist says the unwillingness of President Joe Biden's team to listen to veteran party insiders could cost Biden the White House in November.
Doug Schoen, a pollster and adviser to then-President Bill Clinton, said Biden's reelection campaign should seek advice from longtime party strategists.
"The White House is uniquely tone deaf and not listening to not only me but two other Democratic insiders who've been in past campaigns, who’ve been successful with the Obama administration, the Clinton administration," Schoen said Wednesday on Fox News.
"There's a near-total freeze out on outside advice to the detriment of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that anxious Democrats are urging Biden to express more empathy over inflation, as voters dismiss his positive rhetoric on the economy.
Earlier this month, David Axelrod, a longtime strategist and senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, criticized Biden for his economic messaging, asserting he should be leading "with empathy" for those who are not experiencing this great economy he continues to tout.
Axelrod said it's a "terrible mistake" for Biden to not see what's in front of him.
"That's not the way people are experiencing the economy," Axelrod said on CNN. "They are experiencing it through the lens of the cost of living. He is a man who's built his career on empathy. Why not lead with the empathy?"
Schoen agreed with Axelrod.
"In an election where inflation is as high as it is and people have trouble at the pump and in the grocery paying their bills, I think this, unlike prior elections, is going to be uniquely impacted and ultimately decided by the economy," he said, the Washington Examiner reported.
Schoen added that Biden needs to change his messaging on several issues.
"They have no message on inflation. They have no message on the southern border. All that they appear to do is demonize Donald Trump and talk about their statistical record of accomplishment," Schoen said. "And everything I see in my polls and every other poll says it just isn’t working."
Despite his criticism, Schoen says Biden still can win the election.
"He needs to show more empathy on the economy, on inflation. He needs to do something about the southern border. And he needs to have an agenda going forward that is sensitive to people's needs and interests and concerns, not the current message," Schoen told Fox News.