Barack Obama is fearful that Joe Biden is being too complacent about the 2024 presidential election.

Recent leaked media reports in Axios and the Washington Post paint a bleak picture of the mood among Joe Biden's top allies, who have described Biden's camp as "complacent" and "unimaginative" concerning the scenarios in which Donald Trump could win. 

Obama freaks out...

Obama is known for his lack of confidence in his former VP, who he famously discouraged from running in 2016 and 2020. This time around, he's said to be alarmed by Biden's lack of urgency.

Obama advised Biden to revamp his campaign during a private lunch before the holidays, the Washington Post reported.

"Obama also recommended that Biden seek counsel from Obama’s own former campaign aides, which Biden officials say they have done," the report said.

"Obama has been even more explicit with people close to Biden, suggesting the campaign needs to move aggressively as Trump appears poised to quickly wrap up the Republican nomination."

Biden complacent?

Obama's advice to be more aggressive may already be bearing fruit.

Biden kicked off 2024 with a pair of divisive speeches, in which he linked Trump and his supporters with the Confederacy and the redcoats who fought George Washington's Continental Army.

In a speech near Valley Forge, Biden argued, "democracy is on the ballot" even as Democrats attempt to take Trump off the ballot.

It's a message that many are sure to see as absurd and desperate, but Democrats are hoping Biden's sweeping rhetoric will bring voters back to him.

Biden is broadly unpopular and facing widespread doubts over his age, and the pain of inflation continues to leave many voters unconvinced by Biden's economic boasts.

The war in Israel has also put pressure on Biden's fraying electoral coalition, as young progressives lash out at Biden's handling of the conflict.

According to Axios, many top Democrats fear the Biden campaign is moving forward with "Zen" complacency, assuming that the political landscape for Biden will get better as economic conditions approve.

Those close to Biden are afraid to burst his bubble for fear of getting "their heads bitten off," the report added.

"Someone wants to light a fire under the asses of some of these people," Jim Messina, manager of Obama's reelection campaign, told Axios.

Messina dismissed those who say the fears are overblown, adding, "It's hard to call it bedwetting when it's Barack Obama."

Obama's wife, Michelle, has also gone public with her fears.

“I am terrified about what could possibly happen,” she said on a recent podcast.