Political commentator and former Obama adviser David Axelrod David AxelrodThe Memo: Warning signs flash for Trump on debates GOP hunts for leverage in revived COVID-19 talks Pelosi says there shouldn't be any debates between Biden and Trump MORE knocked former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE for tweeting a video of himself and former President Obama ahead of Thursday night's presidential primary debate, writing that Biden's attempts to tie himself to his ex-boss's legacy were far from subtle.

Axelrod, who served as chief strategist for Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns, tweeted that Biden was "claiming co-authorship of Obama’s record" in a way that was "about as subtle as a screen door on a submarine."

This pre-debate video tribute to @BarackObama from @JoeBiden is about as subtle as a screen door on a submarine.

Not only is he claiming co-authorship of Obama’s record. He’s sending message to the others:

“You want to attack Obama’s record? Make my day!” https://t.co/Y0ixbXztMv — David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) September 12, 2019

The minutelong video released by Biden ahead of Thursday's 2020 Democratic debate in Houston highlighted Biden's praise of the former president amid images of the two men working together during the Obama administration.

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Biden has sought to tie himself closely to the former president on social media and in previous debates and has faced criticism from some Democrats for doing so.

During a heated exchange at July's debate, Biden faced questions from former Housing Secretary Julián Castro over the Obama administration's record of family separations at the border, which Biden argued that Castro had not opposed while a member of the administration.

“One of us has learned the lessons of the past and one hasn’t,” Castro shot back at the time. “The only way we’re going to guarantee these family separations don’t happen in the future is to repeal the law.”