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CNN commentator and former Obama administration official Van Jones grew visibly emotional while reacting to the news that President Biden would withdraw from the race.
Biden stepped aside on Sunday and has endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to become the new nominee for the Democratic Party.
“When your arm gets tired you let somebody else finish pitching the game,” Jones said Sunday on CNN. “That’s what Joe Biden has done. And he’s done that for all of us.”
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Jones said that Democrats would not have accomplished as much as they have “without” Biden’s help.
“The Democrat Party’s [Biden’]s family at the end of the day, this is a family matter,” Jones said. “You know, Joe Biden’s body may not be as strong as it used to be. His language skills may not be as sharp as they used to be. His heart is as big as ever.”
Jones also compared Biden stepping down to taking away driving privileges from a senior family member.
“It’s kind of like when your grandpa, [when] you got to take the keys,” Jones said. “He’s fighting and he’s fighting and everybody’s so frustrated.”
“And then you finally get the keys back,” he continued, becoming increasingly emotional. “And then you just cry. Because this is somebody that you love. This is somebody that you care about. This is somebody who was there for you. This is somebody, you wouldn’t be here without him. And you had to take something from him.”
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Jones said that he did not know who Biden’s replacement would be.
“Politics is politics,” he said, “But this is a human moment for one of the great humans in America.”
“I just want to say, I don’t know who’s going to be the VP, the non VP. I don’t know anything about politics,” Jones said. “I just know that I love this man, I care about this man. It was painful every day to sit up here and talk about him like he’s just some problem for the party.”
“All of us are going to be in this situation someday, and I hope that we take a moment to honor this man and to love this man,” Jones said. “I love Joe Biden. I appreciate what he’s done. And a lot of people are heartbroken today. Even if it’s the right thing, it’s still just horrible.”
Other news hosts were also shocked by Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race.
MSNBC host and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki reacted live on Sunday during her show.
“There’s very little indication from people close to him and many people in the campaign that this was about to happen, as much as there were reports of Democrats calling on him to do that,” she said after reading the letter posted to X by the president.
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons also appeared close to tears in an interview with CBS News after Biden ended his campaign.
“This was a very difficult decision, and one that I think reflects the very best of who Joe Biden is,” Coons said.
Fox News’ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
