CNN’s Van Jones highlighted the stark contrast between former President Trump and President Biden after Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
The political commentator participated in a panel discussing the Republican National Convention when news broke about Biden’s positive COVID-19 test and his subsequent quarantine. This announcement came amid growing calls from high-profile Democrats for Biden to exit the presidential race.
According to Jones, Biden’s diagnosis underscored a perceived weakness, especially when compared to Trump recently surviving an assassination attempt.
“There are many people who want Biden to stay in. A lot of those people point out that the grassroots still love Joe Biden, but not everyone agrees. But today is a terrible day. If you pull back and look at this thing: strength versus weakness. A bullet couldn’t stop Trump. A virus just stopped Biden,”
“You’ve got the nominees of [the Republican] party getting their butts kissed. Biden’s getting his butt kicked by his own party. The Democrats are coming apart. The Republicans are coming together. That’s what’s happening. And at some point, this [Democratic] party has to look at the reality of that and move.”
NBC News’ Chuck Todd shared a similar reaction to Biden’s COVID news.
“We’re bordering on ‘Sixth Sense’ Bruce Willis territory where every Democrat kind of knows that this candidacy is over except the candidate,” Todd said. “Is he aware that, basically, the entire party has given up on him?”
Earlier that day, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., became the 20th congressional Democrat to call for Biden to exit the presidential race, and he is the highest-profile Democrat to do so publicly.
The announcement followed an AP-NORC survey that found 65% of Democrats want Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, with only 37% satisfied with him as the nominee. About 70% of adults in general also said that Biden should leave the race.