On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” CNN Political Commentator and former Obama administration official Van Jones stated that President Joe Biden wants the election “to be a choice between Trump and himself, and not just a referendum on inflation, etc.” And that Biden can tell people, “I’m not just going to write you off” but “That is not coming across yet, and it needs to.”
Jones said, “I think he’s trying to do something that’s difficult. He wants this election, frankly, to be a choice between Trump and himself, and not just a referendum on inflation, etc. So, that’s a part of the political strategy here.”
He continued, “I still think he’s missing a big opportunity, because what — if you think that the reason people are going in the Trump direction, these extreme directions, is because these are just bad people, terrible people, dumb people, mean people, you can write them off. But if you’re Joe Biden, you’ve got to know, it’s deeper than that. You’ve got grief out there. You’ve got fear out there. And when people are grieving the America they thought they were going to get or the life they thought they were going to have, they can make bad decisions. When people are scared of the future and they’re scared of what’s happening, they can make bad decisions. And I think that Joe Biden’s core empathy, his ability to relate to some of these very voters, is something that he needs to dial back up. I don’t think, at the end of the day — he’s still Joe Biden. He’s the only Democrat we have, frankly, that can say to these guys, look, I know you, and you’re better than this. I’m not just going to write you off. I’m not going to let you get away with this. I need you on my team. I need you to be a part of rebuilding this country. You need to be a part of a better movement than the one you’re in right now. I need you. That is not coming across yet, and it needs to. Even if nobody listens to it and changes their vote, it can change people’s hearts. It can change people’s perspective of does the commander-in-chief like me? Does he see me, or has he already written me off as somebody who’s just irredeemable? And I just think Joe Biden has the opportunity to do what very few leaders could do, which is to disagree, but still continue reaching out.”
He further stated, “[Y]ou need the grandpa-in-chief to continue to sit people down, vote against me, that’s fine. What Joe Biden should be saying is, guys, I’m not even asking you guys to become Democrats. I want you to become Republicans again. I want you to actually be true to your best values. You are the party of Lincoln. You are the party of Jack Kemp. I want to work with you, be your best self. I’ll fix my party. I’ve got nuts in my party, but you’ve got to be better in your own party. That kind of conversation from Joe Biden, I think would shock a lot of people. I think the idea that you only talk to people if you can convince them to vote for you, and if they won’t vote with you, you don’t care about them, that’s not us. That’s some new, weird stuff in America. It works on Twitter. It doesn’t work when you’re trying to run a country.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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