After President Joe Biden delivered his historic address to the nation on Wednesday, formally announcing he would bow out of the campaign for a second term and pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, the panel of CNN commentators watching were in awe, with Van Jones in particular overcome with emotion.
"This was incredibly hard for him to do, this would be hard for anyone to do," said former Biden administration communications official Kate Bedingfield. "It feels almost unnatural for someone to have achieved the thing that they have been working toward their entire life and then say, the best thing is for me to step aside. Even knowing how hard that was for him, I think hearing those important themes come through, I think he was shining a light for the country moving forward over the next three and a half months through a really perilous election."
"He said America is at an 'inflection point,'" said anchor Anderson Cooper. "He asked the question, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect? Does character in public life still matter? And he said, 'I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you.'"
Read also: 'History is in your hands': Biden urges America to save democracy as he passes the torch
"He asked the question, does character still matter?" said Jones, audibly choking up as he spoke. "Well, it does tonight. It does tonight. The kid with a stutter did good. He did good. That's a good man. He fell on his sword. He fell on his sword. Most heroes, they fight to the bitter end. He fell on his sword. He's an old guy, but the heart's still there. You know, the words aren't as clear but the love is clear, the heart is still there."
The contrast with former President Donald Trump is striking, he continued.
"I think people need to look at this, because you had somebody sitting in that chair and he wouldn't give up power no matter what, wouldn't give up power. Let there be an insurrection, wouldn't, wouldn't get out of that chair," said Jones.
And now, "you've got somebody who sits in that same chair, showing that character does matter. Showing that you can have grace, you can put the people first, you can pass the baton, and you're a bigger person for it. You're going to be more loved for it. So you've got two examples now of what men with power do and how they act at the end. And you couldn't act better than Joe Biden. That kid with a stutter grew up. He did a great job for this country and he's doing a great job tonight. And I love that man."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
Van Jones grows emotional at Biden's speech www.youtube.com
