Liberals fawned over President Biden’s farewell speech Wednesday night, and one political fanatic could barely speak as he held back tears.
But on Trump Force One, the unimpressed former president simply grimaced as the image of a bemused Biden played on the television in the background.
“Corrupt Joe Biden’s Oval Office speech was barely comprehensible and very bad!” wrote Donald Trump on Truth Social.
On CNN, liberal bigot Van Jones got very emotional as he waxed poetic about his “hero” Joe Biden.
“The stuttering kid did well. He did well. He’s a good man,” Jones said, referring to Biden’s childhood speech problems.
Liberals have praised the president’s farewell speech, with one political analyst even holding back tears.
“He fell on his sword. He fell on his sword. Most heroes fight to the end. He fell on his sword,” Jones added, fighting back tears.
Biden’s Oval Office address on Wednesday was his first since announcing his decision to withdraw from the election.
The CNN analyst’s reaction mirrored his response on Sunday when Biden first announced he was dropping out of his re-election bid and he struggled to maintain his composure.
“I don’t know anything about politics,” Jones said enthusiastically at the time. “I just know that I love this man and I care about him.”
On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow was equally effusive as she addressed her audience about Biden’s “timeless” speech.
“This is one of those speeches that will go down in history, not just as a great speech by Joe Biden, but as a great moment in the American presidency,” he said.
‘The way it started, talking about honesty, decency and respect.’
The liberal host praised Biden for taking over from the Trump administration. She blamed the former president for “the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”
“A classy speech at a very moving and emotional moment for this president and I think timeless for the presidency,” Maddow said.
“This is an example of what patriotism and selfless service mean.”
CNN’s Van Jones got emotional talking about his “hero” Joe Biden, who he said “fell on his sword” by stepping aside.
But presidential candidate Donald Trump was less impressed with the performance, which he watched live from his private jet.
He took to Truth Social to criticize the “barely comprehensible” speech – Biden’s first major address since announcing his decision to withdraw from the election.
“His personal ambition, his belief that his record justifies a second term and he wants it, and you can hear in his ambition, even talking about what he plans to do in the next six months, that that in itself cannot be bigger than the needs of the nation,” Maddow said.
“I’m sure it must not have been easy for him, but he did wonderfully.”
David Axelrod, a former political adviser to President Obama, compared the speech to a letter from the first president of the United States, George Washington.
‘I was reminded of this moving and admirable phrase from President George Washington’s farewell message: “Every day the increasing weight of the years warns me more and more that the shadow of retirement is to me as necessary as it is welcome.”
But many, including Donald Trump, were less enthusiastic about the performance. The Republican candidate criticized Biden’s address to the nation, calling it “barely comprehensible.”
The Republican candidate posted the reaction on his Truth Social app as he watched from his private jet Trump Force One.
Trump was clearly not impressed, as he followed up his initial post with another one that also targeted the vice president.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow praised Biden’s performance as “timeless” and “a great moment in the American presidency.”
“Crooked Joe Biden and lying Kamala Harris are a great embarrassment to America. There has never been a time like this!” Trump wrote.
From right to left: Jill Biden, Ashley Biden and her husband Howard Kerin, and Hunter Biden and his daughter Finnegan listen to Joe Biden speak.
He tuned into a live stream of the speech shortly after attending a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The event was Trump’s first major speech since Biden’s withdrawal and Harris’ announcement as the Democratic heir apparent.
He took the opportunity to shift his focus from attacking Biden to focusing on Vice President Harris.
He addressed the border crisis and the US relationship with Israel at his first event since Harris became his presumptive opponent in the general election.
But Trump’s list of attacks is topped by Harris’ record on abortion, even though the issue is seen as something that could be her undoing among women voters in key swing states.
“She wants abortions in the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy; she’s fine with that,” Trump said of Harris, whom he called a “lunatic” to massive boos from a crowd of 10,000 people gathered at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte.
But in his address to the nation, a hesitant Biden, 81, explained that he had chosen to “pass the torch” to Harris because it was time for “younger voices” and he believed that would “unite” the country and “save” democracy.
Biden stared into the camera during the prime-time address for which he was seated behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
Trump tuned in to his show after attending a political rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he went on to criticize presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
He said: ‘I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for the future of America, all deserved a second term.
“But nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop us from saving our democracy, and that includes personal ambition, so I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.”
He added: “There is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There is also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices. Yes, younger voices.”
Biden did not address questions about his own age, health and mental acuity, which have plagued his presidency from the beginning.
Doubts about his ability to do the job intensified after a disastrous debate performance last month that stunned senior Democrats and led to calls for him to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.