CNN contributor and Obama administration alum Van Jones had some strong advice for Joe Biden if he wants to win the 2024 election: “Stay hidden.”
“If I were Biden, I would… I would stay hidden,” Jones said during a panel discussion after the New Hampshire primaries. “And I’ll tell you why — he doesn’t inspire confidence. And he’s not a great messenger for himself.”
He’s absolutely right, of course, but ouch.
Of course, after throwing Biden under the bus, he had to go into the obligatory Biden Praise Mode to make up for the fact that he basically said that Biden is a liability to his own campaign.
He has done a tremendous job for this economy. Union members, union leaders have… are racking up win after win; they should be put forward. There are clean energy executives in red states that are putting people to work and … basically … There’s something wrong with this campaign, where we’re somehow expecting Joe Biden, who frankly hid during the last campaign, to come out now and be Flash Gordon and save his own campaign. The people who are benefiting from the Biden economy — and they exist — should be empowered to speak.
Related: Barack Obama Is Telling Joe Biden to Quit the 2024 Race
Former Biden White House Communication Director Kate Bedingfield, however, took strong objections to that assessment from Jones.
“I gotta, I gotta disagree with that,” she interjected.
I mean, we… I think in 2019 and 2020, there were… there were doubts about whether Biden was the guy who could take on Trump and when. I think Biden ran a very disciplined campaign, I think, you know, is this sort of, oh, he hid in the basement. Well, remember, we were in the midst of a global pandemic. We were in the midst of a once-in-a-generation crisis. And frankly, the way Joe Biden handled it was reassuring to people and was a big part of the reason that he was elected president in 2020.
Whatever you say, Kate. And she sure wasn’t done saying it. “Because the contrast with Trump— Trump’s chaos and Trump’s inability to handle this crisis that came down the pike when he was president, you know, it showed people that Joe Biden was the right choice,” she continued laughably. “So the idea that Biden won in spite of himself is not born out by the facts.”
Scott Jennings, a former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, however, seemed to agree with Van Jones but pointed out that Biden doesn’t have the same ability to run a basement campaign in 2024.
“What Van is saying, is that he was saved of the rigors of a long campaign and this campaign is going to be lengthy,” he said. “There’s nothing — there’s nothing to save him now.”
For sure there isn’t.
Van Jones thinks Biden’s best strategy for 2024 is to “stay hidden”:
“If I were Biden, I would stay hidden. I will tell you why. He doesn’t inspire confidence. He is not a great messenger for himself.” pic.twitter.com/qNmcc5Crjz
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 24, 2024
Jones clearly believes that Joe Biden is a liability for the Democrats and isn’t afraid to say so. “Part of what we’re looking at with Trump’s strength, his resilience, is really a reflection of Biden’s fragility,” he said during an earlier segment. “Republicans are not afraid of Joe Biden. They’re not afraid.”
Van Jones tries to warn his fellow Democrats that they’re putting up an incredibly weak candidate.
“Trump’s strength, his resilience is really a reflection of Biden’s fragility. Republicans are not afraid of Joe Biden…even with 978 felonies he’s still neck and neck with Biden.” pic.twitter.com/iLRJnwGeBi— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 24, 2024