Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump slammed President Biden’s Oval Office address Wednesday, calling it “barely understandable.”
“Crooked Joe Biden’s Oval Office speech was barely understandable, and sooo bad!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“CROOKED JOE BIDEN AND LYIN’ KAMALA HARRIS ARE A GREAT EMBARRASSMENT TO AMERICA — THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A TIME LIKE THIS!” the 78-year-old former president wrote in a follow-up post.
In his prime-time address, Biden, 81, insisted that he would stay in the White House through January despite concerns about his fitness for office.
He also explained his decision to abruptly end his re-election campaign, arguing that it was time to “pass the torch to a new generation” to unite the Democratic Party.
Trump, 78, who had just wrapped up a raucous rally in North Carolina minutes before the president’s address to the nation, listened to Biden’s remarks on the plane.
“On Trump Force One …Hey Joe …You’re Fired!” Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita wrote on X, including a photo of a very serious-looking Trump standing in front one the TVs on the former president’s Boeing 757.
A number of pundits and politicians described Biden’s speech as “sad.”
“All politics aside it’s sad to watch Biden slur through a farewell speech with glassy eyes and a weak voice,” former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee wrote on X, noting that he wished Biden used the nationally televised address to address violent anti-Israel protesters that besieged Washington, DC, Wednesday.
“I agree with him that there’s no place for violence. Was hoping he would condemn the violence this very day in DC by Hamas supporters, Huckabee said.
CNN analyst Van Jones nearly teared up after Biden’s speech.
“The kid with the stutter did good,” Jones, holding back tears, said on the network.
“Most heroes fight to the bitter end. He fell on his sword,” the political analyst said of Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 race.
“He’s an old guy but his heart is still there,” he added, noting that some of the policies Biden said he hoped to achieve in his remaining months in office, such as Supreme Court reform, are unlikely to go anywhere before his term is up.
Scott Jennings, a Republican political operative and CNN analyst, said that it appeared that Biden didn’t have much left in the tank.
“He’s running on fumes,” Jennings said of Biden’s appearance.
“Most of this seemed like a stump speech to me,” he argued.
“I hope he is OK for the next few months.”