CNN anchor Abby Phillip claimed President Biden’s decision not to seek re-election makes him like America’s first president and founding father, George Washington.
During a panel discussion on CNN ahead of Biden’s address to the nation Wednesday night, Phillip argued that the 46th president made a similar sacrifice to the country’s first president in withdrawing from his campaign.
“This moment puts him with a bunch of American greats, the sort of George Washingtons of the world,” the pundit declared.
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CNN anchor Abby Phillip compares President Biden to George Washington on CNN on Wednesday night. (Screenshot/CNN)
Some, like Phillip, have compared Biden’s decision — which he announced on Sunday and addressed again in his Wednesday speech — to Washington refusing to seek a third term as president to deny himself more power and avoid being seen as someone with “concealed ambition.”
As opposed to Biden being coerced out of running again after weeks of insisting he was the best candidate to beat former President Trump in a rematch, Washington stepped away from another term against the wishes of his fellow lawmakers and “those who knew him,” as historians have recounted.
“He’s stepping away from power. If he stays in that lane, I think that will be so much more powerful and impactful to the American people,” Phillip stated, hoping that Biden would accentuate this founding-father type of behavior during his presidential address.
Earlier in the segment, Phillip gushed about Biden, saying he “has really an extraordinary career” and urged him to use his speech to try “reclaiming his entire legacy,” which she reminded viewers is “50 years long.”
Phillip is one of several media pundits and Democratic Party leaders who have couched Biden’s decision to step down as an act of heroic selflessness and sacrifice, even though the president’s decision appeared to have been spurred by others in his own party to abandon a re-election bid.
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President Biden’s statement announcing him dropping out of the 2024 election. (Joe Biden)
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., told reporters on Tuesday that Biden is “going to go down in history as one of the best presidents America has ever had.” He added, “His selfless act this weekend reminds me of what George Washington did when he voluntarily gave up re-election and put country first.”
After Biden announced the suspension of his campaign on Sunday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote on social media, “President Biden will be remembered as one of the most successful and transformational presidents in U.S. history. His sacrifice of putting country before self makes him a modern-day George Washington.”
Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin made the same comparison as well on Wednesday night.
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“If you cannot appreciate the dignity, the grace, the selflessness, the patriotism of that speech – akin to Washington’s farewell – but instead feel compelled to denigrate him, nitpick or return to petty partisan politics I pity you,” she wrote on X, adding, “You’re denying yourself the majesty, the inspiration of America and of a great president. Go self-reflect.”