Liberals fawn over mumbling Biden's address to the nation with CNN fanboy Van Jones choking back tears - but on Trump Force One ex-president's face says it all

Liberals fawned over President Biden's farewell address on Wednesday night with one political fanboy barely able to speak while holding back tears. 

But on Trump Force One, the unimpressed former president simply grimaced while the image of a befuddled Biden played on TV in the background.

'Crooked Joe Biden’s Oval Office speech was barely understandable, and sooo bad!' Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

On CNN, liberal fanboy Van Jones was overcome with emotion as he waxed poetic about his 'hero' Joe Biden.

'The kid with a stutter did good. He did good. That's a good man,' Jones said, referring to Biden's childhood struggles with speech.  

'He fell on his sword. He fell on his sword. Most heroes, they fight 'til the bitter end. He fell on his sword,' Jones added while struggling to hold back tears.

Biden's Oval Office address on Wednesday was his first speech 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 axing his re-election bid and he grappled to keep composure. 

'I don't know anything about politics,' Jones gushed at the time. 'I just know that I love this man, I care about this man.' 

On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow was equally effusive as she addressed her audience on Biden's 'timeless' delivery.

'This is one of those speeches that is going to go down in history, not just as a great Joe Biden speech but as a great moment in the American presidency,' she said.

'The way he started, talking about honesty, decency, respect.'

The liberal anchor lavished praise on Biden for taking the helm after 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'.

'An elegant speech at an emotional and very moving moment for this president and I think timelessly for the presidency,' Maddow said.

'This is a tent pole for what patriotism and selfless service looks like.'

'His personal ambition, his belief that his record does warrant a second term and he wants it and you can hear that in his ambition, even talking about what he plans to do in the next six months, that that itself can't be bigger than the needs of the nation,' Maddow said.

'I am sure this could not have been easy for him but it was beautifully done.'

David Axelrod, a former political advisor for President Obama, compared the speech to a missive from America's first president, George Washington.

'I was reminded... of this poignant, admirable line from the farewell message of President George Washington: "Every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome."'

But many, including Donald Trump, were considerably less enamored with the performance. The GOP candidate slammed Biden's address to the nation as 'barely understandable'.

The Republican nominee posted the reaction on his Truth Social app as he watched from aboard his private jet Trump Force One. 

Trump was clearly unimpressed as he followed up his initial post up with another that also took aim at the Vice President.

'Crooked Joe Biden and Lyin' Kamala Harris are a great embarrassment to America - there has never been a time like this!' Trump wrote.

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 the announcement of Harris as the Democrat heir apparent.

He used the opportunity to shift his focus from attacking Biden to taking on Vice President Harris.

He touched on the border crisis and U.S. relationship with Israel at his first event since Harris became his presumed general election opponent. 

But leading Trump's list of attacks was Harris' record on abortion – even though the issue is seen as something that could be his downfall among women voters in swing states.

'She wants abortions in the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy – that's fine with her,' Trump said of Harris, who he called a 'lunatic' to massive jeers from a crowd of 10,000 gathered at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte.

But in his address to the nation, a faltering Biden, 81, explained 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 looked intently into the camera during the primetime address for which he was seated behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

He said: 'I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future, all merited a second term.

'But nothing, nothing, can come in the way of 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's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices. Yes, younger voices.'

Biden did not address questions over his own age, health and mental acuity, which have plagued his presidency from the start.

Doubts about his ability to do the job intensified following a disastrous debate performance last month, which shocked senior Democrats into calling for him to leave the 2024 presidential race.