CNN analyst Van Jones urged President Biden to contact the Republicans who have spoken out against former President Trump “right now,” because it will take as large of a group as possible to defeat Trump at the polling stations in November.
When CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins asked Jones if a select group of Republicans who said they would refuse to vote for the former president should have received a call from Biden by now, Jones said he would “call that political malpractice” if they haven’t.
“We need the biggest, broadest tent possible, the pro-democracy forces, the anti-authoritarian forces,” he said, highlighted by Mediaite. “Republicans, independent, Green Party, Libertarian, Democrats and father to the left than the Democrats all have an interest in making sure we don’t have an authoritarian in the White House.”
“And so, if Biden has not reached out to them…look, it’s still early in the night. Pick up the phone and do it right now,” Jones recommended.
Several anti-Trump Republicans have said they will not be voting for the former president in his matchup against Biden this fall. The list of Republicans not voting for Trump includes former President George W. Bush, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, former House Speaker Paul Ryan and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, among others.
Christie, who launched his own bid for the GOP nomination, became one of the most outspoken candidates against Trump. He’s said that he won’t vote for Trump under any circumstances and hasn’t ruled out voting for Biden in the fall. Christie said he’s “not there yet,” in February.
After former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley dropped out of the race, Trump’s last standing competitor, the Biden campaign released an ad attempting to sway her supporters to join him instead of the likely Republican nominee, Trump. His campaign also attempted to tell Haley supporters that Trump doesn’t want their vote.