Van Jones says 'Democrats dodged a bullet' after Trump's RNC speech

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Van Jones says 'Democrats dodged a bullet' after Trump's RNC speech

CNN commentator Van Jones said that Democrats narrowly avoided a political disaster Thursday night because former President Trump's speech was a "mess."

CNN commentator and former Obama administration official Van Jones quipped Democrats were the ones who "dodged a bullet" after former President Trump concluded his lengthy nomination acceptance speech Thursday night.

Trump formally accepted the GOP nomination after surviving an assassination attempt on his life on Saturday at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. His RNC speech, which lasted approximately 92 minutes, covered the chaos on Saturday, his family and President Biden, but critics like Jones said it was rambling and unfocused.

"Trump dodged a bullet on Saturday and Democrats dodged a bullet tonight," Jones said after Trump's address, in remarks that could have been construed as insensitive given Trump was shot less than a week ago.

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CNN commentator Van Jones said that Democrats narrowly avoided a political disaster Thursday because former President Trump's speech was a "mess." (Getty Images)

"That was a mess," Jones said. "That was just a big mess," adding Trump "just couldn't help himself."

The commentator said that Democrats would have stopped President Biden if he had given a speech "that incoherent, that rambling" and "that undisciplined." 

"He had the whole world in his hands," Jones said of Trump's political upsurge after the assassination attempt. "If he had just stayed with that unity message, he might have caused some problems. He just could not help himself." 

Jones argued that Trump's speech had returned the campaign from a unique political situation following his survival to a "normal campaign dynamic." 

"Trump took what was the most energetic convention, and he was boring," Jones said. "He took the most disciplined convention, and he was undisciplined." 

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Jones argued that Trump's speech had returned the campaign from a unique political situation following his survival to a "normal campaign dynamic."  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

"10 minutes of unity talk off the teleprompter followed by rabid attacks on Nancy Pelosi, on Joe Biden and talking about Hannibal Lecter?" Jones said. "That is not a new Trump."

CNN commentator David Axelrod said after the speech that Trump's remarks marked the first positive development for Democrats in weeks, given their disarray and mounting calls to boot Biden off the 2024 ticket.

Jones said earlier Thursday that the energy at this week's Republican National Convention was comparable to what he saw when former President Obama was first nominated in 2008.

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Trump communications director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital in a statement that Jones' comments were not surprising. 

"Of course Democrats would think about things in terms of ‘bullets,’" Cheung wrote. 

Fox News' Alexander Hall contributed to this report.