CNN political commentator Ana Navarro took a jab at Democratic primary front-runner Joe Biden saying his lack of energy reminds her of Jeb Bush, a candidate she had deep ties to in 2016 and was a vocal supporter of.
“I say this as someone who really likes Joe Biden,” Navarro said Monday on CNN’s “New Day.” “Right now, he’s giving me Jeb Bush acid reflux. I want to see him pull this together. He’s got time.”
Jeb Bush, a 2016 Republican primary candidate for president, quickly found himself at the butt end of jokes from media pundits and social media critics for what they perceived as a lack of excitability during his campaign.
Then candidate Donald Trump often referred to Bush as “low energy Jeb.”
Navarro was one of Bush’s most ardent supporters in 2016, attacking his Republican challengers on cable news networks and serving as an informal campaign adviser.
“Biden can’t got out there on his cloud of Democratic love and string a harp,” Navarro continued. “He’s gotta go out there and prove that he can punch. People want to see electability and they want to be able to see: can he punch at Donald Trump.”
Biden is leading all Democratic candidates in virtually every poll. Bush, a Republican governor with a family history of presidential politics, was seen in the early days of the 2016 race as the presumptive nominee in what became a crowded GOP field.
Bush’s most famous misstep came during a campaign speech in 2015 during which he had to ask supporters in attendance to clap for him.
Biden — a self-ascribed gaffe machine — turned heads over the weekend when he tweeted a photo of a friendship bracelet with former President Barack Obama, who has yet to endorse him for president.
“I’ll tell ya what,” Navarro said. “Sending out a tweet with Obama’s my BFF friendship bracelet is not the way to hold on.”
