The “All In” host told a panel of MSNBC hosts that he found Biden’s remarks “very striking,” adding that they gave a “window” into his thinking amid calls for the president to prove he’s up to the task to lead or step aside.
“I’ve been comparing him to a World Series star starter in the seventh game of the World Series who’s got four outs left to get in a close game that’s thrown 120 pitches,” Hayes said.
The host noted that when the baseball team’s manager approaches the mound to pull the pitcher, “they never want to go.”
“They curse into their glove … they fight it,” Hayes said.
“That to me … was an honest articulation of where all this motivation’s coming from, even if he’s not correct about his own political prospects. Or in denial about the inexorable trajectory of being a human being who is mortal, like we all are. That was, to me, clarifying.”
Biden — who insisted that he’s continuing his reelection bid — questioned whether “democracy is under siege” based on recent Supreme Court decisions, Project 2025 and if former President Donald Trump “means what he says” with his plans for a second term.
“We’ve never been here before and that’s the only reason why I didn’t say ‘Hand off to another generation,’” he told reporters just prior to his “finish the job” remarks.