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CNN’s Dana Bash Says ‘Mr. Empathy,’ Joe Biden, ‘Has Found His Voice’ Amid George Floyd’s Death

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David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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CNN host Dana Bash lauded presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Tuesday as “Mr. Empathy” and a man “who has found his voice in a moment” of riots breaking out across America.

“This is who Joe Biden is. He is Mr. Empathy,” Bash told “CNN Newsroom” in her evaluation of Biden’s Tuesday speech —  his response to the protests and riots that have erupted across America over the killing of George Floyd after his arrest by Minnesota police.

Derek Chauvin, the former officer seen in a video with his knee on Floyd’s neck, was arrested and charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter Friday. (RELATED: Owner Of Gutted Minneapolis Shopping Center Tells Governor And Mayor: ‘People Will Uprise Over This’)

“This is a candidate who has found his voice in a moment,” Bash declared, saying Biden was “striving to make contrasts” with Trump’s style so that he could “provide a very, very clear and different choice … for voters in November.” Bash said “he didn’t have to work that hard at it.”

Trump delivered a tough law and order speech in front of the White House Monday evening as he promised to crack down on rioters and looters said he would would the U.S. military if necessary.

Bash insisted that Biden’s speech emphasized “reaching out,” while he used “very harsh language” to describe the president at the end of presentation while telling everyone “that he feels their pain,” in imitation of former President Bill Clinton. (RELATED: Seattle Councilmember Says She Can’t Figure Out Why ‘Looting Bothers People’ When People Are ‘Dying Every Day)

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a rally at Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi on March 8, 2020. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a rally at Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi on March 8, 2020. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The CNN host said she was “struck” at how Biden had anticipated his speech by telling her “he is going to make clear to African-Americans he needs so desperately to be enthusiastic to get out and vote for him … he’s not going to take his vote for granted.”

“He said, basically, ‘Watch me. Watch what I say, Listen to what I say and watch what I do.’ Unfortunately, the tragedy of George Floyd and everything that has happened since then gave him the opportunity, and he took it with this speech.”