Former Sen. Doug Jones: 'Let Joe be Joe'

Former Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones wishes President Joe Biden's staff would let the president face the public more often, despite any fears about "gaffes," Jones told NBC News on Friday.

"He wears that office very well, he can be very presidential, but I think they overcorrected. And I think they need to let Joe be Joe," Jones told Chuck Todd on The Chuck ToddCast.

"The pandemic has created a little bit of a problem. I mean, after all, he is 78 years old and there needs to be a level of protection around the president. But he can connect with people so well — I've never, hardly except for Bill Clinton and a few others, had somebody that can connect on a personal basis. And I think they need to get back to that," he added.

Jones, who won a 2017 special Senate election before losing his seat in 2020, pushed back at the idea that Democrats are destined to lose congressional majorities in the midterm election this fall.

"I'm tired of listening to the damn Debbie Downers that went, 'Oh, my God, woe is me, all is lost, all is lost.' That is just not the case," Jones told Todd.

"We have got a slate of candidates around this country who, I think, can do very well," Jones added.

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And the former senator, who helped shepherd Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination through Congress, addressed the investigation into the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, saying he thinks Democrats shouldn't be afraid to use the episode as a contrast to Republican candidates.

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"Democrats have to bring that home a little bit. I think every Democrat needs to ask their opponent: what would you have done if you were in Mike Pence's place that day?," Jones said.

He added, "I'd make it absolutely part of the midterm conversation, because our entire democracy is at stake. And we came so close to losing it."

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