CNN political commentator Van Jones choked up on Sunday as he expressed gratitude to President Joe Biden for bowing out of the 2024 race.

“This is the difference between a politician and a leader. He made a selfless decision,” said Jones, a former adviser to President Barack Obama.

He likened the situation to pressuring an elderly grandparent to relinquish their car keys.

“He’s fighting. Everybody’s so frustrated. Then you finally get the keys back, and then you just cry because this is somebody that you love. This is somebody that you care about,” he said, his voice cracking.

“This is what it means to put the country first and put the party first, and put the cause first. When your arm gets tired, you let somebody else finish pitching the game,” he added. “That’s what Joe Biden has done, and he’s done that for all of us.”

Jones was among the chorus of critical voices following Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate performance, which served as the catalyst for the firestorm that ultimately led to his withdrawal from the race.

“I care about this man. It was painful every day to sit up here and talk about him like he’s just, you know, some problem for the party,” Jones said before predicting that people will be “crying, standing, screaming, cheering” for Biden at the Democratic National Convention.

Biden announced Sunday he was dropping his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, upending Democrats’ nomination process with just weeks to go before the party convention.

Watch Jones’ emotional reaction below.