CNN’s Van Jones Chokes Up as He Calls Trump Victory a ‘Nightmare’: Kamala Harris Supporters Are ‘Going to Be Terrified’
As Donald Trump stood at the brink of victory on Wednesday morning, CNN commentator Van Jones grew emotional as he talked about the fear and hurt many Kamala Harris supporters were feeling after she lost the presidency. In a choked up voice, Jones reflected on the “hurt” that Black women who had turned out for the vice president were experiencing.
“I’m thinking about the people who are not a part of anybody’s elite who are hurting tonight,” Jones said. “There are African American women who know a little bit about being talked down to, and know a little bit about having their economic dreams crushed, who tried to dream a big dream over the past couple of months. And tonight, they’re trading in a lot of hope for a lot of hurt. They were hoping that maybe this time — this time — one of their own could be seen as worthy.”
More from Variety
Jones has served as a sort of proxy for blue-state sentiment during CNN’s past few election sessions. A former Obama Administration advisor, the activist and commentator in 2016 served up raw emotion as it became clear that Trump would take a first term over then-candidate Hillary Clinton. “This was a white-lash against a changing country,” he said at the time. “It was a white-lash against a Black president in part, and that’s the part where the pain comes.” At the time, he went on to urge Trump to “…come out and reassure people that he is going to be the president of all the people who he insulted and offended and brushed aside.”
In 2024, he offered a similar plea for the winners to consider the people who supported the loser. “And once again, they’re facing rejection, and that hurts,” Jones added. “They thought tomorrow morning they’re going to be able to walk out there with their shoulders back, maybe able to breathe for the first time, to feel like they belong someplace. They did everything that they knew how to do and it’s going to be harder than it should be for them to hold their heads up.”
Jones spotlighted other groups, such as members of the LGBTQ community and undocumented immigrants, who had been targeted by Trump and his campaign during the race to the White House, as he emphasized the sense of shock being felt in certain corners of the country.
“If you’re a parent of a trans kid, your child’s face was used as a springboard to power for somebody,” Jones said. “That doesn’t feel good. There are going to be people tomorrow, we’re going to be handing clothes at the dry cleaners to people who don’t have papers. There are going to be people cleaning your teeth tomorrow who don’t have papers. And they’re going to be terrified tonight.”
“It’s easy to blow this off and say, ‘oh the elites, they’re going to get their comeuppance,'” Jones said. “It’s not the elites who are going to pay the price. It’s the people who woke up this morning with a dream and are going to bed with a nightmare.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.