CNN commentator: Donald Trump’s victory is a ‘deeply painful moment’ in America
'This was a whitelash against a changing country,' Van Jones said early Wednesday.
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With Donald Trump’s victory coming into focus early Wednesday morning, CNN political commentator Van Jones emphasized that the Republican’s win over Hillary Clinton is not “a miracle”—it is a “deeply painful moment” for America.
While offering congratulations to conservative commentator Jeff Lord around 1 a.m., an emotional Jones pointed out “there’s another side to this” election.
“People have talked about a miracle—I’m hearing about a nightmare,” Jones said. “It’s hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. You tell your kids, don’t be a bully. You tell your kids, don’t be a bigot. You tell your kids, do your homework and be prepared. And then you have this outcome and you have people putting children to bed tonight, and they’re afraid of breakfast. They’re afraid of, how do I explain this to my children?”
Jones spoke of his personal connections to the outcome, including Muslim friends texting and asking if they should leave the country and immigrant families expressing fear at their loved ones’ futures.
“This was a whitelash,” he said. “This was a whitelash against a changing country. It was a whitelash against a black president in part, and that’s the part where the pain comes. And Donald Trump has a responsibility tonight 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.”
“We don’t want to feel that someone has been elected by throwing away some of us to appeal more deeply to others,” he continued. “So this a deeply painful moment tonight.”
When Trump took to the stage to claim his place as the 45th president, he called on the country to “come together as one united people.”
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