With Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election on the verge of becoming official, CNN political commentator Van Jones delivered a powerful statement that managed to define the agony and fear so many Americans, particularly minorities and parents, were experiencing as they watched the map turn red.
“People have talked about a miracle—I’m hearing about a nightmare,” Jones said, visibly choked up. “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.’ 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?’ I have Muslim friends who are texting me tonight saying, ‘Should I leave the country?’ I have families of immigrants that are terrified tonight.”
Jones acknowledged the election “was many things” and a “rebellion against the elites.” But he also described Trump’s win as a “whitelash against a changing country.”
“It was a whitelash against a black president, in part, and that’s where the pain comes from.”