CNN's Van Jones argues Trump is 'much worse' than anybody is 'willing to accept' — but his voters aren't

Van Jones spoke to Trevor Noah about Trump supporters.

(Image credit: Screenshot/Comedy Central)

published 6 December 2016

During an appearance Monday night on The Daily Show, CNN commentator Van Jones reminded America once again that not every person who voted for President-elect Donald Trump was "voting for every crazy thing he said." To move forward in the days after the election, Jones argued, Democrats especially need to remember that many people found Trump's remarks "distasteful, but not disqualifying, because they had so much other economic pain and problems that were not being talked to." "Listen, Trump is much worse than anybody in this country is willing to accept," Jones said, "but a lot of his voters are much better and I don't want to give them away."

In the midst of the presidential election, Jones was one of the first to point out that Trump's supporters — even the white supremacists — should not be written off. In the days after the election, Jones shirked shutting himself off in favor of engaging with Trump voters — and he's encouraging everyone, "especially this younger generation" of African-Americans, to do the same. "They shot [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] in the face the year I was born because he was trying to fight for these ideals," Jones said. "I have one bad election and some bad tweets and quit? I can't do that. And I will tell you: You cannot, especially this younger generation. They can't quit either."