Van Jones: During his address to Congress, Trump 'became president of the United States'

(Image credit: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images)

published 1 March 2017

For CNN commentator Van Jones, during a tribute to the wife of a slain Navy SEAL at Tuesday night's address to Congress, Donald Trump "became president of the United States in that moment. Period."

William "Ryan" Owens was killed in January during a raid in Yemen that Trump and his administration have called a success. His widow, Carryn Owens, received a sustained standing ovation after Trump acknowledged both her and her husband, and Jones viewed this as pivotal, saying that "there are a lot of people who have a lot of reason to be frustrated with him, to be fearful of him, to be mad at him, but that was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics, period."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.