Van Jones Gets Emotional Over Trump’s Defense of Alt-Right: ‘This Is a Tough Night’

Hours after President Donald Trump shocked the nation by doubling down on his “many sides” statement on Charlottesville, claiming “both sides” were to blame for violence while essentially defending the alt-right, CNN political commentator Van Jones fought back tears while discussing today’s insane presser.

Anchor Anderson Cooper brought up white nationalist David Duke’s tweet thanking Trump for his remarks, he noted that the president’s words have “emboldened white supremacists.” Jones then observed how rough this is for many Americans.

“You know, this is a tough night, I think, for normal people,” Jones said. “You have a lot of people at home going through Kleenex right now. You have a lot of people at home who are keeping their kids away from the TV tonight because we’re spiraling away from each other.”

With his voice cracking, Jones went on to state that instead of bringing the country together, he’s picking a side and cheerleading for it.

“He’s not defending the humanity of the people who were run over — 19 people were run over,” he explained. “He’s not telling their story. He’s not defending their humanity.”

After making some more observations about Trump’s lack of understanding of history, Jones ended his comments by expressing concern about the damage the president has done:

“At a certain point, you have a lot of people now just not — not just the people you’re emboldening, but the people who you’re abandoning who don’t know if they have a government that gives a damn about them. Those are the people you have to worry about, too. Because we’re spiraling away from each other. We’re spiraling away from each other. And I don’t know what to say tonight. I usually have something clever, something smart. I’m just hurt. I’m sitting here hurt. And I think a lot of people are hurt tonight.”

Watch the clip above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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