Van Jones Roasted After Saying Donald Trump Was A 'Granddad Having A Very Bad Day' During Arraignment
April 4 2023, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
Political commentator Van Jones got slammed on social media after he said Donald Trump was a "Granddad having a very bad day" when he was arraigned at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon, RadarOnline.com has learned.
As viewers watched CNN's coverage of the historic arraignment, which made Trump, 76, the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, Jones struck a chord with his audience after he gave a bizarre take on #45's grim demeanor.
Jones joined the CNN roundtable and walked through the unprecedented arraignment live on tv.
As his fellow commentators pondered on what Trump was feeling as he was escorted into court, Jones offered his opinion — and the remark quickly backfired on Twitter.
"He looks sad," Jones told Anderson Cooper. "He looks sad... he looks like the weight of it is hitting him."
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Jones continued to reflect on the moment — and even paused to criticize the judicial system.
"You know, just as a human being, I don't take joy. I don't like the prison system," he continued. "I don't like what it does to people. I don't like this process. I don't take any celebration in seeing him looking that way. He looks sad."
Jones then attempted to offer some reason — and paused to note that his thoughts towards the prison system "doesn't mean that accountability is not owed."
"But in that moment, that is not a conquerer," Jones added. "That's a Granddad having a very bad day."
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Internet critics quickly jumped at the moment to call Jones out for appearing to feel sorry for Trump, who was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Some offered blunt takes, replying to a video clip of Jones' comments and simply writing, "Shut up Van." Others fused the social platform's PR woes while they dissed the political commentator.
"We may not be able to count on Twitter working, but we can always count on Van Jones being a damn clown," replied one jokester.
Some found the remark less laughable, given the seriousness of his allegations — and a lack of empathy for private citizens who were incarcerated.
"WTF?? A bad damn day are the thousands of folks in jail because they can’t pay their damn bail!" wrote one outraged viewer. "Or they’ve been wrongfully arrested! I guess he still wants the party invites. JESUS! #VanJonesMakesNoSense."
Some even took the opportunity to condemn Jones given Trump's own history towards criminal defendants.
"Hey @VanJones68, you ok?" read another scathing reply. "Trump is facing justified criminal investigation & here you are humanizing Trump as a grandad? Did he humanize the wrongfully convicted Central Park 5 when he took an AD out demanding they face the Death Penalty?" "What the hell is wrong with you?" the furious user added.