Van Jones: "This was a 'white-lash' against a changing country" https://t.co/fVi0JzyFOr #CNNElection #ElectionNight pic.twitter.com/mWuTQqN83C
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 9, 2016
During CNN’s election night coverage, political commentator Van Jones dissects the root causes of Donald Trump’s ascendancy to the presidency.
Jones states that Trump tapped into a rural america’s growing resentment with the Washington establishment. In addition, the commentator captures the fear of Muslims, Black people, and women after Trump’s campaign —-and subsequent win —exposed the racial, xenophobic and misogynistic underbelly of America.
“It’s hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us,” he starts as he refers to Hillary Clinton’s long career in politics. “… You tell your kids don’t be a bigot. You have people putting children to bed tonight and they’re afraid of breakfast. … How do you explain this to your children? I’ve had Muslim friends who are texting me tonight, saying, ‘should I leave the country?’”
Jones implies that Trump’s win will give his supporters newfound courage to “attack” those who are not like them. However, he concludes that Trump’s win is the result of a storm of white male backlash.
Most— if not all– stems from human rights movement such as Black Lives Matter calling for police accountabilty. Additionally, there was a desire to reclaim the nation after President Barack Obama reign of liberalism.
“We’ve talked about everything, but race tonight,” Jones states. “This was a whitelash – this was a whitelash against a changing country. It was whitelash against a Black president, in part. And that’s the part where the pain comes.”
