Van Jones Leaves CNN Panel Speechless as He Explains the ‘Whitelash’ that Led to Trump’s Win 

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.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top