(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) CNN commentator Van Jones said Wednesday at The New York Times’s Dealbook Summit that Americans want “nothing to do with CNN” and other cable news networks.
Jones told panelists that Democrats are “way off” on their communication strategy, pointing to the success of the Trump campaign’s online outreach.
“First of all, digital is the new door-knocking. You gotta understand that. We were laughing our butts off at Donald Trump for suspending his door-knocking campaign and letting Charlie Kirk and Elon do a bunch of stuff online,” Jones said.
The CNN commentator recalled how Democrats called Republicans “idiots” and “stupid” for relying on the Internet—but then mentioned how people would answer the door holding their cellphones.
Van Jones has come to the realization that legacy media is dead:
"Digital is the new doorknocking. You got to understand that we were laughing our butts off at Donald Trump for suspending his door knocking campaign and letting Charlie Kirk and Elon do a bunch of stuff online with… pic.twitter.com/oNGjDemKtZ— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) December 12, 2024
“They’re in a 24-hour digital surround sound that has nothing to do with CNN, has nothing to do with any of the stuff that we do,” Jones said.
Jones said his son told him the most influential people are online personalities Kai Cenat, Adin Ross, Jinxy and Sketch. He said his son uses Twitch, Kick and Rumble.
“I said, ‘That sounds like you need to go to the hospital!’ What are these platforms?” Jones said.
Jones admitted that CNN and other previously reputable news sources are out of style, saying, “The mainstream has become fringe, and the fringe has become mainstream.”
Jones’s admission came the week after CNN fell to No. 17 among cable stations during primetime, defeated by Food Network, TNT, Hallmark Channel, ESPN and even MSNBC.
During the same roundtable discussion, Jones urged Democrats to “look in the mirror” and realize their five most recent social movements, including Black Lives Matter, all made the same mistake.
Van Jones laments that the Democrat party does not lift people up, but puts people down with 'dehumanizing binaries' like BLM:
"We're pushing people out of this party. And the last thing I'll say is, I hate all this people the anti-woke, the anti this, the anti that. But you've… pic.twitter.com/kGfF1bi9Wz— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) December 12, 2024
“We’ve had five movements in a row in our party that rely on dehumanizing binaries where you’re putting down some people to lift somebody else up,” the CNN commentator said. “I love all our movements but there’s a moral flaw when every movement has got to put someone down.”
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
