Van Jones felt ‘ambushed’ and ‘blindsided’ by ‘The View’ hosts: report
Page Six reports Jones considered the exchange on Friday's show 'unprofessional.'
Last week on “The View,” things got heated between the co-hosts of the popular daytime talk show and their guest, CNN’s Van Jones. Now, according to Page Six, it is being reported that Jones felt “ambushed” and “blindsided.”
The women of “The View” are certainly known for their politics and the intense conversations that take place at its “Hot Topics” table. Even though the show is currently being filmed from the co-hosts’ homes, the important, engaging dialogue is certainly still there.
On Friday, Jones stopped by the ABC mainstay to promote his new documentary, The Reunited States — which is co-produced by “The View” co-hostess Meghan McCain — and, in an exchange that promptly went viral afterward, Sunny Hostin confronted him for giving former President Donald Trump “racial cover.”
A “TV source” reportedly told Page Six that Jones “felt like they were rude, and he was completely blindsided by how they questioned him. He was not happy about how the interview went. It was unprofessional.”
Read More: ‘The View’ host Sunny Hostin confronts Van Jones for giving Trump ‘racial cover’
Hostin, who also serves as senior legal correspondent for ABC News, pressed Jones on his past behavior with Trump, saying: “Now, Van, you do spend a lot of time threading the middle and trying to unite people, but there are those who accuse you of being a political opportunist — a chameleon, so to speak — who provided racial cover for former, disgraced, twice-impeached President Trump.”
“People in the Black community,” she told him, “don’t trust you anymore.”
Read More: Van Jones moved to tears after Biden wins election: ‘This is a good day’
While Jones told Hostin on Friday, “Well, I don’t think that’s true,” this is not the first time his behavior around the former president and his administration has been questioned. In 2019, Jones sat down with theGrio and spoke on the optics of his behavior.
“It doesn’t look good … I get it,” he shared back then. “That’s why you don’t see me clapping back on people, yelling at people. You know, I get into trouble on Twitter sometimes, but usually, I get it.”
Read More: Black GOP candidate for governor wants to end Black History Month
He went on to explain to theGrio that it hurt him to be called a sellout.
“It’s nothing more painful as a Black man, to have somebody call you a sellout, a coon, Uncle Tom,” he said. “I go into bed with tears in my eyes. It’s not a good feeling.”
A rep for Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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