Van Jones knocks ‘painful’ Haley ‘I had Black friends growing up’ remark

CNN analyst Van Jones said Nikki Haley's attempts this week to explain her earlier comments about the Civil War were “painful to listen to.”

Asked about her recent failure to name slavery as a cause of the Civil War, Haley said during a CNN town hall on Thursday, “I should have said slavery,” when asked by voters about the cause of the Civil War. He added: In South Carolina, we literally learn about slavery in second and third grade. ”

“You've grown up, you've grown up…I've grown up with black friends, and that's a very topical thing,” the Republican presidential candidate said.

Jones, a former Obama administration official, said in the station's report after the town hall that Haley's attempts to explain herself amounted to “wiping with a dirty rag.”

“I think that says something about the Republican base. She's so afraid that there are so many people whose voices can't be heard, that she tiptoes through every tulip she can find, that she leans her body against the axle. You have to wrap it up and stop saying things like that.’ It’s true,” Jones said. “I thought it was painful. I mean, it's not painful for me personally, but it's awkward to see a grown woman not being able to say things that a kindergarten teacher could say, a third grade teacher could say. Because… Because something doesn't feel right about her or this party. Tell the truth.”

Jones' comment was the first. Highlighted by Mediaite.

CNN's town hall with Haley took place just days before the Iowa caucuses and the fifth Republican primary debate, which will be broadcast on the network next week. She and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have a double-digit lead over former President Trump, the front-runner in the race, in most polls.

President Trump will be absent from next week's debate, choosing instead to attend his own town hall event, which will be broadcast on Fox News that evening.