Former Obama aide Van Jones warned the political class that the strategy he believed would appeal to Americans was woefully outdated.
At the New York Times' Dealbook Summit, politicians offered an autopsy of why the Harris campaign failed and how the Trump campaign rode the wave of change in American media. Jones argued that President-elect Donald Trump's victory is just one example of Americans' dissatisfaction with the dominance of both political parties.
“I want to tell you the truth,” he told Republicans on the panel. “I shouldn't be as happy as you guys. Because in 2016, people were sick and tired of change, so they voted for change and gave Trump a chance. In 2020, people were tired of change, and they gave Trump a chance.” So they voted for change. In 2024, they voted for change, and they'll probably vote for change many more times, because this is — something's wrong.”
He added: “There are real issues going on for the people who actually work in this country every day. Neither party has the answers yet. “I know how to defeat it, but there are things that can be done,” he added. Can these problems be solved? ”
Political commentator Van Jones speaks at the Politicon convention held in Pasadena, California, USA on June 25, 2016. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon – S1BETMAVWNAA (Reuters/Patrick T. Fallon)
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The CNN commentator claimed his hard-won expertise comes from real-world experience, which he says is largely disconnected from the political class.
“My perspective doesn't come from a focus group, it doesn't come from sitting next to my beloved Anderson Cooper on CNN. I'm on the ground rooting for the people of Philadelphia and telling people They were trying to get people to vote, they were trying to help Jews.'' Voters go to polling places in suburban Philadelphia, and let me tell you, we're far apart, and the entire political class is far too far apart. ” he warned.
Jones recalled that while many initially laughed at the Trump campaign's unconventional tactics of focusing on internet influencers, they no longer laughed.
“First of all, digital is a new knock on the door, you have to understand that,” he said. “We were laughing so hard at Donald Trump, who canceled his door-knocking campaign and had Charlie Kirk and Elon do all this stuff online. 'These guys are idiots! These guys are idiots!' said.
Video game streamer Adin Ross attends the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings basketball game at Crypto.com Arena on January 18, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
“Then you start knocking on these doors… You know what people come to the door with? They have cell phones in their hands. They're in digital surround sound 24 hours a day. “But it has nothing to do with CNN. About what we do,” he added.
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Jones recalled that her hopes were dashed when she asked her teenage son who the most influential people in the world are today. He expected to hear the voices of former President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z, but on a platform he had never heard of, he heard the voices of Kai Sinato, Adin Roth, Zinji, Sketch and more. I found myself getting lost in the crowd of online video game streamers. Twitch, Kik, Rumble, etc.
News commentators then argued that the changing rules of American politics were something Trump and his campaign learned long before the rest of the political class.
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“I tell you, the mainstream has become fringe, and the fringe has become mainstream,” Jones said. “There's a platform, there's people who are getting 14 million streams, and we're getting a million or two million streams on cable news, so there's a whole world out there.
“Kellyanne Conway, I don't want to agree with her, but I do over and over again. Donald Trump got it, we didn't. And only the Democrats It's not that we don't understand, it's that the entire political class is far more divergent, far more distant.”
