Black women are trading hope for harm with Trump's victory, Van Jones says

CNN political analyst Van Jones said Black women were being forced to trade their “hope” for “hurt” as former President Donald Trump appeared to be close to defeating Vice President Kamala Harris early Wednesday morning.

Jones, a former adviser to former President Barack Obama, said during a CNN broadcast before one of the three so-called “Blue Wall” states was called that Trump's return to the White House would hurt black women who thought they could be instead represented by Harris. He rejected the idea that a Trump victory would be a blow to the “elite.”

“I'm thinking about the non-elite people who are feeling bad tonight,” Jones said. “There are African-American women who know a little bit about being demeaned and know a little bit about how their economic dreams are destroyed, who have been trying to dream a big dream over the last few months. And tonight they act with great hope of much suffering.”

“They were hoping that maybe this time someone from their ranks might be considered worthy,” he added. “Once again they are facing rejection.” And that hurts… They have done everything they could and it will be harder for them to hold their heads up tomorrow than it should be.

Newsweek sought comment via email early Wednesday morning on the Trump and Harris campaigns.

Jones went on to say that other Americans who are not “elite” and who might not benefit from a Trump presidency are also “hurt” because they will likely have to deal with the “nightmare” of a Trump victory.

“If you're a parent of a transgender child, your child's face has been used as a stepping stone to gain power for someone,” Jones said. “This doesn’t feel good. Tomorrow there will be people giving clothes to the dry cleaners to people who don't have (immigration) papers. Tomorrow there will be people who brush your teeth and have no papers.” And they will be terribly afraid tonight.

“So it's easy to dismiss it: 'Oh, look, the elites are going to get their punishment,'” he continued. “It is not the elites who will pay the price. They are people who woke up this morning with a dream and go to bed with a nightmare. These people deserve to be respected, held and spoken to. These are the people who will do this.” Pay the price for everything Donald Trump will do.

Update 11/6/24 1:52 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.