Weeks after far-right conservative Charlie Kirk’s death, one left-leaning political analyst has just shared the last message he ever received from Kirk. And in a nation divided by politics, Black CNN commentator Van Jones said he hopes Kirk’s final message could bring Americans together, despite being polarized by politics. But online, everyone isn’t as forgiving as Jones, and now, they’re dragging him for filth.
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Jones and Kirk are well-known opponents. In fact, the two men were recently engaged in a social media battle about crime and race. That’s when Kirk reached out to Jones hoping to come together for a civilized debate the night before he was fatally shot, according to Jones.
“Hey, Van, I mean it, I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race,” Kirk’s message to Jones read. “I would be a gentleman as I know you would be as well. We can disagree about the issues agreeably.” Many online praised the analyst for being the “bigger person” and sharing the message.
“While I might not agree with Van Jones about a lot of things,” @johnpaulkingusa said. “I’m going to say that’s a very stand up thing for him to do– coming out on behalf of Charlie Kirk.”
To Jones, Kirk’s DM represents how he lived his life and his vision for America. “He pushed for more conversation, not more silencing or censorship,” Jones said of the late Kirk. “He pushed for more civility, not more stridency or venom.”
“Van you a good dude man,” @xrblockdev responded. “You’ve always had a good heart.” But other Black folks called the CNN analyst a sellout for defending Kirk, who was famous for his anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ+ and pro-gun rhetoric.
“Race and crime… of course. I feel the show would have attempted to humiliate you or corner you as if you speak for an entire community,” @MochaDani said on TikTok.
Kirk reportedly wanted to debate Jones about “race and crime” after the murder of a Ukrainian woman in August on a train. “He and I had been sparring publicly over the killing of a Ukrainian refugee and its relationship to race,” Jones said of their latest disagreement. We previously told you a Black man was arrested for allegedly stabbing a Ukrainian woman to death while on a train in Charlotte.
Despite Jones disagreeing with Kirk on this matter and others in the past, he said he does not condone his brutal killing. “I’ve taken issue with many of those words — sometimes strongly — but never his right to speak them,” Jones continued. “Never his right to express those views and then go home to his family. That is a sacred American value.”
Others argued Kirk’s incendiary beliefs shouldn’t be praised. “He was willing to push his influence and narratives on college campuses. That’s what he was willing to do,” @royce.wynner said. “He was not good. He was inherently bad.”
@Mahogany_Monroe called Jones out for memorializing the conservative all “because he got a cute DM.” @Oclark38 said on X, “Van Jones always wants to be the voice reason but his reason never makes any damn sense.”
“Van Jones is horrible,” @Isjsaj Okp wrote on TikTok. “I can’t call him what he is I’ll just say he sure knows how to tap dance.”
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