A somber Van Jones expressed sympathy for Donald Trump, saying that he didn’t “take joy” in the former president’s indictment as he entered a Manhattan courtroom for his arraignment on Tuesday.
“He looks sad,” CNN’s Jones said during a panel discussion that coincided with the cable news network’s live coverage of Trump’s arraignment.
“He looks like the weight of it is hitting him,” Jones, a former Obama administration official, added.
Despite his partisan Democratic leanings, Jones said on the air on Tuesday that the historic, precedent-setting indictment of the 45th president was not a cause for celebration.
“Just as a human being, I don’t take joy [in Trump’s indictment],” Jones, a vocal advocate for prison reform, added.
“I don’t like the prison system,” he said.
“I don’t like what it does to people. I don’t like this process.”
“So I don’t take any celebration in seeing him looking that way,” Jones said of Trump, adding, “It doesn’t mean accountability is not owed.”
“But at that moment, that is not a conqueror,” Jones said of Trump.
“That is a granddad having a very bad day.”
Jones’ comments sparked a backlash among anti-Trump Twitter users.
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“True or False: Van Jones gets invited to the Trump family Zoom meetings more often than Tiffany,” tweeted MSNBC commentator Elie Mystal.
Another Twitter user wrote: “As a community, we need to organize how and when to pull up on Van Jones. I had to turn off CNN.
“He kept trying to make Trump a victim of an unjust court system.”
“I can’t stand Van Jones jive turkey ass,” another Twitter user commented.
Jones has caught flack in years past for being complimentary toward Trump.
During a 2021 appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Jones was criticized by co-hosts Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, and Joy Behar for posing with commentator Candace Owens for a selfie.
Jones has also praised Trump in the past for signing into law a prison reform bill that he helped craft, the First Step Act.
Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records tied to the Stormy Daniels hush-money payment.
Trump, 76, was pictured with his shoulders slightly hunched as he took his seat at the defendant’s table in Manhattan Supreme Court ahead of his historic arraignment.