CNN commentator Van Jones defended President-elect Donald Trump‘s intellect, citing his winning campaign.
Jones appeared for an interview with Chris Cillizza, another former CNN commentator, in a video that aired Saturday, over a month after Trump swept the Nov. 5 election. Cillizza asked Jones how Trump “cracked the code” of media appearances that did not include legacy media outlets to win over voters.
“The problem is you have a framework in your mind that how can Donald Trump, how could Donald Trump? Guys can we cut it out? Donald Trump is not an idiot. Donald Trump, let me just be very clear. Donald Trump is smarter than me, you, and all critics. You know how I know? Because he has the White House, the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, the popular vote,” Jones said.
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“This dude is a phenomenon. He is the most powerful human on earth and in our lifetime. And we’re still saying, ‘Well, how is this guy [doing it]?’ We look like idiots,” Jones said.
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“You’re totally right,” Cillizza said.
Both Trump and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, appeared on several podcasts as the respective show’s first-time presidential candidates.
Trump appeared on comedian Theo Von’s podcast This Past Weekend as the first former president on that show. Harris was invited onto every podcast that Trump appeared on, but did not fit in any of those interviews before the election.
Harris, however, appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast as the show’s first politician guest.
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Vice President-elect JD Vance also went on to appear on This Past Weekend. He also appeared on the Tim Dillon Show with the namesake comedian. Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared on This Past Weekend and the Joe Rogan Experience while he was running as an independent candidate, and has since become one of Trump’s more popular Cabinet picks.
Comedian Joe Rogan, who interviewed Trump and ended up endorsing him, claimed that the Harris campaign team only wanted an edited, hourlong episode, even though his episode with Trump was nearly three hours long and unedited.
