CNN commentator Van Jones praised President Donald Trump’s executive order on police reform Tuesday, calling it “a good thing.”
“The executive order is a good thing,” Jones said. “Mainly because you saw the support of law enforcement there. That gives you a sense of where the bottom is, where the floor is for reform, and that floor is higher than it has been. There is movement in the direction of a database for bad cops. We’ve never had a federal database for bad cops. That’s why these cops go all over the place doing bad stuff.”
The president signed an executive order Tuesday, which directs Attorney General Bill Barr to end grants to local police departments that fail to comply with two of the three core components of the order. The components of the order, include the creation of police certification programs in every police department in the U.S., a national database to track complaints about use of force, and financial incentives to have mental health experts accompany police officers on responses to some non-violent calls. (RELATED: Pence Says Trump Campaign May Move Oklahoma Rally To Different Venue In Tulsa Amid Coronavirus Concerns)
While Jones praised the executive order, he argued that Trump’s speech Tuesday in the Rose Garden fell short.
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“It started off with a lot of unity, and then it moved off into politics, and a whole bunch of stuff that people are gonna fight about,” Jones said. “All that stuff is classic Trump. It will be gone tomorrow.”
While normally critical of the president, Jones has praised Trump in the past for his work on criminal justice reform, including the First Step Act, which Trump signed into law at the end of 2018.