CNN’s Van Jones suggested Tuesday that presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris caved in to the “darker parts” of the Democratic Party while selecting her running mate.
Jones said Republicans were “chewing their fingernails down to the knuckle” at the thought of Harris picking Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, as her potential vice president. Harris announced Tuesday morning that Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would join her on the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket.
Jones told CNN anchor Jim Acosta that antisemitism has become “marbled” in the Democratic Party. He suggested its sway with parts of the electorate may have been a factor in Harris choosing Walz over Shapiro.
“Here’s the challenge you’ve got in this party. People don’t want to talk about it, we’ve got to talk about it,” Jones said. “On the one hand, you have a lot of young people who are concerned about Gaza. You have a lot of Muslims and Arabs and others. They have not felt seen by the Biden administration. You started hearing that ‘Genocide Joe.’ That was building. That was building.”
“And so, those folks needed to have a candidate they could feel comfortable with. This helps it in that regard,” he continued. “But you also have antisemitism that’s gotten marbled into this party. You can be for the Palestinians without being an anti-Jewish bigot. But there are some anti-Jewish bigots out there.” (RELATED: Trump Delivers Two-Word Response To Kamala Picking Tim Walz As VP)
“And there’s some disquiet now, and there has to be. How much of what just happened is caving in to some of these darker parts in the party? So, that’s gonna have to get worked out. That’s gonna have to get talked through,” Jones said.
On Friday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker was believed to have leaked Harris’ vice presidential pick as Shapiro when she posted a hype video on X that appeared to indicate the Pennsylvania governor’s selection. The tweet did not directly say Shapiro was Harris’ VP pick. Parker’s office was reportedly not scheduled to post the video until Monday, according to Philly Mag’s Ernest Owens.
