Van Jones reportedly felt two co-hosts of ABC’s The View were “rude” during his appearance on the show’s Friday, February 5 episode. Page Six wrote that a source close to the CNN host claimed Van was “completely blindsided” by how he was questioned and was “not happy about how the interview went. It was unprofessional.”
Page Six reported that View panelists Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro took Van to task for his praise of former President Donald Trump. In the past, he has applauded Trump’s work with the Black community and worked with him on the First Step Act, a prison and sentencing reform bill, reported Refinery 29 .
“[Van] expected a friendly environment, and I don’t think Meghan [McCain] even knew there was anything controversial about him. It was how they asked the questions that were off-putting. It was shocking how intolerant they were,” said the source to Page Six .
Another source claimed that Jones was upset by how the interview took shape. He reportedly spoke to The View ‘s producers after the taping and told them that he did not expect to be ambushed.
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Sunny asked Van to respond to allegations of losing the trust of the Black community. Ana echoed her co-host’s sentiments. She commented that Van lost a lot of people who trusted him due to the positions he took during the Trump administration.
Page Six reported that a show insider insisted Van knew of the hosts’ questions beforehand.
A spokesperson for The View told Page Six that none of the show’s producers subsequently heard from Van after his appearance. They also said that one has to be ready for anything when appearing as a guest.
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Van used his Instagram to address his discussions with both Sunny and Ana. He added that he will continue to work with both Republicans and Democrats and will give credit where it’s due. He also noted that he will criticize them as well when necessary.
He provided two videos on IG of his answers to the hosts’ questions. The full text of his answers was transcribed within the caption. He added that he encouraged everyone to always seek out the full context of a conversation before jumping to conclusions on either side.
Van appeared to promote a new documentary he produced along with The View co-host Meghan McCain , titled The Reunited State s. IMDb described the film as a feature documentary that profiles people who have dedicated their lives to promoting depolarization and de-escalation of tensions across the political divide.
