Fact check: Trump tells elaborate false story about Van Jones apologizing to him
Trump complained that Jones had called for his defeat in the election on the same show. And he then claimed that Jones later apologized for omitting him. "And then he spoke to Jared and he apologized, didn't he? He apologized. But I don't accept those apologies," Trump said.
Fact check: Trump tells elaborate false story about Van Jones apologizing to him
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump criticized CNN host Van Jones at length on Friday during a speech to the Young Black Leadership Summit, a conservative event at the White House.
Trump claimed that he had watched a television show "three weeks ago" in which Jones, a prominent advocate for criminal justice reform, had praised a long list of people, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, for the First Step Act reform bill Trump signed into law in 2018 -- but had failed to mention Trump himself.
"The only one he didn't mention was me," Trump said.
"I kept waiting for my name," Trump continued. "I said, 'Darling, come over here. I'm going to have a great little name mention. Yes, darling' -- First Lady. How good is the First Lady? So she came over. And I kept waiting. And I kept waiting. And then he named a lot of people -- that was the end. I said -- I was a little embarrassed in front of my wife. I said, 'He didn't name me! I'm the one that did it!' I called up Jared (Kushner), right Jared? I said, 'What the hell is this?' "
Trump complained that Jones had called for his defeat in the election on the same show. And he then claimed that Jones later apologized for omitting him.
"And then he spoke to Jared and he apologized, didn't he? He apologized. But I don't accept those apologies," Trump said.
Facts First: Jones said Friday that he has never made any such apology to Trump or Kushner. He has never praised Sharpton on his CNN show, and he has habitually given Trump credit for the First Step Act -- including in a CNN appearance three weeks ago , in which he said, "I think Trump has gotten too little credit for what he did on criminal justice reform."
Jones said Friday: "I literally do not know what he's talking about."
"I have not apologized for not mentioning Trump because I've never not mentioned Trump," he said. "Why would I apologize for not doing something that I did?"
Jones said he thinks Trump might have been confusing him with entertainer and activist John Legend.
Legend, a vocal Trump critic, participated in a town hall event on criminal justice that aired on MSNBC in September. According to The Washington Post , Trump's role in signing the First Step Act was not explicitly mentioned on the show.
The night the MSNBC show aired, Trump lashed out at Legend on Twitter while complaining that he and Republicans were not being given enough credit for the First Step Act. He mentioned Jones in the same Twitter thread, though Jones did not appear on the show.
"....A man named @VanJones68, and many others, were profusely grateful (at that time!). I SIGNED IT INTO LAW, no one else did, & Republicans deserve much credit. But now that it is passed, people that had virtually nothing to do with it are taking the praise. Guys like boring musician @johnlegend, and his filthy mouthed wife, are talking now about how great it is - but I didn't see them around when we needed help getting it passed," Trump said .
Legend, winner of the Grammy, Oscar, Emmy and Tony awards, responded by tweeting : "Imagine being president of a whole country and spending your Sunday night hate-watching MSNBC hoping somebody—ANYBODY—will praise you. Melania, please praise this man. He needs you."
Legend's wife Chrissy Teigen, the model, television host, author and popular online personality whom Trump disparaged as "filthy mouthed," responded with a profane insult that went viral on Twitter. She added , "The absolute best part of his tweet is I literally didn't speak in the special, nor was I mentioned."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Conservative media outlets have taken note of Jones' repeated praise of Trump over the law, words for which Jones has received criticism from some liberals. In May, for example, the right-wing Daily Caller quoted Jones saying , "We've got to give Trump credit where credit is due. He did fight hard to pass the bill and he made it possible for other Republicans to also be in the pro-criminal justice camp."
Jones thanked Sharpton for his support and guidance in a 2018 appearance he made on Sharpton's radio show to discuss the First Step Act. But that radio show bore no resemblance to the story Trump told about a recent television show.
Jones briefly mentioned criminal justice reform on his CNN show in August, and called for Trump's defeat on that program, but the program also was not at all similar to the one Trump described; Jones did not mention Sharpton or recite a long list of people responsible for the First Step Act.
He's having a senior moment or is an idiot again, both possibilities could be applicable.
If lies were firewood, Trump could heat all of his homes and resorts for years.
It may also be the Adderall he snorts.
Trump is full of shit as a proverbial Christmas Turkey...
Just curious...How do we know Van Jones is not lying?
Can you imagine the attacks, the name calling and probably death threats he would receive from the loons on the left if he said "yea. I apologized to him"?
Trump is a known and proven liar so if I had to choose who the liar is, it would be him.
That's it? That is what you base your decision on? By that logic, pretty much everybody can lie about Trump (most liberals do over and over again), but because Trump has lied, the liberal is more believed?
Weird logic...
Nope, just statistics.
Take two people:
1 tells 12,000 lies in three years.
The other tells 4,000 lies in three years.
Forget the politics, which person are you more likely to believe?
I am 99.9% sure you aren't going with the guy that told 12,000 lies.
The problem with your logic is that what you think are lies are subjective at best, especially when it is towards someone you hate just because of their politics.
On the other hand, those that you approve of are not subjected to the same scrutiny.
Lies, unless unequivocally proven as a lie, is only subjective by those depending on their opinion of the person making the statement.
Trump has cried wolf too many times to be believable now.
And he is still your President.
So your retort is stating that Trump is the POTUS? Wow, you really showed her up... [eye roll]
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Trump unequivocally lies over things easily proven even when it doesn't matter, and they aren't subjective. They are outright lies, not opinions. And he does it daily. Its become routine for him to lie and have his sycophants come out and lie about what we heard him say. If one has to choose who is telling the truth between Trump and anybody else, choosing anybody else wins statistically. Unless one subscribes to the Kellyanne Conway 'alternative facts' universe.
So Trump is a good politician. He lies, just like every politician does, even, gasp, liberals.
His accomplishments far outweigh anything he says, especially the things he says that has zero impact on anybody in this country...except the triggered liberals.
Maybe when he leaves office in January 2025, you can write a book chronicling his lies. Nobody will care then, either.
Leaving aside the fact you are fine with Trump being a pathological liar because.......liberals.
So pissing off liberals seems to be the theme of conservative voices about why they like Trump. It comes before everything else every time. Because he is mostly known throughout the world as an ignorant narcissist who has the attention span and temper of a toddler.
Not the main thing, but it is fun doing it, especially since it happens so often.
Well, sounds like something a toddler would enjoy, no surprise there. The collective maturity of conservatives is at the level of a 4 year old.
If Crooked donnie's lips are moving you know it's all lies
Add to that, when has trump ever apologized to anyone?
He is so petty. It's mind boggling how someone can be so self centered. I would not be surprised if Trump did in fact get two different african americans mixed up.
He's so cringe worthy all the time.