CNN's Van Jones Calls Cruz 'Cold, Calculating Killer' for Competing in Florida

March 9th, 2016 8:45 PM

Appearing as a panel member for Tuesday's CNN election coverage, liberal CNN political commentator Van Jones went over the top in using the words "cold, calculating killer" to describe Ted Cruz because the GOP presidential candidate is choosing to compete in Florida rather than pursuing a strategy of letting Marco Rubio deny Florida's delegates to Donald Trump.

At 1:05 a.m. ET, host Wolf Blitzer posed the question: "Do you think, Van, that Cruz is really the only alternative on the Republican side now to Donald Trump?"

Jones began: "It certainly looks like it, and one of the things, you know, Cruz is a cold, calculating killer. If, ordinarily, look at this guy." 

As several panel members laughed, conservative panel member Mary Katharine Ham joked: "In the sweetest way possible."

Liberal commentator Donna Brazile jumped in: "Politically speaking, politically speaking."

Jones continued:

Politically speaking, politically speaking. You look at a Kasich, you look at a Rubio, and you think to yourself, "Give them a little bit of oxygen, let's gang up." No.

He says, "I am willing to gamble it all to knock Rubio out, even if I mess it up and wind up giving Trump all those delegates because I know that the only way I can win is to be one on one with the voters, Cruz versus, because if I wind up in the convention, a brokered convention, I've got a better chance of a Republican brokered convention giving me the nomination than Cruz."