Opining on how he thought the first 2016 Democratic debate unfolded on Tuesday night, CNN political commentator and former Obama administration official Van Jones compared the “flawless” Hillary Clinton to Beyoncé and touted his belief that activists in the Black Lives Matter movement were the true winners of the debate.
Speaking first of the Black Lives Matter movement, Jones told The Lead host Jake Tapper that the debate was “the first time that I have seen the entire Democratic Party speak this forthrightly about the issue of anti-black racism and that is a direct result of these young activists who have felt so hopeless and so frustrated.”
Jones further pointed to protesters in Baltimore, Charleston, and Ferguson as “having had an effect,” so he suggested that younger viewers should remember to “stay engaged” and “stay involved” because “[t]hey are having a tremendous impact on the body of politics.”
As for the Beyoncé reference, Jones declared moments later: “Basically tonight, Hillary Clinton was Beyoncé. She was flawless. I mean, Hillary Clinton did an extraordinary job.”
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Giving his take on what Vice President Joe Biden should do, Jones advised that he stay away and not join the 2016 field: “[I]f I'm Biden, I don't see any way to get on the stage between Sanders' performance certainly near the end and Hillary Clinton's domination, I don't see a road in for Biden. The black lives matter won this debate.”
Earlier in CNN’s post-debate coverage, chief political analyst Gloria Borger fawned over Clinton for having done “extraordinarily well” having come across as “so adept at making herself the candidate of both experience and change.”
The relevant portions of the transcript from CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 Special - Post Debate Special on October 13 can be found below.
Anderson Cooper 360 Special - Post Debate Special
October 13, 2015
11:46 p.m. EasternJAKE TAPPER: Van, let me start with you. You heard the reference to Black Lives Matter and the fact that Bernie Sanders was this evening going to attempt to address the issue more. He has struggled with African-American audiences. He has struggled to talk about the black lives movement. He’s polling horrendously in South Carolina with African-Americans. What did you hear?
VAN JONES: Two big winners. First of all, class won tonight and not just class issues but class as dignity. This was a dignified debate. You actually saw people who don't agree treating others with great respect. I think that's very important for the country because class has been losing in this up until now. The other thing is that black lives matter won this debate. This is the first time that I have seen the entire Democratic Party speak this forthrightly about the issue of anti-black racism and that is a direct result of these young activists who have felt so hopeless and so frustrated, they marched after Ferguson, they marched after Charleston, Baltimore, all these things and they have had an effect, so I hope that the young people are in thing that the top people in the world – Hillary Clinton is one of the top people in the world are listening to them. They should stay engaged, stay involved. They are having a tremendous impact on the body of politics.
(....)
JONES: Basically tonight, Hillary Clinton was Beyoncé. She was flawless. I mean, Hillary Clinton did an extraordinary job. The one mistake she made was to say her favorite enemy were Republicans. I think that was a bridge too far. Yeah, so, listen, the big losers tonight, Martin O'Malley, he had an opportunity. Look, he would make a great Secretary of the Treasury. He talked about banking the whole time. He'd make a great subject of HUD but he did not come across as commander in chief. I think he missed his moment and if I'm Biden, I don't see any way to get on the stage between Sanders' performance certainly near the end and Hillary Clinton's domination, I don't see a road in for Biden. The black lives matter won this debate.
