Charlie Kirk and CNN’s Van Jones were not friends. I think both would admit that; Mr. Jones certainly did. The CNN contributor and ex-Obama aide said that the two were beefing. Still, Kirk reached out to Jones on September 9, one day before he was assassinated at Utah Valley University in Orem. Mr. Jones didn’t see the direct message until after he died, but decided to speak about this attempt at outreach with Anderson Cooper.
WATCH: Van Jones reveals DM Charlie Kirk sent him the day before he was assassinated
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 20, 2025
"We were words guys, not weapons guys."
"I wanted to beat Charlie Kirk in a debate, not shoot him." pic.twitter.com/05Mtdaesvo
“Hey Van, I meant it, I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race. I would be a gentleman, as I know you would be as well. We can disagree about the issues agreeably.”
Van Jones admitted that there probably wasn’t a single issue that the two men agreed on, but he wanted to beat Kirk in a debate. He didn’t want him to be shot. He later said he respected Kirk for wanting to have open dialogue, even with people who loathed him. Jones was stunned that Kirk reached out to him after being informed by his team, adding that he had sat on this long enough.
Kirk was memorialized this weekend. While Van disagreed with Kirk vehemently, we must acknowledge the good that he didn’t know about until now: the Turning Point USA founder was all about communicating and disagreeing agreeably—that phrase resonated with Jones.
“We were words guys, not weapons guys,” said Jones regarding his interactions with Kirk. He added he would’ve taken him up on his offer.
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Where things get a bit hairy is when Jones tries to make this a ‘both sides’ thing regarding heated rhetoric. Our guy got shot, man. A leftist assassinated him. Liberals are much more likely to endorse or support political violence against people with whom they disagree. That’s a fact. And that cancer is wholly exclusive to the Left.
New poll from YouGov
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 16, 2025
Agree it's okay to be happy about death of political figure they oppose:
Very Liberal: 24%
Liberal: 10%
Moderate: 7%
Conservative: 4%
Very Conservative: 3%
Agree violence can be justified to achieve political goals:
VL: 25%
L: 17%
M: 9%
C: 6%
VC: 3% pic.twitter.com/GztzwPcaqv
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