President Donald Trump blasted a CNN pundit on Monday and claimed that he should be “ashamed” for referring to Trump as a “dictator” on the network.
Trump posted about a recent appearance from CNN’s Van Jones early Monday morning from his Truth Social account, claiming that Jones once came to him “crying” and “devastated” that Black civil rights groups and leaders were unable to find support from Republican senators for a slate of criminal justice reforms.
“When a devastated (he was crying like a baby!) Van Jones of CNN came to me with a group of African American leaders, he had “DEAD” in getting Criminal Justice Reform approved in Congress,” wrote Trump. He went on to claim credit for wrangling the votes in the Senate to ensure passage of the bill, referring to passage of the First Step Act of 2018. Trump signed the bill into law that year, reducing some mandatory minimum sentences and introducing other reforms to the criminal justice system, including mandating that prisoners be housed within 500 miles of family members.
The president went on to criticize Jones for the pundit’s recent criticism of him: “Now I watch this guy, Van Jones, every chance he gets, calling me a “Dictator,” and far worse. He should be ashamed of himself!!!”
The Daily Beast reported that Jones hasn’t referred to Trump by that term in more than a year.
Trump’s anger against the media has intensified in recent weeks as coverage of the war in Iran and Americans’ views of the economy have painted a dour picture for his party ahead of the midterms. Jones is not the only CNN figure to take a beating from the president; the network’s White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins is a frequent target of his insults.
In February, the president made headlines with a comment to Collins many perceived as sexist. During a White House event, Trump responded to a question from Collins by claiming he’d never “seen [her] smile”.
Democrats on Capitol Hill frequently accuse the president of using authoritarian tactics and methods, including the efforts of the FCC under his administration to punish media companies including CBS and ABC. In recent days, he has renewed his efforts to pressure ABC into firing Jimmy Kimmel, his likely last remaining vocal critic among the broadcast late-night hosts after CBS announced that Stephen Colbert’s show would come to an end this year.
In March, Trump’s FCC chair Brendan Carr appeared to directly threaten media companies over their coverage of the Iran war and other topics, writing on X: “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”
The White House and its allies maintain that such rhetoric is directly responsible for assassination attempts against the president, high-profile supporters like Charlie Kirk, and other political violence. At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner one week ago, a suspected gunman was subdued by Secret Service after allegedly charging the ballroom with multiple weapons.
“This hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump, day after day after day for 11 years, has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt last week.
