Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailCNN analyst Van Jones revealed Saturday that the day before Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an outdoor college debate event, the conservative activist had messaged him inviting him onto his show.The liberal pundit believes Kirk’s final text to him offers a powerful message about debating and managing political disagreements.Jones and Kirk had been sparring publicly over the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska and its relationship to race.Writing on Substack, Jones said of Kirk: “He said the gruesome killing of a White woman by a Black man was motivated solely by anti-White hatred.“I denounced those comments on CNN as unfounded. He went on TV and denounced MY denunciation. Then he unleashed a firehose of tweets, challenging my argument.open image in galleryCNN contributor Van Jones, pictured in March, revealed Charlie Kirk sent him a final message the day before his assassination as the two argued online (Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League)“Kirk’s pushback sparked an online torrent of racist death threats against me, the likes of which I have rarely seen,” Jones wrote. “Things were seriously heading off the rails.”To his surprise, in the middle of their spat, Kirk reached out in a direct message.“Hey Van, I mean it, I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race,” Kirk wrote in his message on X, which Jones shared on his Instagram.“I would be a gentleman as I know you would be as well,” the slain 31-year-old conservative activist had added. “We can disagree about the issues agreeably.”On Substack, Jones further wrote: “Unfortunately, before I could even respond, Charlie Kirk was killed — seemingly assassinated for the words he’d spoken.“I’ve taken issue with many of those words — sometimes strongly — but never his right to speak them. Never his right to express those views and then go home to his family. That is a sacred American value.”The liberal commentator also wrote on Instagram: “When our public dispute started going sideways, what’s Kirk’s response? He pushed for more civility, not more stridency or venom.“For all our differences, neither Charlie nor I ever wanted to see the other person harmed or silenced.”Jones condemned the murder of Kirk on the day it happened, writing: “Today’s attack on Charlie Kirk is absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking. He fought with words, not weapons. There is no place for political violence in our society, and those responsible must be swiftly brought to justice. My prayers are with Charlie’s loved ones, the traumatized students at Utah Valley University, and all who have been impacted by this senseless act.”Speaking to Anderson Cooper on CNN, Jones stressed that he and Kirk were not friends and explained his reasoning for releasing the message.open image in galleryTurning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an outdoor live debate event on September 10 (Getty Images)“I’m watching the whole country talk about Civil War, censorship, justifying murder. About this guy. This guy is reaching out to his mortal enemy, saying we need to be gentlemen, sit down together and disagree agreeably, and the next day, he’s killed,” Jones said.He continued: “He was not for censorship, he was not for Civil War. He was not for violence. He was for dialogue, open debate, and dialogue even with me.”“I did not agree with him on literally almost anything,” said Jones, “but we were words, not weapons guys … And we were getting into a position where we could get some real debate going, whether it’s going to be on CNN on his show, that wasn’t worked out, but I would have taken him up. I wanted to beat Charlie Kirk in a debate. I didn’t want somebody to shoot him.”Speaking about the reaction to Kirk’s murder, Jones said: “We need to lower the temperature. Yes, we disagree. But like he said, we can disagree agreeably … We have a choice now. This could be the beginning of us getting off of this pathway.“But the pathway we’re on, Anderson, is scary. It’s about more violence, it’s about more retribution, it’s about more censorship, it’s about more … of everything that nobody wants, but we can’t seem to get off of it.”Jones concluded: “Charlie Kirk, in this last message … was pointing a way out.”
Source link
Liberal pundit Van Jones says Charlie Kirk sent him unexpected final message a day before his assassination
