CNN"s Van Jones is a frequent Trump critic if there ever was one, but even he had to give it up to the POTUS after his speech last night.
One portion of Trump"s address to Congress in particular wowed Jones to tears, leading him to say Trump "became president" in that moment.
Seriously. That happened!
Jones said Trump"s tribute to Navy SEAL Ryan Owens, who died in a raid in Yemen, was when he “became President of the United States.”
Trump"s handling of the aforementioned raid on a terrorist compound has been questioned, but Owens" heroism is impossible to dispute.
“One of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics, period,” Jones called it, clearly taken aback emotionally.
During Trump"s remarks to U.S. lawmakers and guests, cameras trained on Owens" widow, Carryn, with tears streaming down her face.
Facing her, Trump said her husband"s legacy was “etched into eternity,” and Carryn received a standing ovation from all of Congress.
Plenty of critics suggested that the President acknowledged her husband"s bravery as an exploitative tactic, but Jones wasn"t buying it.
“There are a lot of people who have a lot of reason to be frustrated with him, to be fearful of him," the CNN pundit said of the POTUS.
"But that was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics, period. And he did something extraordinary."
"And for people who have been hoping that he would become unifying, hoping that he might find some way to become presidential?
"They should be happy with that moment."
"For people who have been hoping that maybe he would remain a divisive cartoon, which he often finds a way to do," Jones said … watch out.
"They should begin to become a little bit worried tonight," Van said, because for the first time, Trump was a unifying figure on stage.
"Because that thing you just saw him do, if he finds a way to do that over and over again, he"s going to be there for eight years."
"Now, there was a lot that he said in that speech that was counterfactual, that was not right, that I oppose. I will oppose," Jones cautioned.
"But he did something tonight that you cannot take away from him" in that moment, and "he became president of the United States.”
Again, much remains to be sorted out when it comes to the raid in Yemen, which the White House has asserted was a complete success.
That is a stretch, as many things disseminated from Sean Spicer and company are, but blindly blaming Donald Trump is equally dubious.
His administration"s actions, and assessment after the fact, have been called into question by intelligence officials, as well they should be.
But it"s not as if a war widow has never been honored in such a way, or that military ops under other administrations were always smooth.
Jones critics on the left absolutely tore him a new one on Twitter after his praise of Trump, baffled that he would dare say such a thing.
Perhaps they miss the point somewhat in doing so.
Van clearly opposes Trump on policy, a.k.a. 95% of the substance of his speech, and vigorously so. But attitude and optics count for a lot.
"Watch this dude," Jones told Anderson Cooper on his home network, because Democrats could have "a much bigger problem" now than a day ago.
Check out Jones" reaction to Trump below:
