The assassination of Charlie Kirk has revealed some unsettling facts about the American left.
For instance, if you have a prominent platform and a leftist perspective, it takes courage to behave honorably.
On Friday, CNN leftist commentator Van Jones showed courage when he defended Kirk by sharing a direct message he received from the slain conservative icon the day before his murder.
In a clip posted to the social media platform X, host Anderson Cooper began by setting the context.
Prior to his assassination, Kirk had engaged in a heated, public dispute with Jones over the murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, a white woman, allegedly by 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, a black man, on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, last month. The racial element intensified the dispute.
“We were beefin’,” Jones told Cooper on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” “We were going at it online, on-air.”
Then, on Sept. 9, the day before his assassination, Kirk sent Jones a direct message on X. It read as follows:
“Hey, Van, I mean 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.”
Jones apparently did not see the message until after Kirk’s assassination.
“And then, after he died — after he was murdered,” Jones said, “My team called and said, ‘Van, he was trying to reach you, man.’ … ‘What?'”
The CNN commentator then extolled Kirk’s virtues by highlighting his motives.
“And what was he doing?” Jones continued. “Dialogue. Let’s be gentlemen together. He says, ‘let’s disagree agreeably.'”
Then came a brief political commentary that contained at least a partial truth.
“So I’m sitting on this,” Jones added, “and I’m watching the whole country talk about civil war, censorship, justifying murder — about this guy?”
Van Jones Gets Emotional After a Newly Discovered DM from Charlie Kirk
“After he was murdered, my team called and said he was trying to reach you … This guy is reaching out to his mortal enemy saying, we need to be gentlemen and sit down together … I’ve sat on it long enough.” pic.twitter.com/3qE1PIEaGl
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) September 20, 2025
Jones, of course, mentioned “censorship” as a way of tossing raw meat to the network’s rabid leftist audience. With characteristic audacity, many leftists have imagined themselves as the real victims following ABC’s decision to suspend indefinitely the vile late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after Kimmel peddled indefensible lies about Kirk’s alleged assassin.
On the other points, however, particularly when he criticized “justifying murder,” Jones spoke with courage.
“He was not for censorship,” Jones said. “He was not for civil war. He was not for violence.
“He was for dialogue, open debate and dialogue. Even with me. Even with me.”
Those words had to stun CNN’s liberal audience.
Van Jones’ whole appearance is below:
In the wake of Kirk’s assassination, many leftists abandoned their humanity altogether by openly celebrating the murder.
Meanwhile, prominent leftists fueled the insanity by slandering Kirk. Culprits included Kimmel, former President Barack Obama, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
In short, it might seem odd to credit Jones — a man who has admitted to being a former communist — for clearing a very low bar. After all, one asks only for honesty and decency.
When, however, other prominent Democrats have chosen to satisfy their voters’ bloodlust by slandering Kirk posthumously, one can appreciate the fact that what Jones said took actual courage, even if it shouldn’t have.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.