
Van Jones sat down with JAY-Z for the premiere episode of his new CNN show The Van Jones Show. on Saturday (Jan. 28). During a open-ended discussion (just ahead of Hov’s annual Roc Nation Grammy brunch), the 48-year-old rap mogul addressed Donald Trump’s “sh*thole countries” comments.
Early Sunday (Jan. 28), Trump etched out a little “executive time” to respond to JAY-Z’s remarks by taking credit for lowering black unemployment.
Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2018
Our economy is better than it has been in many decades. Businesses are coming back to America like never before. Chrysler, as an example, is leaving Mexico and coming back to the USA. Unemployment is nearing record lows. We are on the right track!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2018
During the interview with Jones, JAY called Trump “misinformed” for his views.
“But on the other side this has been going on. This is how people talk behind closed doors,” he said referencing former Los Angeles Clippers owners Donald Sterling’s racist rant.
JAY-Z pointed out that Sterling losing his NBA team wasn’t enough to rattle “closeted racists” and truly address the issue of racism in America.
Instead, according to JAY, Sterling being exposed as a racist, created the “superbug” that is Trump.
“What you’ve done was sprayed perfume on a trash can,” he explained. “The bugs come and you spray and then you create a superbug, you don’t take care of the problem. You don’t take the trash out. You just keep spraying it to make it acceptable and as those things grow, now we have Donald Trump, the superbug.
“I’m being funny,” he added. “But somewhere along his lineage, something happened to him and he’s in pain and he’s expressing it in this sort of way.”
Rapper Jay-Z tells @VanJones68 that President Trump’s “shithole countries” comment was “disappointing and hurtful” #VanJonesShow https://t.co/DnAL5ipSKM https://t.co/dv504UErOf
— CNN (@CNN) January 28, 2018
Meanwhile, Trump’s attempt to take credit for lowering black unemployment has already been disproven. As Buzzfeed and other news outlets pointed out, black unemployment was on the decline long before he took office.
That being said, during the interview Jones asked if Trump claims that he’s making better financial efforts to help black America means that he can be an effective leader.
“No, because it’s not about money,” he said.
See more below.
Someone needs to inform @realdonaldtrump that I ALREADY asked Jay Z whether black employment figures redeem Trump’s presidency. And Jay’s answer last night on the #VanJonesShow was POWERFUL !!! … Watch the VIDEO for yourself: https://t.co/7Sv3rHKkmW https://t.co/jbHpkKOM5o
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) January 28, 2018