Transcription
Now, we've got to talk about Van Jones. Um, he came out on Friday with a nice story about Charlie, and as I'm sure he predicted, it's now getting even conservatives to say nice things about Van. Well, I'm I'm not one of them. Not today. And I I'm going to explain to you why.
Um, I'm I'm just going to start back before the Charlie event. Uh, let's go back to when my life blew up at NBC News. You know, you all know the story. So, I was twisting in the wind. All these newspapers were calling me a racist because I said, "Yeah, like the blackface Halloween costumes, they they weren't like considered cancelable back in the 70s and ' 80s when I grew up. When did that happen? When did that change?" It's literally what I said. That's the thing that caused the big controversy. And um, I got quote canceled for it. And people literally were calling me a racist for asking that question.
So Van Jones called me. He called me in the wake of that. We'd always been friendly. I was on Fox. He was on CNN, but we've been friendly. And he said, "Megan, I just want to say what's happening to you is wrong. It's deeply wrong. And I want to see if you're okay." So sweet, right? Extra touching because this is a black man in media. And so he gets it. And he and I had lunch. I don't like we we knew each other. like we're friendly if not true friends. And I was like, "Van, that's so sweet. I really appreciate it." And he said, "Is there anything I can do for you?" And I said, "Well, you know, if you if you'd write an op-ed or an opinion or say something publicly that that would definitely be helpful." And he's like, "I'll do it." I'm like, "Wow." And I remember feeling actually relieved because I had very few defenders, if any. I had a couple on the right, but nobody on the left. And um like a week went by and he hadn't done it. I'm like I I was dealing with a lot of the time. He wasn't at the forefront thought of my mind, but I I did realize it would be a helpful thing to have come out. And I followed back back up with him saying just checking on whether that's happening. And he said, "So sorry, but I changed my mind. I can't do it because I recently did a thing with Jared Kushner and now I'm getting death threats and the FBI says I really shouldn't put myself back out there because I'm getting these death threats now and so I can't say anything on your behalf. Okay, it's whatever. I I said no problem. Totally get it. No worries. Goodbye. Did not Wasn't expecting anything from him in the first place. It was his offer. it was his to withdraw. But that that is one of the reasons why what he's doing now around Charlie really stood out to me.
So what did Van Jones do around the Charlie Kirk story? The Monday before Charlie was killed, which was the Wednesday, September 10th, so this is the Monday the 8th, Van Jones went on CNN and attacked Charlie Kirk. He attacked him because um Charlie had suggested that there was a racial motive at least in part in the slaying of Arena Zeratzka on the light rail train in North Carolina. And the reason Charlie said that is because it had broken in the news that day that the murderer, who is black and Arena was white, said, "I got that white girl. I got that white girl. It's on tape." and either Van hadn't done his homework or ignored it if he did know about it or stupidly wrote it off as meaningless. Either way, Van went on CNN that Monday night 2 days before Charlie was killed and attacked Charlie as a racist for concluding race may have played a factor in this murder. And here's what Van said. Charlie Kirk to say we know he did it because she's white when there's no evidence of that. It's just pure race uh race mongering, hate mongering. It's wrong. Then he says that if something like that had happened the other way, there would be sweeping changes imposed on society. Where is the George Floyd policing act? It didn't pass. That we don't know how to deal with people who were hurting in the way this man was hurting. Hurt people hurt people. What happened was horrible. Someone like Charlie Kirk, he should be ashamed of himself. No one mentioned the word race, white, black, or anything except him. >> Okay, so that was factually erroneous and it was a smear. It was defamatory of Charlie Kirk. He was wrong on every front. Everything he said there was wrong. Literally, every word out of his mouth was wrong. And a day and a half later, Charlie was killed.
For the record, while I was on the air covering the Charlie murder live on this program, I did say this is not Van Jones's fault. I I was sure to point that out and I maintain that position. Now, I do not believe Van Jones caused Charlie Kirk to get shot, but I do believe the collective leftist messaging around prominent right-wing figures is endangering them. from Donald Trump to Steven Miller to Charlie Kirk and beyond. That is my firm belief. I'm sorry, but there's just too much evidence. I I don't think my leftist friends are having to live their lives surrounded by security like I now am, like Ben Shapiro has been, like Michael Nolles has to, like Matt Walsh has to, like Charlie had to. I don't think they are. I don't want that for them. I don't want it for me or my friends on the right either. And constantly throwing around these terms, fascist, racist, Nazi, is not okay. It's not that you don't have the right to say it. It's not that you should be arrested for it. I'm not making an argument against the First Amendment. It's that it's irresponsible. You are pouring fuel into a cauldron of hate that has now gotten one of ours killed and our most prominent leader of the Republican party shot in the ear as one of his supporters behind him died in the arms of his family. We're not screwing around anymore. So, it's not okay to go out there without any evidence that Charlie is a racist. And in fact, when you don't have your facts correct, Van, and to call him a racist on the national airwaves, it was totally irresponsible of you. It was wrong. And you have yet to undo it. You have yet to undo it.
So Van Jones then, I believe, because I don't think Van Jones is a bad man. I think he's a coward. Sees what happens to Charlie on Wednesday and clearly starts to panic because he's been in a very open fight with Charlie Kirk. And I believe that Van Jones thought people would turn it on him and say, "Screw you. You were saying terrible things." And he didn't want that bad PR. And I believe at some level because Van is not a bad man. He genuinely, of course, I accept that he felt genuinely sad that Charlie was killed, but not so sad he would go out and say, "I was totally wrong about everything I said about him. I wrongfully smeared him on CNN two nights before he died." He didn't do that. Instead, he comes out with an op-ed on the 9th of September, which was this past Friday. So, you know, a week and a half after Charlie's death and a week and a half after Vans's comments calling him a racist, he reveals to the world that surprise surprise, Charlie Kirk was a good guy. In this in this op-ed on CNN, he posts the the headline is Charlie Kirk DM'd me, direct messaged me before he was murdered. Here's what he said. And he goes on to talk about the fact that Charlie messaged him the day before he died September 9th, the day after Van Jones attacked him. 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. And Van marvels about this. He says, "Unfortunately, before I could even respond, Charlie was killed, seemingly assassinated for the words he's spoken. though the killer's motives are still being investigated." So even there, even this past Friday after the indictment, after we knew the mother said leftist ideology, pro- trans, progay, the governor saying leftist ideology indoctrinated into it, the text messages with the that we knew about the boyfriend trans furry community, the online furry connection. Even then, what we knew was on the bullet casings, he's saying the killer's exact motives are still being investigated. He he can't he can't let it go. He's got to still pretend it's a mystery. And the reason Charlie said, "Hey, Van, I mean it. I'd love to have you on my show is because Charlie had said it publicly on his show." Charlie had tweeted it. Charlie had made it public that he would he was inviting Van to come on his show. It was not just in a direct message. It was just Charlie had gone over the top to try to get in front of Van with his message. Please come on. You would not know that from the way Van is talking about this. You would think, oh, he's like, oh, my team brought it to me after he died. I was shocked. I didn't know. Whatever. No, he he was making it very very public. It was a prominent news story involving you. And trust me, Van Jones definitely knows about his own media mentions. His behavior has made that clear.
He goes on to say the following. It was not hard for me to condemn Charlie's murder immediate with immediately without qualification and in unconditional terms. That's true. In fact, Kirk's murder gives us all reason to come back to the table for dialogue. There's a rising tide of political violence that has already swept away his life and many others lives from both the left and the right. Look what he's doing. No, it's your side. It's your side almost uniformly doing the violence and the killing against us. Own it. Acknowledge it. We don't know the motive and it's really a both sides issue. Violence like this should compel people in both parties to turn down the heat, seek common ground and look for offramps from the vitriol as Kirk was doing with me the day before he died. If you are on the right, please don't give up on open debate and dialogue. Charlie didn't, I won't. And I make the same plea to folks on the left. Here he is on Anderson Cooper talking about it on Friday 15. We were going at it online, on air. Uh, and then after he died, after he was murdered, my team called and said, "Van, he was trying to reach you, man." What? And I've sat on it long enough and I just said, "You know what? We're going to Memorial Weekend for this man. Uh, we disagree. Everybody knows we were not friends, okay, at all? But you praise the good when it's time to memorialize somebody. And what he did, and I didn't even know it, was good. 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, >> we know. We all know that. I believe this is Van Jones trying to make himself look good, not trying to appeal to leftists to re-evaluate Charlie Kirk and and here's in part why because you heard in the op-ed he's not acknowledging motives and he's both siding the violence and he goes on to say the following on Anderson Cooper and SA 16 >> he was for dialogue open debate and dialogue even with me even with me >> if uh would you have gone on his Would you have done? >> No. Look, I I would have probably tried to get him on your show. I mean, I wasn't trying to build his platform, but I would have called him. >> So, no, he wouldn't have gone. I mean, it seems clear to me he probably knew about the invitation because Charlie tweeted it and said it publicly on his show and in addition DM'd him. And I don't I'm not sure I believe that he only saw the DM after Charlie died either. I have to be honest. I just don't. But he didn't want to platform Charlie. He didn't want it dane to sit down with the likes of Charlie Kirk and drive viewers to his platform because he's so hateful. He's not backing off one bit of these lies about Charlie that jinned up hate around him in all pockets on the left. And who knows whether those pockets may have been in Utah as well, not backing down. And then he drops this SAT 17 over the weekend. So, the last thing I expected was to hear from him. Uh, in fact, we were trying to deal with the wave of death threats and and racial stuff that was coming at me in the middle of that controversy. I was the recipient myself of pretty costic uh language from Charlie Kirk. And unfortunately, his a lot of his followers were even worse than that, frankly, much worse, including racist uh death threats. >> I am infuriated by that.
So that now you see why I told you the earlier story. He he couldn't, you know, behind the scenes to me. I got your back. You did nothing wrong. You know, this is so deeply wrong. What's happening to you? And and I'm going to do something. I'm going to stand up. And then, oh, I can't because I'm getting death threats. I'm getting racist death threats. So, I can't. Sorry. And now he calls Charlie a racist. a day and a half before Charlie is assassinated by somebody said he's too full of of hate. Some hate can't be negotiated out and he says, "Oh, you know what? I was the victim. I You see, I was getting death threats. That's why I couldn't I know. I really I I was getting death threats because of him and his supporters. This whole thing is Let me give you a lesson, Van. Okay. You You needed forget my circumstance. what you should have done with me is say say nothing or or don't volunteer to do anything and don't try to lie about your alleged death threats. And what death threats, by the way? What are the death threats? Because literally, if you're in media, you get these every day on your tweets. I mean, if if you scrolled any controversial tweet I've ever sent out, you will see a few on there who threaten to rape and kill. I'm sorry. It's part of being a public figure. So, what death threats exactly? Then there are other death threats that come that rise to another level where you actually have to get security involved and chase down the person who's threatening you and figure out whether they've got the means, whether they've got the location and so on. There's a whole security ladder that you have to go through. What What are you talking about? Because I don't believe you. I don't believe you had anything more than some negative Twitter mentions. This is like his tool that he goes to. Death threats. Death threats against me. I'm the victim. Death threats so I can't do the oped. Sorry, but I want to look like a good guy. Death threats against, you know, because because of what Charlie said about me. No, you are the offender. You are the one who called him a racist. Totally unjustified on CNN and didn't have the guts to take it down, take it back, and correct it when you knew it was untrue. You had made the mistake. And now you want credit for telling us that he invited you on his show, that he was a gentleman, that he actually did want dialogue, that he, unlike you, was not behaving fraudulently, but you also want us to know that his people are all racists who were giving you racist death threats after you unjustifiably called Charlie a racist. I'm done. I'm done. I'm sorry.
This is why we How we How do we deal with that? How do we do what he said? Oh, we got to go forward together in his little oped. All this stuff. Oh, we don't don't give up on open debate and dialogue. Turn down the heat. Seek common ground. Look for offramps. That's what Charlie did. You called him a racist. And now you're out there today saying, "Oh, the supporter sending me me. I'm the victim. Racist death threats." Don't you think Charlie got I think Charlie got the death threats. One of which came true. That's really the only issue. I'm just like, you're not the victim. Be a be bold. Say what you actually mean when you screw it up. Apologize and take it back like a man. And don't fall back on alleged death threats, which is your go-to to excuse your own terrible behavior. That's what you're doing. It's infuriating. And it's part of like an ongoing thing on the left. Just this morning on the New York Times is the daily podcast which you guys know I listen to so you don't have to listen how they ended it. It was all about Charlie's memorial. Listen to the note on which they ended this story. >> There are many people who feel like his assassination marks a kind of turning point that it has to have changed something. >> I mean we we heard over and over one thing that really won't change is turning point USA except it'll be bigger and better than before. But basically will continue Charlie's work. But then what does we've seen at least you know and and this is not nothing in the 11 days since Kirk's assassination there has not been this roing violence from the right but is there going to be an agreement that that is not the way? What? In the 11 days since Charlie was assassinated, there hasn't been roing violence from the right. But we're going to have to wait to see if this is the way. What are you saying? You guys committed the violence. You did it. This was leftist violence. Leftist. Get it straight. What do you mean there's no there's been no roing right? Of course there hasn't. Of course. Like the rewriting of this whole narrative is it has such gall. The unmititigated gall. And and it's all hashtag part of the problem.
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