Kelly argued that Jones’ tribute only came after he began worrying about backlash.
“Van Jones, 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,” she said. “He genuinely felt 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.”
She reminded her audience that just two days before Kirk’s death, Jones had criticized him on CNN.
“He attacked him because Charlie had suggested that there was a racial motive at least in part, in the slaying of Iryna Zarutska,” Kelly explained. “It was totally irresponsible of you. It was wrong, and you have yet to undo it.”
Kelly added, “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.”
- Article continues below advertisement
She closed her fiery rant with a warning: “You’re not the victim. Be bold. Say what you actually mean. When you s—- 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.”
- Article continues below advertisement
After Kirk’s killing, Jones posted a heartfelt message on X, 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.”
- Article continues below advertisement
- Article continues below advertisement
But just days earlier, on September 8, Jones sharply condemned Kirk’s comments on Zarutska’s death.
“We don’t know why that man did what he did. And for Charlie Kirk to say, ‘We know he did it because she’s white,’ when there’s no evidence of that is just pure 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 are hurting in the way this man was hurting. Hurt people hurt people,” he said at the time.
- Article continues below advertisement
Jones also revealed that Kirk had privately reached out to him.
“He invited me to come on his show to talk with him,” he shared. “He wrote: ‘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.’”
- Article continues below advertisement
“Unfortunately, before I could even respond, Charlie Kirk was killed — seemingly assassinated for the words he’s spoken, though the killer’s exact motives are still being investigated,” Jones continued. “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.
