Ex-Obama Adviser Claims ‘Something is Off’ with Trump’s Victory

Van Jones, former adviser to Barack Obama and a prominent CNN commentator, delivered a blunt critique of America’s political elite, warning that their strategies are failing to connect with voters. Speaking at the New York Times DealBook Summit earlier this month, Jones, 56, highlighted how President-elect Donald Trump’s unconventional campaign left traditional political methods in the dust.

“Something is drastically wrong,” Jones told an audience that included political heavyweights like Jason Miller, Kellyanne Conway, and Anita Dunn. Reflecting on Vice President Kamala Harris’s overwhelming defeat to Trump on November 5, Jones didn’t mince words.

“In 2016, people voted for change because they were fed up. In 2020, they voted for change because they were sick of Trump. In 2024, they’ve done it again. That pattern should terrify us,” he said. “This isn’t just about who’s in power. It’s about a deeper disconnection between the political class and everyday Americans.”

Jones’s critique wasn’t limited to Democrats. “Neither party is solving real problems,” he emphasized. “We’ve become experts at tearing each other down, but can we actually fix anything?”

Drawing on firsthand experience, Jones described what he witnessed on the ground during the election. “I wasn’t just sitting on CNN with Anderson Cooper,” he said. “I was in Philadelphia helping Jewish voters get to the polls, talking to everyday people. And I’m telling you, we are way off.”

Jones identified one critical misstep: underestimating Trump’s digital strategy. “Digital is the new door-knocking,” he stated. “We laughed when Trump’s campaign sidelined traditional canvassing. But then you’d knock on a door, and people would answer with their phones in hand, immersed in a 24/7 digital world we’re barely part of.”

The Trump campaign’s partnership with figures like Charlie Kirk and Elon Musk, while unconventional, proved wildly effective. “We called them idiots,” Jones admitted. “Now, they’re the ones laughing.”

Jones didn’t shy away from addressing the shifting media landscape. “The mainstream has become fringe, and the fringe has become mainstream,” he declared. “There are creators out there with 14 million streams, while we’re on cable news pulling in 1 or 2 million. Trump understood this. We didn’t.”

Even Kellyanne Conway earned reluctant praise from Jones. “She’s right about one thing,” he said. “Donald Trump gets the new rules of the game, and the rest of us—on both sides—are playing catch-up.”

Jones’s message was clear: adapt or face irrelevance. “Voters are screaming for change,” he said. “If we don’t start listening, the political system as we know it might not survive.”

As the 2024 election postmortems continue, Jones’s words echo a broader concern about the disconnect between leaders and the people they serve. Whether his warning will spark real change remains to be seen.