CNN’s Van Jones Frets ‘Fringe’ Has Replaced ‘Mainstream’ Media: ‘We’re on Cable News Getting 1-2 Million’ While They’re ‘Getting 14 Million Streams’
CNN’s Van Jones warned on Wednesday that the entire “political class” in the country is “way off” when it comes to connecting to voters, as “fringe” platforms and voices have replaced “mainstream” outlets like his own network.
Jones was one of a number of voices to participate in a panel discussion for The New York Times’ Dealbook Summit this week, along with others like Kellyanne Conway and Kevin McCarthy. Jones, a former advisor to former President Barack Obama, argued that President-elect Donald Trump better understood the digital sphere and the current issues men in the country are facing than Democrats during the election.
Jones said:
The entire political class is way off. First of all, digital is the new door knocking. You got to understand that. We were laughing our butts off at Donald Trump for suspending his door knocking campaign and letting Charlie Kirk and Elon [Musk] do a bunch of stuff online. We said, ‘these guys are idiots, these guys are stupid.’ Then you start knocking on these doors. You know what people come to the door with? They’re phone in their hand. They’re in a 24 hour digital surround sound that has nothing to do with CNN, that has nothing to do with anything we do.
Trump and his running mate JD Vance appeared on many podcasts in the final weeks of their campaign, including Joe Rogan’s. Rogan’s three hour conversation with Trump has racked up more than 50 million views on YouTube.
Jones told the panel on Wednesday that he asked his son for a list of the people he thought were most influential in the culture and what he got was a list of a names completely unknown to him, including streamers Kai Cenat and Adin Ross.
“I don’t what who he’s talking about,” he said.
Jones fretted that streamers and podcasters are bringing in views that cable news cannot come close to touching.
“The mainstream has become fringe and the fringe has become mainstream,” he said. “There are platforms, there are people out there that are getting 14 million streams and we’re on cable news getting one to two million.”
Watch above via The New York Times.
