A somber Van Jones expressed sympathy for Donald Trump, saying that he didn’t “take joy” in the former president’s indictment as he entered a Manhattan courtroom for his arraignment on Tuesday.
“He looks sad,” CNN’s Jones said during a panel discussion that coincided with the cable news network’s live coverage of Trump’s arraignment.
“He looks like the weight of it is hitting him,” Jones, a former Obama administration official, added.
Despite his partisan Democratic leanings, Jones said on the air on Tuesday that the historic, precedent-setting indictment of the 45th president was not a cause for celebration.
“Just as a human being, I don’t take joy [in Trump’s indictment],” Jones, a vocal advocate for prison reform, added.
“I don’t like the prison system,” he said.
“I don’t like what it does to people. I don’t like this process.”
“So I don’t take any celebration in seeing him looking that way,” Jones said of Trump, adding, “It doesn’t mean accountability is not owed.”
“But at that moment, that is not a conqueror,” Jones said of Trump.
“That is a granddad having a very bad day.”
Jones’ comments sparked a backlash among anti-Trump Twitter users.
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“True or False: Van Jones gets invited to the Trump family Zoom meetings more often than Tiffany,” tweeted MSNBC commentator Elie Mystal.
Another Twitter user wrote: “As a community, we need to organize how and when to pull up on Van Jones. I had to turn off CNN.
“He kept trying to make Trump a victim of an unjust court system.”
“I can’t stand Van Jones jive turkey ass,” another Twitter user commented.
![Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty in Manhattan court to a 34-count indictment which alleges crimes linked to an alleged hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/040423_Trump_in_Manhattan_Court_064.jpg?w=1024)
Jones has caught flack in years past for being complimentary toward Trump.
During a 2021 appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Jones was criticized by co-hosts Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, and Joy Behar for posing with commentator Candace Owens for a selfie.
Jones has also praised Trump in the past for signing into law a prison reform bill that he helped craft, the First Step Act.
![Trump is seen above in a Manhattan courtroom. His indictment is the first time in US history that a former president was hit with criminal charges.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009213806.jpg?w=1024)
Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records tied to the Stormy Daniels hush-money payment.
Trump, 76, was pictured with his shoulders slightly hunched as he took his seat at the defendant’s table in Manhattan Supreme Court ahead of his historic arraignment.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]