Van Jones says 'ideological nationalist' JD Vance is 'more dangerous virus' than Donald Trump

On Monday, Donald Trump officially named JD Vance as his running mate for the 2024 election. While many on the right were pleased with the pick, the reaction from pundits on the left was less favorable. Among those who expressed their concern was CNN's Van Jones, who said Vance is a “more dangerous virus” than Trump in terms of nationalism.

"You know, part of the reason that JD Vance matters isn't for these short-term electoral calculations," Jones said during a CNN clip. "He matters because of what he means for the Republican Party long-term. This is cementing a kind of nationalism."

Vance said that Trump is “an instinctive, impulsive, intuitive nationalist,” but then added, “JD Vance is an ideological nationalist. That’s a much more dangerous virus.” Jones claimed that while both the Trump and the Ohio senator were nationalists, they differed in how they went about promoting and pushing their vision for the future of the country.

"[Vance] can polish this stuff and make it seem palatable to people," Jones claimed. "He can sell this stuff to Silicon Valley, he can sell this stuff other places, and what it does is locks the Republican Party on a pathway that I think is dangerous for the world."

Jones went on to claim that with Vance as the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Ukraine is in "deep trouble," along with NATO alliances, referring to Vance as "a horror on the world stage." He suggested that had Trump chosen Nikki Haley, he could have signaled, "I gotta give stuff to my base, but I'm not gonna abandon the world." He then claimed that Trump is pointing the Republican Party in a "very scary direction for the long term."