Van Jones is scrambling to do damage control.
The CNN political commentator has apologized after suggesting that public outrage over Israel’s war in Gaza may be the result of a “disinformation campaign” from Middle Eastern allies.
“I made a comment on Real Time with Bill Maher about the war in Gaza that was insensitive and hurtful. I apologize. The suffering of the people of Gaza — especially the children — is not a punch line,” Jones, 57, wrote in a post on X early Sunday morning that had comments disabled.
The 57-year-old added that he was “deeply sorry” if his remarks insinuated differently.
“What’s happening to children in Gaza is heartbreaking,” Jones wrote. “As a father, I can’t begin to imagine the pain their parents are enduring, unable to protect their kids from unimaginable harm.”
He concluded: “I’m praying and working for an immediate end to this war — and for peace and safety for every family caught in its path. I’m truly sorry for the pain my words caused to people who are already suffering more than anyone should.”
During a Friday appearance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Jones said: “Iran and Qatar have come up with a disinformation campaign that they are running through TikTok and Instagram that is massive. If you are a young person, you are opening up your phone, and all you see is—dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby, Diddy, dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby.”
Jones’ quip was met with laughter from Maher’s studio audience, but faced an onslaught of criticism online.
“This is vile and unhinged,” Al Jazeera journalist Laila Al-Arian wrote on X.
NBC News correspondent Hala Gorani also slammed Jones for making light of child fatalities.
“I’ve watched hundreds of hours of Gaza videos in the last 2 years, including content filmed by our brave teams inside the strip, and can confirm that the ‘dead Gaza baby’ images are quite real, not the product of a ‘disinformation campaign,’ and that there is nothing funny about them,” she wrote Saturday evening.
“I never thought I would see the day when dead children would be a cause for laughter,” foreign policy analyst and former Pentagon adviser Jasmine El-Gamal added. “But I guess when they are Palestinian/Arab children, humanity just flies out the window. Van Jones, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
An hour before Jones’ full apology, he made an attempt to defend his comments in a reply to one of his critics.
“Yeah, I messed up on this one. And I’m sorry. I was trying to raise awareness about foreign adversaries creating chaos online — which is undermining democracy everywhere,” he wrote on X.
He added, “But what I said was easily misunderstood, and the way I said it was flat-out insensitive. Babies are dying every day in Gaza. Nobody should dispute that fact or make light of it in any way. To the people living in fear and burying family members every day, of all ages — I apologize.”
Jones’ comments came just as President Donald Trump demanded Israel stop bombing Gaza, as a finalized deal to end the bloody conflict hangs in the balance. On Saturday, at least 67 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes, CNN reported, citing the latest information from Gaza’s hospitals.
Trump had said in a Friday night Truth Social post that he believed both Israel and Hamas were “ready for a lasting peace,” and insisted: “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly!”
Israeli attacks have claimed at least 67,000 lives following Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Times of Israel, citing the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
