Van Jones may be a progressive Democrat, but he knows where to draw the line.
Monday night on CNN, he said his phone had been “blowing up all day” as governors, senators, and representatives from both parties thanked him for publicly calling out the socialist takeover of the Democratic Party. He also drew a revealing distinction, that while he still considers himself a progressive and supports progressive reforms, he said the Democratic Socialists of America are taking things too far.
Van Jones says his phone has been “blowing up all day” after he publicly called out the socialist takeover of the Democrat Party.
— Overton (@overton_news) July 21, 2026
Jones says governors and senators from both parties have been calling to thank him for saying what many Democrats have only been willing to say… pic.twitter.com/i3kPCqPIJg
This weekend I shared a post voicing my concerns about the far left. The response has been overwhelming. Leaders in both parties called to tell me the same thing: this stuff has gone too far.
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) July 21, 2026
To be clear: I'm a progressive Democrat. My whole life, I've wanted to see a youth… pic.twitter.com/RZXKQw5DSB
"This phone has been blowing up all day. Governors from both parties, senators from both parties, Democrats in the House calling, thanking me for saying what everybody's been saying behind the scenes, which is that this stuff is going too far," Jones said. "I am a progressive Democrat. You want to talk about prison reform? I've done it as well as anybody, Republican Democrats in the South with Trump. I've done prison reform. I never said have no prisons. I've done police reform. I never said no police. Where are you going to put the pedophiles? Who's going to grab the pedophiles? This stuff is going too far."
"And part of the thing that has to happen is we saw what happened in the Republican Party when things started going in a nutty direction and nobody stood up," he continued "I am happy that the young people are fighting for affordability, Medicare for all, all the good things. I've been waiting my whole life to see a youth movement do what it's doing. But it's being hijacked by people who are putting in nutty ideas, supporting terrorists, nutty ideas saying that we don't need cops in prison. We can't we can't deport anybody, even if they rape somebody."
🚨 CNN’s Van Jones BLASTS socialist Democrats: “I am tired, tired, tired of a set of people on the very far left in the Democratic party… ideas that are literally insane. Nutty. Moronic. Dangerous. Bigoted. They are not progressive, they are regressive and they should not be in… pic.twitter.com/mpsMDXjnpv
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) July 20, 2026
It remains unclear exactly how many Democrats are opposed to the DSA takeover from within the Democratic Party. It is also unclear how meaningful Jones’ comments are. Establishment Democrats have so far been the definition of cowardly, refusing to call out the extremism of their own socialist wing. While the move may alienate some Democratic voters, catering to a loud, powerful, and still small minority is not only a good electoral bet for that faction, but it also pushes the rest of the party further left.
And that is where Republicans will face trouble. The term “Socialism” is often more frightening to voters than the policies themselves, at least at first. So even though polling shows Americans overwhelmingly support free markets and overwhelmingly disapprove of socialism, those same voters will often choose government intervention, government control, and regulation over reliance on the market when asked about practical policies. That gives the socialist bloc a powerful lever to pull with ordinary American voters.
Socialism is coming, and it's going to take more than relying on the weight of their own policies to bring them crashing down.