Leftist CNN commentator Van Jones had some rare words of support for President Donald Trump, after meeting with Trump about a prison reform bill that would help improve conditions in federal prisons, and help ease released inmates back into private life.
Speaking to his network on Monday, Jones called the experience “surreal,” according to the Daily Caller, and said that the president gave him some good-natured ribbing before getting down to business on the issue.
“On this issue, he has been tough,” Jones gushed, adding that he felt the issue of prison reform presented some common ground between conservatives and hard-left liberals.
“If we can’t get together for liberty and justice for all, something’s wrong with this country,” Jones says he said during the meeting. “We’ll do something on this issue; we’ll fight about everything else, but on this issue, let’s get together.”
Jones says that the president was very bullish on the issue, even to the point of telling Jones that if the bill made it to his desk, he would sign it immediately, and that the “whole nation benefits” from helping inmates become productive members of American society.
Jones wrapped up his description of the meeting by taking a small jab at former President Barack Obama, for whom Jones thought prison reform should have been a top priority. According to Jones, he and others pushed the same prison reform with the former president, coupled with sentencing reform, and got nowhere. This time, they’re taking a more incremental approach with Trump and seeing much better results.