CNN host Van Jones was completely blown away by Barack and Michelle Obama’s speeches at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, saying he hadn’t realized he’d been living in a “spiritual desert” until they spoke.
After the former first lady’s address in Chicago, CNN’s Anderson Cooper said her speech was “probably the most effective, powerful political speech I’ve ever heard.” Jones, who once served in the Obama administration, then upped the ante with praise that cast the event in quasi-religious terms.
“I didn’t know how much I missed them,” Jones said of the Obamas. “I miss them. I miss that. I miss hearing that.”
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“Biden did something important last night, and he transferred the machinery of the party to Kamala Harris,” Jones continued. “The Obamas renewed the magic of the movement. That’s what they were transferring. And they did it beautifully. They did it powerfully.”
The former president “used nostalgia in a beautiful way,” Jones said, distinguishing it from the kind of nostalgia behind Donald Trump’s slogan “make America great again.”
“He reminded everybody of the best things about our families, about our neighborhoods,” Jones said of Barack Obama. “That was beautiful. And then Michelle, she wasn’t doing the minister role. She was really doing the coaching role.”
He praised the former first lady for speaking about “the affirmative action of generational wealth” and for saying “the whining on the left needs to stop.”
“This was a masterful act of leadership,” Jones concluded. “It was a sacred task. They took it on well. It was like an oasis—I didn’t realize I had been in a spiritual desert until they created that oasis on that stage. And they did a beautiful job tonight.”
In her speech, Michelle Obama spoke about hope “making a comeback,” invoking the mantra of her husband’s 2008 presidential campaign. She also called out Donald Trump by name, criticizing his policies and rhetoric—including in a shot at his recent line about “Black jobs.”
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might be one of those ‘Black jobs’?” she asked.
