Van Jones spells out how Trump's words 'land like bombs in the lives of Americans'

Van Jones appeared on "The Lead with Jake Tapper" Wednesday to discuss his powerful reaction to this morning’s announcement that Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States, reminding Trump supporters that the president-elect’s divisive rhetoric about minorities land “like bombs in the lives and the ears and the homes of other Americans.”

Asked about the Trump supporters who disavow the president-elect’s language but voted for him anyways, Jones acknowledged the disaffection felt by many Trump supporters:

“There was a bipartisan elite consensus to throw the working class under the bus. Both political parties signed these trade deals, deregulated the banks, built prisons everywhere and left us to buzzards. That happened, that is true. Yet, these throw-away lines to you about Muslims, Mexicans, land like bombs in the lives and the ears and the homes of other Americans. And you have to take responsibility for the fact that some of those things really, really hurt.”

Jones noted some people are able to dismiss Trump’s rhetoric as joking, but said “if you're the Muslim mom sending the little girl out the door with the hijab on, you are going to be hurt.”

Earlier in the segment, the CNN political commentator said he hopes Trump will unite the country and agrees with President Barack Obama that people have to “come together.”

“Look, I am hopeful,” Jones told Tapper. “Listen, we’ve got some hard things to say to each other.”

“The Trump phenomenon is a complex phenomenon,” he continued. “It is a righteous rebellion against the elites. It is a righteous stand for economic opportunity. It is a patriotic movement. But it is also marbled with all kinds of other stuff, all kinds of xenophobic and the KKK endorsements and all these other things.”

“We can't be in a situation where we only talk about the things that are offensive, or we can't talk about the things that are offensive. We've got to be able to talk about both,” Jones concluded.

Watch the video below, via CNN: