CNN political commentator Van Jones likened President Donald Trump’s defense of Fox News host Bill O’Reilly to spitting in the face of conservative women.
“Donald Trump owes conservative women everything,” Jones said on Wednesday during his CNN town hall series “The Messy Truth.” “They came out for him in droves. They stopped Hillary Clinton and they put him in power. And those are the kinds of women, it’s pretty safe to assume, work at Fox News.”
In an interview with The New York Times, Trump defended O’Reilly against new revelations that he, Fox News and parent company 21st Century Fox had paid a total of $13 million in settlements to five women who accused him of sexual harassment or verbal abuse.
“Personally I think he shouldn’t have settled. Because you should have taken it all the way. I don’t think Bill did anything wrong,” Trump told the Times.
“I think he’s a person I know well — he is a good person,” the President also told the newspaper.
O’Reilly has denied the merits of all the claims against him, 21st Century Fox said in a statement.
Jones also cited Trump’s own run-ins with sexual harassment accusations and past rhetoric slamming former President Bill Clinton over similar allegations.
“Trump went on the warpath then, saying that the women were right and that Bill was wrong,” Jones said.
Schwarzenegger vs Trump
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was a guest of the town hall, said he had been friends with Trump for decades until they had a falling-out.
“What ticked him off is the fact that I didn’t vote for him and that I came out and said I’m not going to vote for him.” Schwarzenegger continued, “I would urge others not to vote for him.”
Schwarzenegger said he told Trump that he wouldn’t endorse the then-presidential candidate because as someone who fought for clean energy, he couldn’t support a candidate who wanted to bring back coal.
“The next thing you want to bring back is horse and buggy or Blockbuster or pagers,” he said. “I don’t think you are a man of the future.”
The former governor’s feud with the President ramped up in February at the National Prayer Breakfast when Trump said he wanted to “pray for Arnold” due to Schwarzenegger bringing in low ratings on “The Celebrity Apprentice.”
Schwarzenegger responded in a short clip posted to social media, suggesting that the two swap roles.
Jones asked Schwarzenegger what he thought about Trump’s attack on him.
“I have thick skin, this doesn’t bother me at all.” He added, “the show didn’t do well because one-third of the audience left because you’re the executive producer, Donald Trump. … I was caught in the middle of this political thing.”
