Jesus Christ has instructed us to forgive our enemies, and for Christians, this command is unconditional and non-negotiable. However, when it comes to de-escalating tensions or restoring civility in political discourse, it requires effort from both sides.
On Thursday, a viral video circulated on the social media platform X, showing a moment at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago when former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy politely confronted CNN commentator Van Jones. This exchange occurred after comments Jones made on-air seemingly led to death threats against Ramaswamy, leading to what appeared to be a possible apology from Jones.
During a Republican presidential debate in December, Ramaswamy criticized Democrats’ open borders policy, declaring that they had effectively adopted the so-called “great replacement theory” into their platform. While some liberals denounce this theory as racist, Ramaswamy argued that it simply refers to a border invasion aimed at harming American citizens and altering the nation’s electorate.
In response, Jones called Ramaswamy an “American demagogue” and a “very, very despicable person.” Later, at a Turning Point USA conference, Ramaswamy told the audience that Jones should “just shut the f*** up.” After this heated exchange, the situation seemed to die down—at least publicly—until Thursday.
At the DNC, after a cordial greeting, Ramaswamy told Jones, “We got death threats after the thing you said.” Jones initially appeared to walk away, to which Ramaswamy remarked, “That’s Van Jones for you,” before seemingly moving in the opposite direction.
The clip then shows the two men standing face to face, where Ramaswamy explained how Jones’s comments had put his family in danger. “First time in the campaign, we get a death threat from a man who wants to show up in New Hampshire. Thankfully, the police intervened and got it,” Ramaswamy said. He continued, “The next day — the next day, back-to-back days, my wife is scared enough — the next day we wake up, it’s 3 a.m., we get a call from him — he’s my security guard,” pointing to the guard in question. The guard informed the then-candidate of another immediate threat.
“So that’s within 48 hours, and I’m not gonna attribute that to your comment because — whatever it is — but for our family, you know what, publicly I didn’t do it, but for our family, yeah, it pissed us the heck off,” Ramaswamy said.
Jones listened as Ramaswamy spoke further about the importance of rhetoric and civil discourse. The CNN commentator then seemed to reach into his back pocket, and although the audio wasn’t entirely clear, Jones appeared to say, “I’ll call you in a couple of days.”
Ramaswamy responded, “Okay, we don’t need to do any of this on-air.” Jones leaned in and said something else, to which Ramaswamy replied, “It’s classy of you to say so, and I hope we can build a friendship.”
Democrats, of course, have done little to curb their hateful and dishonest rhetoric about former President Donald Trump. So until they do, it’s hard to get too excited about a return to civility. If it does happen, however, it will likely resemble the exchange between Ramaswamy and Jones—where former adversaries take the time to discover that they may not be enemies after all.
Meanwhile, if Democrats refuse to let go of their animosity, we must forgive them while continuing to stand firm in our beliefs.
