As Donald Trump was on the brink of victory Wednesday morning, CNN commentator Van Jones He became emotional as he spoke about the fear and pain many Kamala Harris supporters felt after she lost the presidency. In a broken voice, Jones reflected on the “pain” that black women who had voted for vice president were experiencing.

“I’m thinking about the people who are not part of anyone’s elite and who are suffering tonight.” jones said. “There are African American women who know a little bit about being put down and know a little bit about crushing their financial dreams, who tried to dream a big dream for the last few months. And tonight, they’re trading a lot of hope for a lot of pain. They were hoping that maybe this time… this time — one of their own could be considered worthy.”

Jones has served as something of a proxy for Democratic state sentiment during CNN’s recent election sessions. A former Obama administration adviser, the activist and commentator in 2016 showed pure emotion when it became clear that Trump would choose a first term over then-candidate Hillary Clinton. “This was a white blow against a changing country,” he said at the time. “It was partly a white attack on a black president, and that’s where the pain comes.” At the time, he urged Trump to “…come out and assure people that he will be the president of all the people he insulted, offended and left aside.”

In 2024, he offered a similar call for winners to consider people who supported the loser. “And once again, they’re facing rejection, and that hurts,” Jones added. “They thought that tomorrow morning they would be able to walk with their shoulders back, maybe be able to breathe for the first time, feel like they belonged somewhere. “They did everything they knew how to do and they are going to find it harder than it should to keep their heads up.”

Jones highlighted other groups, such as members of the LGBTQ community and undocumented immigrants, who had been targeted by Trump and his campaign during the race for the White House, and emphasized the sense of shock being felt in certain corners of the country.

“If you are a parent of a trans child, your child’s face was used as a springboard to gain power for someone,” Jones said. “That doesn’t feel good. Tomorrow there will be people, we will be delivering clothes at the dry cleaners to people who do not have papers. Tomorrow there will be people who brush your teeth and they will not have papers. And tonight they will be terrified.”

“It’s easy to ignore this and say, ‘Oh, the elites, they’re going to get what they deserve,’” Jones said. “It is not the elites who are going to pay the price. “They are the people who woke up this morning with a dream and go to bed with a nightmare.”