It was a statement no one expected — especially not from CNN’s Van Jones.
Just one day before he was shot and killed in Utah, Charlie Kirk reached out to someone many considered his political opposite, CNN’s Van Jones, with a request that now reads like something far bigger than just a DM.
“Hey Van, I mean it,” Kirk wrote. “I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race. I would be a gentleman as I know you would be as well. We can disagree about the issues agreeably.”
The date was September 9. Less than 24 hours later, Kirk was dead.
On Friday night’s episode of Anderson Cooper 360°, Jones, 57, read the message out loud. What followed was a rare moment — quiet, emotional, and, in Jones’ own words, “shocking.”
Not because the message existed. But because it came from someone who, as Jones admitted, had been “beefing” with him online just days earlier.
“I mean, we were not friends,” Jones told Cooper. “Everybody knows we didn’t get along. But after he died, my team called and said, ‘Van, he was trying to reach you, man.’”
What he saw in that moment, he said, wasn’t just a message from a political figure. It was a gesture — a choice toward peace. Dialogue. And maybe, reconciliation.
“Let’s disagree agreeably,” Jones repeated. “That’s what he wrote. The next day, he’s murdered.”
For someone like Jones, who’s spent years arguing against many of Kirk’s most high-profile stances, this wasn’t a moment to win an argument. It was something else.
And yet, what made it more jarring was that it came from Charlie Kirk, a man often portrayed by the media — including Jones himself — as combative, controversial, and divisive.
But in private? He was reaching out.
NEW: CNN’s Van Jones reveals he got a DM from Charlie Kirk calling for personal dialogue just one day before he was killed.
“Charlie Kirk and I were not friends at all. In fact, the last week of his life, we were beefing hard.”
“The day before he died, [Charlie] did something… pic.twitter.com/THhCaMm4Ru
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 20, 2025
Jones admitted he didn’t reply to the message. He wasn’t interested in building Kirk’s platform, he said. But if he’d seen it sooner, he would’ve called.
“We would’ve started the process of trying to figure this stuff out,” Jones said, before adding, “We were words, not weapons.”
The clip — and Jones’ full statement — spread quickly online after airing. Viewers across the political spectrum reacted with surprise, some even noting how rare it was to see that level of honesty between opponents.
“I think what happens,” Jones told Cooper, “is people get so worked up, seeing us go at it, they think they’re supposed to go out and kill somebody, or talk about civil war.”
Then, speaking directly to the moment, he said, “About Charlie Kirk? Mr. Debate? He wasn’t for censorship. He wasn’t for civil war. He wasn’t for violence. He was for open dialogue — even with me.”
The day before he was horrifically murdered, Charlie Kirk sent me a direct message on X.
Unfortunately, before I could even respond, Charlie Kirk was killed — seemingly assassinated for the words he’d spoken.
I’ve taken issue with many of those words — sometimes strongly — but… pic.twitter.com/l3L8AhLeAi
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) September 20, 2025
That sentiment led Jones to make another surprising decision: to attend Kirk’s memorial service in Glendale, Arizona, held Sunday at State Farm Stadium and attended by more than 90,000 people.
“I had to go,” Jones said. “You praise the good when it’s time to memorialize somebody.”
He wasn’t alone. A growing list of political figures, cultural leaders, and even former critics have acknowledged Kirk’s final acts — particularly his message of peacemaking — as deeply human.
Jones ended the interview with a simple thought: “That message might help somebody, on both sides, deal with issues more like he did.”
And just like that, one final message from a man known for controversy may be remembered instead for compassion.
