Kaepernick: Van Jones tried to broker a meeting between Trump, former QB

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick revealed Wednesday that CNN analyst and former Obama administration adviser Van Jones attempted to broker a meeting between the football player and President Trump.

Appearing on a MediasTouch podcast , host Ben Meiselas asked Kaepernick about a “Black Summit” the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was invited to during Trump’s first term.

“What I’ve learned over the years is there is going to be a constant attempt to be able to co-opt people who are trying to work for the benefit of the people, and what we saw in this moment was, you know, part of that conversation,” Kaepernick said about the event. “What was relayed to me was the outreach came from Van Jones for this.”

“I don’t know the details around it because, candidly, as soon as it came up as, ‘Hey, here is the opportunity,’ it was immediately rejected,” he continued.

The president’s relationship with Kaepernick throughout his first term was complicated as Trump criticized the quarterback for kneeling on the field during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice.

“But I will tell you — you cannot disrespect our country, our flag, our anthem, you cannot do that,” Trump said at the time.

Trump also stated he would support the NFL suspending Kaepernick indefinitely because of his protest.

Kaepernick said Trump’s actions made him think the invite to the summit was “a facade that he’s working for Black people or trying to be in the benefit of Black people,” but “history shows otherwise.”

“This is after him going out publicly and trying to target me in my employment,” he added.

Kaepernick specifically called out connections between Trump and the Reform Alliance — where Jones formerly served as CEO — saying, “Ultimately, what we see is on the other side of that, you know, pardons being handed out, and we’re seeing those pay-for-play right now.”

Kaepernick has been out of the NFL since March 2017, when he opted out of his 49ers contract, though he has not officially retired. He filed a grievance at the time that accused NFL owners of colluding to keep him from playing.

The lawsuit named Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence as a “colluding force” to prevent him from signing a contract within the league. The case was reportedly settled in 2019 for less than $10 million.

In the same year, Trump said he would “love” to see Kaepernick back in the league, noting that NFL owners would sign him “if he was good enough.”