Van Jones: Even If Obama Were Gay, He'd Still Win the Black Vote

BY Lucas Grindley

April 03 2012 4:08 PM ET

Former White House adviser Van Jones doesn't see a penalty for President Obama among black voters if he changes his position to support marriage equality.

"Do you think that President Obama would lose some of the black vote if, in fact he did come out in support of gay marriage?" asked MSNBC anchor Alex Wagner.

“I think if President Obama came out as gay, he wouldn't lose the black vote," Jones joked. "President Obama is not going to lose the black vote no matter what he does."

Jones was commenting during a debate about the National Organization for Marriage's strategy of driving a wedge between black and LGBT voters. The New York Times wrote a scathing op-ed today condemning NOM for what the editorial board called a "divide and discriminate" strategy.

The Times called on Republican leaders to distance themselves from NOM and its race-baiting strategy.

"Now that the group’s poisonous political approach is out in the open, Mr. Romney and the others should be racing to make clear their disapproval," the Times wrote. "We detect no stampede."

Van Jones doesn't think NOM's strategy will be effective.

"It's just kind of nuts," he told Wagner. "I think you can play to that segment, but I don't think it shows up at the ballot box at all."

Watch the entire discussion in the video below. The Jones comment comes at about 3:45 minutes in.