‘He’s doing something that’s never been done before…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) A Democratic state representative in Georgia broke with his party and endorsed President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, praising the president’s handling of the economy and his support for the African–American community.
BREAKING: This morning, Georgia Rep. Vernon Jones (D-Lithonia) told me he is endorsing Donald Trump for President. Jones sent me this message about why. DeKalb County and Lithonia residents, take a look: pic.twitter.com/sbk29tMiC5
— Hayley Mason (@HayleyMasonTV) April 14, 2020
State Rep. Vernon Jones told the Atlanta Journal–Constitution that he isn’t switching to the GOP, but that doesn’t mean he can’t support the president.
“It’s very simple to me,” Jones said. “President Trump’s handling of the economy, his support for historically black colleges and his criminal justice initiatives drew me to endorse his campaign.”
Jones said that he isn’t the only one in the African–American community who sees and appreciates how Trump’s policies have benefited the U.S.
“When you look at the unemployment rates among black Americans before the pandemic, they were at historic lows,” Jones explained. “He’s doing something that’s never been done before.”
Jones has represented a deep-blue district since the 1990s, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
However, he has repeatedly bumped heads and created controversy among his Democratic colleagues because he considers himself “an independent thinker and a conservative Democrat who supports faith-based initiatives, tough immigration laws, and fiscal responsibility,” Jones told the AJC.
Nikema Williams, the chairwoman of Georgia’s Democratic Party, slammed Jones as an “embarrassment” to the party who clearly “does not stand for our values,” while also suggesting that Jones had betrayed the black community.
“Never has that been clearer than this moment, when he chose to stand with the racist president who has made an all-out assault on Black Americans, who has tried to rip away American health care, and who has failed our country in its greatest time of need during the most important election in our lifetimes,” Williams said in a statement.
She called on Georgia’s Democratic voters to oust both Jones and Trump.
“Vernon Jones doesn’t speak for Georgians, and neither does Donald Trump—which is why Georgians will send him home in November 2020,” she said.