Black GA Dem Rep Driven Out of House for Supporting Trump Says, 'I Have Left the Plantation'
A Georgia Democrat who dared to think outside the confines of the party’s orthodoxy by endorsing President Donald Trump is stepping down as a state representative.
Democrat Vernon Jones, who has been taking heat from fellow Democrats since he endorsed Trump last week, resigned Wednesday — but made it clear he would not be going away quietly.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Jones said he would not complete his current term representing Georgia’s 91st District in Democratic stronghold Dekalb County.
“Turn the lights off, I have left the plantation,” he said in a statement to the newspaper. “Someone else can occupy that suite. Therefore, I intend not to complete my term effective April 22, 2020.”
Jones was later interviewed on “The Rashad Richey Morning Show” on WAOK-AM in Atlanta, where he said he would remain a Democrat in order to help the party root out its “bigotry” toward black people.
“I don’t plan to leave the Democratic Party because somebody’s got to be in there to hold them accountable — hold them accountable to how they are treating black people (and) root out the bigotry,” he said, according to The Journal-Constitution.
Jones also took to Twitter beginning Tuesday to attack his fellow Democrats.
“There’s nothing the Left despises more than a free-thinking black man,” he wrote in a post that seemed to foreshadow his decision to resign. “Keep the hit pieces coming. The American people see through it.”
There’s nothing the Left despises more than a free-thinking black man.
Keep the hit pieces coming. The American people see through it. https://t.co/DMlWg6v1cu
— Vernon Jones (@RepVernonJones) April 20, 2020
The modern day Democratic Party has become more about defending the interests of illegals than it has the actual American people.
I take issue with that.
— Vernon Jones (@RepVernonJones) April 21, 2020
I’ve seen more Democrats attack me for my decision to endorse @realDonaldTrump than ask me why.
They’ve used and abused folks in my community for far too long, taking our votes for granted.
Black Americans are waking up. An uprising is near.
— Vernon Jones (@RepVernonJones) April 21, 2020
In another Twitter post, Jones added, “I’m not surprised that the Democratic Party has chosen to rent out my suite on the plantation to my opponent.”
“I will never apologize for my convictions,” he said.
I’m not surprised that the Democratic Party has chosen to rent out my suite on the plantation to my opponent.
I will never apologize for my convictions. https://t.co/unSbPaqTZr
— Vernon Jones (@RepVernonJones) April 21, 2020
The tweet was a response to a post from Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein, who reported that Democrats in Dekalb and Rockdale counties had jointly censured Jones for his Trump support.
Jones then hit the nail on the head when he called out radical Democrats for attempting to control him by forcing him to conform to the party’s strict anti-Trump messaging, which ignores gains made by black Americans under the president’s leadership.
“The Left hates me because they can’t control me,” he wrote. “They can stay mad.”
The Left hates me because they can’t control me.
They can stay mad.
— Vernon Jones (@RepVernonJones) April 22, 2020
Jones also made it clear he will devote his full time and energy to Trump’s re-election campaign.
Earlier today, I made the decision to not seek re-election to the Georgia House of Representatives.
I look forward, however, to continuing to serve my community in other ways and doing all I can to re-elect @realDonaldTrump.
We will Make America Great Again ??
— Vernon Jones (@RepVernonJones) April 22, 2020
I look forward to committing my full energy to the re-election of @realDonaldTrump and ensuring that the radical Democrats that have overtaken my party suffer a resounding defeat. https://t.co/WdbNPnBsO6
— Vernon Jones (@RepVernonJones) April 22, 2020
Democrats often complain there are not enough black Americans in positions of power.
There is one fewer after Wednesday thanks to the party’s bully tactics against Jones for daring to do right by his constituents.
The residents of Dekalb County elected Jones to look out for their interests.
Jones saw that Trump’s policies were working for the people in his community.
Democratic Party of Georgia Chairwoman Nikema Williams described Jones as “an embarrassment” last week after he endorsed Trump, The Journal-Constitution reported.
“Vernon Jones is an embarrassment to the Democratic Party and does not stand for our values,” Williams said. “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.”
Jones apparently felt the pressure from other Democrats after making pro-Trump statements last week.
“There are a lot of African-Americans who clearly see and appreciate [Trump is] doing something that’s never been done before,” he said.
“When you look at the unemployment rates among black Americans before the pandemic, they were at historic lows. That’s just a fact,” Jones continued. “I believe that Donald Trump is the best person to lead this country going forward.”
The Democratic National Committee states on its website that it aims to “challenge and dismantle the structures that define lasting racial, economic, political, and social inequity” for minority Americans.
What about the structure that aims to keep black Americans voting for a party that has done very little to help them?
Where is Vernon Jones’ justice today for putting his people before his party?
Democrats drove him out because he wouldn’t blindly accept and parrot their doctrine that Republicans want to harm the interests of black Americans.
Jones dared to celebrate that Trump’s policies, and not the policies of Democrats, have lifted up all Americans — including those within his community.
The Georgia Democrat might be out of a job today, but as he stated, he is free from the Democrat “plantation.”
In his statement to The Journal-Constitution, Jones took a parting shot at Democrats on the issue of criminal justice reform.
“I intend to help the Democrat Party get rid of its bigotry against Black people that are independent and conservative,” he said.
“I endorsed the White guy (Donald J. Trump) that let Blacks out of jail, and they endorsed the White guy (Joe Biden) that put Blacks in jail,” Jones concluded.
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