Pro-Trump black lawmaker won't resign after outpouring of support
WND Staff
'Turn the lights off, I have left the plantation'
April 23, 2020
Georgia Republican state Rep. Vernon Jones (screenshot)
A black Georgia Democratic state lawmaker who announced his resignation Wednesday because of his support for Republican President Trump in the 2020 election has changed his mind.
State Rep. Vernon Jones explained Thursday on Twitter "the outpouring of support I received was too great for me to ignore."
"I will not allow the Democrats to bully me into submission. I will not let them win," Jones wrote. "I will NOT resign."
In a video, Jones said he received a "barrage of attacks and name-calling by the far-left and the Democratic Party" in response to his endorsement of Trump.
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In a statement announcing his resignation Wednesday, he said, "Turn the lights off, I have left the plantation."
He said he would not switch parties but would work for Trump's re-election.
"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," Jones said on "The Rashad Richey Morning Show" on WAOK radio in Atlanta shortly after announcing his resignation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
But since announcing his resignation Wednesday, he received "an overwhelming amount of support, an outcry from the people I represent in House District 91 in Dekalb and Rockdale Counties, my fellow Georgians, and Americans from across this country and every walk of life, every age, every color, every party, that was emotional."
"That was motivational. You know what, America? I thought about it and I talked to my family and I talked to my supporters. I am going to remain on the battlefield. I am going to complete my term. I am going to continue to put my country before my party," he said.
Jones said Trump "is the man for the job."
Prior to releasing the video, Jones told Breitbart News he was "saying what a lot of people were thinking."
"I decided to stay in the game and play all four quarters and continue the support for the re-election of Donald J. Trump," he said.
Jones found the harassment "disturbing."
"It's amazing how I was exercising my constitutional right to freedom of speech, but only certain people can say certain things," he said.
Transformative president
When he announced his support for Trump's re-election April 14, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Democrats accused Jones of betrayal at a time when party leaders were rallying around former Vice President Joe Biden.
The paper said top state House Democrats responded by endorsing Jones' primary challenger.
Jones told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he views Trump as a transformative president whose policies have helped African-American voters, military veterans and farmers.
"It's very simple to me. President Trump’s handling of the economy, his support for historically black colleges and his criminal justice initiatives drew me to endorse his campaign," said Jones.
"There are a lot of African Americans who clearly see and appreciate he's doing something that's never been done before," Jones said. "When you look at the unemployment rates among black Americans before the pandemic, they were at historic lows. That's just a fact."
State Sen. Nikema Williams, the chairwoman of the state party, called Jones an "embarrassment" who doesn't reflect Georgia values, the Journal-Constitution reported.
"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," she said.
See Jones' video: