Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones, a Democrat who was rebuked by his party earlier this year for supporting the policies of President Trump, penned an op-ed Tuesday railing against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his treatment of the Black community.
Mr. Jones wrote in a piece for The Daily Caller that he plans to cast a vote for Mr. Trump’s reelection because “unlike other Washington politicians, this president actually backed up his words with actions” that help Black Americans.
“He signed an Executive Order on police reform — taking steps to build a better bridge between law enforcement men and women and their communities,” the Democrat wrote. “The landmark Executive Order encourages police to implement best practices to protect the people they serve. It sets the highest professional standards for law enforcement officers, while promoting peace and equality for all Americans.”
Mr. Jones slammed Mr. Biden, the former vice president, for being “absent in unifying this country” during former President Barack Obama’s eight years in office.
“The [B]lack unemployment rate under Biden and the Obama administration averaged a horrific 12.8 percent,” he wrote. “The number of [B]lack Americans in poverty barely fell during the Obama administration, going down by just 145,000 over eight years. By comparison, more than double that number — 350,000 [B]lack Americans — were lifted out of poverty during just the first two years of the Trump administration.”
Mr. Jones said Democrats like Mr. Biden pander to Black Americans only “during election years,” despite being directly responsible for policies that have “decimated” the Black community.
“Joe Biden has betrayed [B]lack Americans throughout his career in Washington,” he wrote.
“Biden authored the 1994 crime bill which imposed mandatory minimum sentences, disproportionately putting hundreds of thousands of young black men in prison,” he wrote. “President Trump has worked to undo injustices within our criminal justice system. He signed the First Step Act, the first major reform to our criminal justice system in a decade. Thanks to the president’s leadership on this issue, our criminal justice system is fairer and our communities are safer.”
“Right now, President Trump is being defined as a racist by the media, when in reality Joe Biden is the full-blooded bigot,” he continued. “Now that Biden is running for president in a woke Democratic Party in 2020, he’s attempting to sweep his racist legacy under the rug. We can’t let him.”
Mr. Jones, who riled fellow Democrats in the past for aligning with Republicans on certain issues such as immigration, made headlines in April after he promised to support Mr. Trump’s reelection bid. Georgia Democrats sought to censure him, prompting him to announce his resignation. Mr. Jones later reversed that decision and vowed to “remain on the battlefield” for Mr. Trump.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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