‘Do You Regret Using That Timeframe?’ CNN’s Abby Phillip Asks Byron Donalds If He Has Second Thoughts About His ‘Jim Crow’ Reference
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) sparked a firestorm on Wednesday after comments he made at a campaign event the day before went viral.
“You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together,” the congressman said. “During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative — Black people have always been conservative-minded — but more Black people voted conservatively.”
His remarks were part of a broader criticism of former President Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society, which Donalds blamed for single-parent households in the Black community. Nevertheless, his reference to racial segregation induced head-scratching and criticism.
Donalds appeared on Wednesday’s CNN NewsNight, where he had a lengthy discussion with host Abby Phillip. At one point, Phillip noted Donalds mentioned Jim Crow three times and asked if he regrets doing so.
“I mean it sounds like nostalgia,” she said. “Do you regret using that timeframe as a reference?”
“Nobody ever made nostalgia,” he replied. “That was never the point. It wasn’t even about that.”
The lawmaker said he never said he “didn’t even insinuate” he longed for the Jim Crow era.
“What exactly didn’t you insinuate?” Phillip asked.
“The premise of your question,” Donalds answered. “What you are dealing with right now is a political environment.”
He went on to say the media “twisted” his words.
“But when you talk about when you talk about that time period, you’re suggesting that because the Black family was together, they were better off than they are now,” Phillip stated.
“See, this is the problem, Abby,” Donalds protested. “I never suggested that.”
He went on to say he is “one of the better communicators in the Republican Party.”
“So, I’m not gonna say something I do not agree with,” he continued. “What America is seeing right now – especially Black America – is the gaslighting that unfortunately does happen in politics where you take my comments and you wanna weave your own political viewpoint into what I said. What I’ve said is very clear.”
Watch above via CNN.
