How much do black lives matter to the Left? Maybe the more salient question would be how much black votes matter to the Left.
That question was suggested by the kind of week Vernon Jones and Bruce LeVell have been having.
Jones, in case the name is unfamiliar, is a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. He is a Democrat. He is also black. And he supports Donald Trump.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
That combination of factors led to his systematic harassment by the Democratic Party in April after Jones endorsed Trump for a second term. “I’m sick and tired of me and my family being attacked and harassed by the Democrat Party for putting my country before my party. I take pride in being an independent thinker. My first amendment right to freedom of speech is under siege,” he said in a statement announcing his intention to vacate his seat. A day later he recanted, noting his intention to keep fighting for his beliefs.
LeVell is also a black Georgia politician who backs Donald Trump. In fact, he is former executive director of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump and served as chairman of the Republican Party in the state’s Gwinett County. In 2017, he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives to fill the vacancy left by Rep. Tom Price, who resigned to become Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services.
Something else Jones and LeVell have in common is that they both appeared on MSNBC this week where both were asked the same insulting question. Jones was interviewed by Craig Melvin, LeVell by Tiffany Cross. Watch:
🧵MINI THREAD: Twice in 1 week, MSNBC asked 2 Black Trump supporters if they were paid to support the President. pic.twitter.com/t7hkE3vc6X
— Abigail Jackson 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) July 29, 2020
“When I see folks like you support this President, has Donald Trump ever promised you anything financially in exchange for your blind support?” Cross asks. Putting aside the mangled syntax, I’d be curious to know what she had in mind by “folks like you.” We’ll never know because she cut LeVell off before he could answer.
Jones’s case is more — dare it be said? — black and white. He lays out his arguments for supporting Donald Trump (record low unemployment among blacks, Opportunity Zones), all of which Melvin dismisses as non-factual. Then Melvin asks, “Are you being compensated?” Jones fires back, “You only ask me that because I don’t fit your narrative,” which Melvin denies even though it’s indisputable.
Jones subsequently posted this, which should be required remedial viewing for every Democrat
I went on MSNBC and they accused me of being a sell-out.
The Left is so racist that they think the only way a black man will think for himself is he’s paid? I’m tired of the bigotry. @realDonaldTrump – I’ve got your back! pic.twitter.com/MbftgawuLV
— Vernon Jones (@VernonForGA) July 30, 2020
