Byron Donalds Doesn’t Regret His Jim Crow Comments

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) was back in Philadelphia to seek support for former President Donald Trump among black voters, this time on debate day.

Donalds caused a stir on Capitol Hill and on social media when he said during his last public visit to the city in June that “during Jim Crow, the Black family stood together.” On Tuesday, he said he did not regret his comments.

“What was really upset was the political elites in Washington, in the Democratic Party, who are trying to find a reason to stoke anger and emotion,” Donalds said outside Max’s Steaks on Germantown Avenue in the Franklinville section of North Philadelphia. Donalds visited the popular cheesesteak joint as part of the Black Conservative Federation’s Black Voters for Trump bus tour through Philadelphia.

The congressman continued by saying he doesn’t regret any of his comments because he was “just speaking out.” He said the “real problem” is the welfare and support programs for low-income Americans created by former President Lyndon B. Johnson and supported by other Democratic Party leaders. That policy change during the civil rights era “was one of the major, first things that started to destroy black families in America,” Donalds said.

“And anyone who would suggest that I thought positively about the Jim Crow era is a liar,” he added. “… They want to sow discord and division among people instead of talking about the real issues.”

» READ MORE: This Trump VP nominee came to Philly and said black families were stronger in the Jim Crow era. Now Rep. Byron Donalds is in trouble in D.C.

But Donalds wasn’t in Philadelphia to talk about the past. He was in town with Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Democratic mayor of Detroit whose 28-year sentence was commuted by Trumpto appeal to black voters, who are they counting on could lend a hand Trump win a larger share of the electorate in Pennsylvania’s largest city. Trump has repeatedly said the battleground state is key to winning the election.

The conversation on Germantown Avenue focused on issues voters believe are key, including economy, security and international affairs.

One passerby, Sharita White, 38, praised Trump’s demeanor. She said she doesn’t know much about politics but supports Trump because she was better off when he was in power.

“He’s been good to black people, and I want him back in the chair,” White said. “… He can talk trash, but that’s what we need, someone with a mouth. I really appreciate him.”

White said she lived near the Montgomery County line during the Trump administration but moved to Kensington after she lost her public benefits and could no longer afford it. Republicans have seized on the drug crisis in Kensington as part of their attacks on Democratic-leaning cities like Philadelphia.

When Donalds visited Max’s Steaks, the press was not welcome inside, but the MP shared his order: a cheesesteak with onions, provolone cheese and mayonnaise.

“I don’t do that,” Donalds said.

“I’m New York,” added the rep, who hails from Brooklyn. “I make provolone.”

He also opposed this term prove the joke.

“I’m a New Yorker,” he said.Provolone“We say the whole thing”

As part of the bus tour, the Trump deputies also visited the Original Garden of Bilal in Germantown and Philadelphia Hair Co. in East Germantown.