MSNBC host Joy Reid in a Thursday interview pressed Rep. Byron Donalds over comments the Florida Republican made about how Black families were together during the time of racial segregation of the Jim Crow South.
Reid asked Donalds “is there a specific period between 1867 and 1968 that you thought was this golden era for Black families or a time that was good for Black families?”
“Joy, I never said that,” Donalds responded during the testy appearance. “And see, this is where the gaslighting comes in,” the Republican said before Reid interjected and played a clip of Donalds at a “Congress, Cognac, and Cigars” event in Philadelphia where he initially made the remarks.
The clip showed Donalds saying “during Jim Crow the Black family was together,” and noting during that time period “more Black people voted conservatively.”
“What was the authority of the Black father in the Black family during Jim Crow?” Reid asked Donalds.
“Well, listen, under Jim Crow, obviously, Black people were under great persecution, unfortunately by southern Democrats and the Democrat party overall in the history of our country. That’s the fact,” he responded. “So, having the Black man in the home was about first protecting the mom and protecting the kids, incredibly important. It was the leadership in the home, which is incredibly valuable.”
Donalds went on to say the framing of his remarks by the media has been “ridiculous.”
“I would never say that, and that is the gaslighting that I’m standing up to because that’s Hakeem Jefferies the Biden campaign, Jaime Harrison, and the like are trying to bring up,” he said. “And unfortunately, the media has followed suit with misleading headlines.”
Donalds’ remarks have been widely panned, with the The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Tuesday urging the Republican to apologize and calling his comments “shameful.”
The exchange between Reid and Donalds, who have battled before, was first highlighted by Mediate.
