About a week after defeating an accused sexual predator in the Alabama Senate race, Democrat Doug Jones has suggested America “move on” from sexual harassment accusations against President Donald Trump.
“Those allegations were made before the election, and so people had an opportunity to judge before that election,” he said on CNN. “I think we need to move on and not get distracted by those issues. Let’s get on with the real issues that are facing people of this country right now. And I don’t think that the president ought to resign at this point. We’ll see how things go.”
“At this point we need to move on and try to work with some real issues that are facing the country and not worry about getting at odds with the president any more than we have to.”
Jones last week became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Alabama in a generation. He defeated his Republican rival, Roy Moore, 49.9 percent-48.4 percent (1.7 percent of votes were write-ins).
“We are sick and tired of women being undermined, being dismissed Black women in particular,” Rep. Maxine Waters said.
Jones can attribute his victory to Black voters, particularly Black women a group Trump has consistently disrespected. Ninety-eight percent of Black women and 93 percent of Black men voted for Jones. Collectively, 96 percent of Black voters supported him.
Perhaps Jones should listen to his largest support base before making statements.
A Quinnipiac University poll found that 81 percent of Black adults disapprove of how “Trump is handling the issue of sexual harassment and sexual assault in general.” In total, 63 percent of American adults feel this way.
When asked if they believe elected officials who face multiple allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault should resign, 81 percent of Black adults said yes. Sixty-six percent of total American adults said the same.
A Public Policy Polling survey of registered voters found similar results. Ninety percent of African Americans polled said they believe Trump should resign due to the allegations. Ninety percent also believe Trump is a liar. Eighty percent said they believe the women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, and 78 percent support impeaching the president. For all of those responses, Blacks had the highest percentage of negative responses for Trump.
CNN’s Jake Tapper also asked Jones if he needs to consider voting Republican on certain issues, to which Jones responded, “Of course I do.”
“One of the problems in American politics right now, in my opinion, is that everybody thinks because you’re a member of one party or another you’re gonna vote a certain way, and that should not be the case, shouldn’t ever be the case. I’m gonna talk to people on both sides of the aisle, try to figure out what I think is in the best interest of my state and in the country. Don’t expect me to vote solidly for Republicans or Democrats.”
Alabama has long been plagued with issues pertaining to voter suppression that have hindered minorities from voting, including strict voter ID laws. But according to CNN,30 percent of the electorate was Black, which is a higher share than in the 2008 and 2012 elections, when Obama was a candidate. It is alsogreater than their 26 percent share of the population.Turnout was very high in heavily Black counties.
If Jones wants to support the group that mobilized to help him achieve victory, he should not ignore his Black supporters. And according to Pew Research Center, only 3 percent of Black registered voters identify as Republican significantly lower than the percentages for Hispanics (16 percent) and whites (36 percent).
