Donalds stands by 2024 Jim Crow family remark as Jolly's attack is rated Half True

On June 4, 2024, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida spoke at an event in Philadelphia that was meant to win Black voters for Donald Trump. He told the crowd, "You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together." ³¹

Two years later, Donalds is the Republican candidate for governor of Florida, and that remark is back in the race. On Oct. 20, Democrat David Jolly campaigned with former President Bill Clinton at the Koinonia Worship Center in Hollywood, Florida. Jolly told the audience that his opponent "suggests there were good parts of Jim Crow." ¹⁴

PolitiFact checked Jolly's line on Oct. 26 and rated it Half True. That means the statement is partly accurate but leaves out important details. ¹ The tape shows something else too: Donalds still makes the same argument he made in 2024, even though back then he said his critics were lying about him.

What he said then

You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together

In the same remarks, Donalds said that under Jim Crow "more Black people voted conservatively." He also blamed President Lyndon Johnson's anti-poverty programs for what came after. ¹² "And then HEW, Lyndon Johnson — you go down that road, and now we are where we are," he said. ²

From Channel GOPImpeachment vote: Why Republicans avoided the issueHakeem Jeffries · 1.4K plays · captioned, with the source named

Democrats pushed back right away. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York called it "an outlandish, outrageous and out-of-pocket observation." ² Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, who chaired the Congressional Black Caucus, said the remark fit "a pattern of embracing racist ideologies that we see time and again within the MAGA Republican Party." ²

How he answered then

Donalds denied that he was praising the era. In a CNN interview he said, "I didn't say that. I didn't even insinuate that." ² On MSNBC, he said he wasn't being "nostalgic." He said he was talking about how the marriage rates of Black Americans were significantly higher than any other time since then in American history. ¹

They're trying to say that I said Black people were doing better under Jim Crow. I never said that. They are lying

What he says now

This year, Donalds sat down with Jennifer Palmieri, a former communications director in the Obama White House, for the Florida episode of her documentary series about voters. ¹ He did not back away from his 2024 argument.

The data is clear. Marriage rates were higher in the Black community during that period of time.

He told Palmieri, "When Lyndon Johnson's Great Society came in, that's when we saw marriage rates in the Black family plummet." He blamed the Biden campaign for the uproar: "They decided to make it political, saying I was somehow supportive of Jim Crow — that's crazy." ¹ His campaign did not answer PolitiFact's questions about the 2024 remarks. ¹

The pattern is consistent. In 2024, Donalds denied being nostalgic for Jim Crow. But he kept his main claim: that Black families were more intact during that era and that federal programs from the 1960s are to blame for what changed.

What the record shows

The marriage numbers are real, but they don't tell the whole story. Researchers cited by PolitiFact found that about 94% of Black women ages 40 to 44 had ever married in 1930. That share stayed above 90% through 1970, then fell to about 63% by 2012. ³ Divorce went up for both Black and white women between 1940 and 1980, but it went up sooner and more steeply for Black women. ³¹

Researchers say no single cause explains the change. They point to other factors, such as Black men losing manufacturing jobs in the 1970s and 1980s and more Black women going to work. ¹ University of Pennsylvania professor Dorothy E. Roberts said Donalds "ignores the negative impact of poverty on families." ³

His claim about voting is weaker still. University of Pennsylvania historian Kathleen M. Brown noted that under Jim Crow in the South, "most Black people could not vote." ³ Experts also told PolitiFact that modern conservatism did not take shape as a movement until the 1950s, so the claim is hard to prove. ¹

Where Jolly's line falls short

PolitiFact also found a problem with Jolly's wording. Donalds praised parts of Black family life during that era, not the era's discriminatory policies. Jolly's phrasing suggests he praised the policies. ¹

Or, when my opponent suggests there were good parts of Jim Crow.

In the same speech, Jolly mentioned Florida suggesting it might teach children the "good parts" of slavery. ¹ PolitiFact tied that to Florida's revised Black history standards, which described enslaved people developing skills they sometimes benefited from. ¹

Why it matters a week out

Florida's race to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis is close. Mid-October polls ranged from a 47% to 47% tie (Change Research, Oct. 8-10) to a 52% to 41% lead for Donalds (Stetson University, Oct. 1-9). ⁵ Donalds is endorsed by President Trump and DeSantis, and he has been running a 50-stop bus tour around the state. ⁴

That matters because many Floridians over 55 remember the Jim Crow era firsthand. Donalds has every right to argue about marriage rates. Voters can also judge whether a candidate who, in 2024, called his critics liars for describing his words is still making the same case today.

The Record

1. Jun 4, 2024At a Philadelphia event, Donalds says that "during Jim Crow, the Black family was together" and that more Black people voted conservatively then. ³²
2. Jun 5, 2024Donalds pushes back on CNN and in a video, saying "I never said that" and calling his critics liars. Jeffries calls the remark "out-of-pocket." ²
3. Jun 10, 2024PolitiFact reports that the marriage data has some support but leaves out context, and that most Black Southerners could not vote under Jim Crow. ³
4. Oct 20, 2026At a Hollywood, Florida, church event with Bill Clinton, Jolly says Donalds "suggests there were good parts of Jim Crow." ¹⁴
5. Oct 26, 2026PolitiFact rates Jolly's claim Half True and notes that Donalds still defends his 2024 marriage-rate argument. ¹

Sources

1. PolitiFact, “Fact-checking David Jolly's claim that Byron Donalds suggested there were good parts of Jim Crow” (2026-10-26). politifact.com/factchecks/2026/oct/26/david-jolly/donalds-fl
2. CNN (via KEYT), “Rep. Byron Donalds pushes back on Democratic criticism after saying 'the Black family was together' during Jim Crow” (2024-06-05). keyt.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2024/06/05/rep-byron-donal
3. PolitiFact, “Fact-checking Byron Donalds' 'Jim Crow' comments on Black families, conservatism” (2024-06-10). politifact.com/article/2024/jun/10/fact-checking-byron-donal
4. CBS Miami, “Jolly, Clinton visit Hollywood church as Donalds brings bus tour to Westchester 2 weeks before midterm elections” (2026-10-20). cbsnews.com/miami/news/jolly-donalds-south-florida-campaign-
5. Newsweek, “Byron Donalds vs. David Jolly: latest polls show two very different results” (2026-10-13). newsweek.com/byron-donalds-vs-david-jolly-latest-polls-show-

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