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Texas Democrat Jolanda Jones rejected former first lady Michelle Obama’s famous mantra, “when they go low, we go high,” during a CNN interview Wednesday, vowing to fight hard against foes by going “across your neck.”
“If you hit me in my face, I’m not going to punch you back in your face. I’m going to go across your neck,” Jones said on “OutFront,” making a slashing motion across her neck.
“We can go back-and-forth, fighting each other’s faces. You’ve got to hit hard enough where they won’t come back,” she continued.
State Rep. Jolanda Jones speaks during an emergency town hall meeting she called to address student safety at the University of Houston on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025 in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Jones, a state representative running to fill a U.S. House seat in Houston left vacant after the death this year of Rep. Sylvester Turner, had caught host Erin Burnett’s attention when she told Axios this week that when Republicans go low, “I’m going to the gutter.”
Jones’ broader point was that Democrats had to stop fighting nicely, particularly on the subject of redistricting.
“For the same way, I went to New York and spoke with Gov. Kathy Hochul, and said, ‘If they’re going to try to wipe us out in Texas, we need to wipe out every Republican in New York, in California, in Illinois,'” she said.
TEXAS STATE DEMOCRAT APOLOGIZES FOR COMPARING GOP REDISTRICTING PLAN TO THE HOLOCAUST
Michelle Obama speaks during Higher Ground’s “IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson” podcast at Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center on Aug. 9, 2025, in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
“No one can make me feel bad about fighting for the people that I represent, because the people that I represent need someone who’s willing to go in the ring and fight for them, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” she said.
Jones claimed Democrats are losing key voting blocs, including Black voters and low-income voters, because those constituents want them to “fight.”
Prompted by Burnett’s mention of Obama’s mantra, Jones insisted President Donald Trump has changed the political landscape so much that the approach no longer works.
“I’ve never subscribed to that [belief],” she said.Â
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“Because in the hood that I come from, when they go low, if you go high, they’re going to take your feet out from under you, and you will not recover from that,” she said.
Jones insisted Democrats must fight like never before, warning viewers that the country is “under attack.”
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Jones’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.