Former spokesman for DC mayor explains why he left the Democratic Party
Victor Jimenez, who worked for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, says Biden's immigration policies and the unemployment rate are main reasons he switched parties. He also predicts more Democrats will leave the party ahead of the 2022 midterms.
Victor Jimenez, the former spokesperson for liberal Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, announced his departure from the Democratic Party, saying he needed to be true to his values.
Jimenez explained on "Fox & Friends First" that two of the main reasons he joined the Republican Party are immigration and unemployment.
Critics of the Biden administration have highlighted the crisis at the southern border after construction of the border wall was halted in January.
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"I don’t think we have an immigration policy if we don’t respect the border," Jimenez said.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: Muriel Bowser attends the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
"If anyone who wants to come to this country -- who wants to cross the border -- can cross the border illegally, then certainly our immigration policy is just a bunch of words on a piece of paper that nobody respects."
He also pointed to the unemployment rate, which he said was at a 50-year low prior to the pandemic. He said businesses in his home state of Virginia are still struggling to hire people despite nearly two years of dealing with COVID-19.
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"I just got tired of the same rhetoric, and I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m done with this. I can’t take it. I need to be true to my values."
Jimenez isn’t alone in his decision to leave the ever-more-progressive Democratic Party.
Texas State Rep. Ryan Guillen announced he was leaving the party in early November, citing "chaos" at the southern border that he said is disastrous for his constituents.
Jimenez anticipates more Democrats will switch parties or vote Republican in the upcoming elections.
"We saw a 55% turnout of Hispanic voters in Virginia voting for Glenn Youngkin. And I feel like we’re going to see that in 2022, and we’re going to see that in 2024 absolutely," he said.
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Migrants are seen at the Rio Grande near the Del Rio-Acuna Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas, on September 18, 2021. (nternational Bridge, whPhoto by Charlie C. Peebles/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Jimenez, who moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic, also weighed in on the Democrats' narrative about their Republican opponents being motivated by racism or white supremacy.
"I ran with the narrative. I thought Republicans were the racists, the white people, the devil because that was the narrative that was being fed to me."
He called out the media for disinformation and said he saw the racist narrative every day while working for Mayor Bowser.
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"We need to fight against all that," he said. "I don’t think this country is racist."
"Honestly, all of the white people that I've encountered have bent over backwards to give me the opportunity to succeed, to give me the opportunities I needed to be great in this country. And so I feel like I am the true definition of the American dream."
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