Ja'Ron Smith quit his White House position under Donald Trump just a day before Joe Biden and Kamala Harris claimed a historic victory. Smith was the Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, the highest-ranking Black staff member in the White House.
The former official posted his resignation on Twitter via his personal account last Friday (November 6). He claimed his resignation was already in the works before his exit, but some critics are skeptical at the timing. Smith wrote how thankful he was to work in the administration and to fulfill "empty promises of the past."
“In four years, President Trump has delivered for Black America; record low unemployment, Opportunity Zones, criminal justice reform, historic funding for HBCUs, and the list goes on… Keep fighting, Mr. President," Smith said in the statement. Former President Barack Obamalashed against the claims of Trump improving Black unemployment.
Just months before Smith left his position, he argued for another four years of the Trump administration at the Republican National Convention. He also defended the 45th president against racism accusations. “Every issue important to Black communities has been a priority for him,” Smith said of Trump in August. “Prison reform, rebuilding broken families, bringing jobs back to America, jobs in Cleveland, jobs in Detroit, jobs in Milwaukee.”
Bloomberg News reported that the former Trump aide's resignation "wasn't dependent on Trump winning a second term," according to people familiar with the matter.
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