Claim:
Democratic Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones said about fighting back against Republicans: “So 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. […] You’ve got to hit hard enough where they won’t come back.”
Rating:
Context
Jones did not say people should actually slash Republicans’ throats. She was talking about Democrats opposing Republicans using tougher political tactics, following the statement with: “If they’re going to try to wipe us out in Texas, we need to wipe out every Republican in New York, California and Illinois. […] The people I represent need someone to go in the ring and fight for them.”
After an Oct. 22, 2025, interview on CNN, Democratic Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones received criticism from conservatives for what they deemed incendiary and violent language. According to their claims, Jones called on Democrats to “wipe out” every Republican and slash their necks.
According to these posts, Jones said:
I’m from the HOOD, OK!? Donald Trump has CHANGED things…if you hit me in my face, I’m not gonna punch. I’m gonna GO ACROSS YOUR NECK. *Throat slash motion*
While Jones did use the above words, she was not literally calling on Democrats to slash Republicans’ throats. She was making a figurative point by rejecting former first lady Michelle Obama’s mantra “When they go low, we go high.” Jones described what she would do when standing up to bullies and how Democrats need to use harsher tactics in the political sphere. As such, we rate this as a correct attribution but with necessary context added.
Jones’ interview on CNN can be seen here. She was responding to a comment from the anchor, who said: “Democrats have been known for saying, ‘When they go low, we go high’ […] But you are saying, ‘No, that is not going to work anymore.'”
We reproduced her full response below:
I’m from the hood, OK? So when a bully comes, like, if there are no rules, you literally have to figure it out. So Donald Trump has changed things, and people trying to do what’s always been done is not going to work. And I think that’s why Democrats are losing Black people. That’s why they’re losing poor people, because poor people all they want is for us to fight. So if you hit me in my face, I’m not going to punch you back in your face, I’m gonna go across your neck.
[makes throat slashing gesture]
We can go back and forth, fighting in each other’s faces. You gotta hit hard enough, where they won’t come back. 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, California and Illinois, so no one can make me feel bad for fighting for the people I represent, because the people I represent need someone to go in the ring and fight for them.
It is clear from her full response that she was talking about “wiping out” Republicans in an electoral sense, not in a physically violent sense. She added (emphasis ours):
When the first lady said, “When they go low, we go high,” I’ve never subscribed to that. 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. And so you’ve got to fight like we’ve never fought before. This country is under attack. […] [Trump is] stealing our Social Security, he’s literally being a troll. In what world do we live in that the president of the United States is being a frickin’ troll, picking on the little guys. People have got to hit back. […] You have got to demand respect.
Jones doubled down on her words in a post on her social media pages, adding that people should know the difference between figurative and literal comments (emphasis ours):
I SAID WHAT I SAID — AND I MEANT IT! 🔥
Last night on @CNN OutFront with Erin Burnett, I made it plain. 🎯
If you want someone who will unapologetically fight for the least, the last, and the lost — then you want me, Jolanda Jones, for Congress in TX-18. 🗳️💪🏾
And for those who don’t know the difference between figuratively and literally… I respectfully suggest you go back and get a quality public education — though that’s getting harder, thanks to Donald Trump’s attacks on the Department of Education.
While Jones’ rhetoric was deemed violent by some, it is clear from her full remarks that she was being figurative and talking about Democratic tactics against Republicans in the political arena.
