Trump-backed Vernon Jones says civil rights don't apply to gay people because 'they can actually change' to become straight

• Vernon Jones, the self-proclaimed "Black Donald Trump," made the comments on Steve Bannon's podcast.
• He claimed that civil rights for gay people aren't the same because "they can actually change."

Georgia Republican congressional candidate Vernon Jones said Thursday that civil rights for Black people don't apply to gay people because "they can actually change" to become straight, HuffPost reported.

"Let me tell you, civil rights for Blacks and gay rights for gays are two different things," Jones said during an appearance on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast.

"I don't know what you are unless you tell me what you are if you're gay, but when I walk into that room, you can tell that I'm Black," Jones said. "I'm Black from cradle to grave. Let's not get that confused, but they can actually change."

Jones also claimed that people can "go from being straight to being gay to being transgender and all these other genders." He added, "But when you're Black, I don't have a choice. When did gays come over here on ships?"

Jones doubled down on this argument on Twitter, saying comparing being Black to being gay is a "damn lie."

The Democrat-turned-Republican is running for Georiga's 10th congressional district.

Jones, the self-proclaimed "Black Donald Trump," pledged his support for the former president while serving as a Democrat in the state House of Representatives.

Election records, however, show Jones cast a Democrat Party ballot on election day for the presidential primary, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Jones in February, praising him as "an American-first fighter."