JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<p>Lorem ipsum dolor <a href="#" class="links">click me</a></p>
<a href="#" class="links">Link 1</a>
<a href="#" class="links">Link 2</a>
<a href="#" class="links">Link 3</a>

JavaScript

$('a:not(p a)').css('background','#ccc');