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Donald Trump's “black jobs” comments are a reminder of his long history of racism.
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History of racism
It will take years, and perhaps a few history books, to fully unravel CNN's “Debate from Hell” and its aftermath. Public attention (rightfully) has been focused on President Joe Biden's astounding performance, which has hindered any critical analysis of the debate's content. So let's dig into one eerily illuminating little phrase: “Black jobs.”
“The fact is [Biden’s] “The biggest hit to black people is the millions of people he's allowed across the border,” Donald Trump said, responding to his first question about black Americans unhappy with Biden. “They're taking black jobs right now. It could be 18 million, 19 million, even 20 million. They're taking black jobs, they're taking Hispanic jobs. You haven't seen it yet, but you're about to see the worst in our history.”
What exactly are “black jobs,” one might wonder? Trump didn't say. But the archaic implication that there are jobs only for black people, or only for Hispanics, certainly struck many Americans who were listening. (“That's the most racist thing he's said in the last three days,” Al Sharpton said in a post-debate interview.)
Even Trump's claims about black unemployment and immigration statistics are wrong. In fact, under Biden's administration, black unemployment has hit an all-time low, while the wages of black and Hispanic workers have grown exponentially over the same period. There are also about 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, and no modern president has dealt with the complexities of the border well.
Trump's long history of racism is well-known and continued throughout his presidency. He has accused black politicians and athletes of “low IQs” and said he preferred immigrants from Norway over Haiti and African countries, which he called “shitty countries.” The future former president also described black prosecutors who were pursuing criminal and civil cases against him and his companies as “racists” and “animals.”
Since leaving office, his explicit and implicit bias has only gotten worse: In the last month alone, Trump has claimed that his “amazing” arrest photo, “the best arrest photo ever,” has caused a “surge” in his support among blacks and Hispanics, implying that blacks sympathized with his status as a suspect. (This isn't the first time he's bragged that an indictment has appealed to black voters.)
Trump called Milwaukee, the majority-black and Hispanic city that will host the Republican National Convention this month, a “terrible” city. A Trump spokesman later said Trump was answering questions about “rising crime” (though Milwaukee's crime rate has fallen this year) and “election fraud” (though investigators have called all of Trump's claims of voter fraud unfounded). But it's part of a larger pattern. Trump has also alleged, without evidence, that voter fraud is widespread in Philadelphia, where at least half the population is black or Hispanic.
The Trump Effect is also evident in his surroundings. His one-time lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, recently drew applause at a far-right Christian nationalist event when he called Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis “Fani the bitch.” Trump also made it safe for about 200 Republican congressmen to vote to restore a Confederate memorial to Arlington National Cemetery, including a bronze statue of what the cemetery called “an enslaved woman holding a white officer's young child, depicted as 'Mammy,' and an enslaved man following his master to war.” (The vote was defeated, and the memorial will remain in place.)
There was also a report on May 30th from television producer Bill Pruitt. slate of his time in the first season apprentice, Pruitt said he recorded Trump using the N-word on one of the contestants during a 2004 broadcast of the show. As the contestants discussed the accomplishments of the two finalists, someone said that one of them, Kwame Jackson, had overcome more obstacles than the other.
“Yeah,” [Trump] To no one in particular he says, “But, I mean, would America buy into winning?”
The Trump campaign denies that any of this ever happened. AtlanticAs Meghan Garber of The New York Times recently wrote, Americans are already aware of Trump's racist record: “Trump treats racism as a campaign message and a marketing strategy. He keeps finding new ways to make some Americans more American than others. For him, derogation is a way of life. How can his words convey something that his actions don't? What, exactly, haven't they already proven?”
And in the past few weeks, in a departure from that decades-old pattern, “Black Employment” has emerged, dating back to 1973, when a federal lawsuit was filed alleging that Trump, his father and their companies had discriminated against black apartment seekers (they settled and pleaded not guilty).
Sen. Marco Rubio, one of four people of color being mentioned as Trump's running mate, tried to avoid the two words on CBS, ultimately saying Trump was referring to “working-class jobs.” Ben Carson, a former neurosurgeon and Trump's former housing secretary and another potential running mate, was more blunt: Trump was talking about “people lower down the economic ladder” doing “unskilled jobs,” Carson told CNN, adding that Trump “probably” could have phrased it better.
No kidding. One of Trump's memorable responses to casual stereotypes was a photo of three smiling men in uniform. “A doctor. An astronaut. And a fighter pilot,” X's post caption read. “Live from #blackjobs.” Many of us will be aware that Barack Obama's “black job” was the presidency. And as of 2021, the vice presidency is also a “black job.”
Did the “black jobs” comment hurt Trump as he tries to win over black voters? Probably. A post-debate CBS News/YouGov poll showed that registered voters overall favored Trump 56% to Biden 16%, but black registered voters said they favored Trump 39% to Biden 25%. Another post-debate Data for Progress poll asked voters which they would choose if the election were held tomorrow, and among black voters Biden led 67% to 23% over Trump, with 10% undecided. Still, as Stephanie McCrummen reported on November 25, 2017, this would be the first time black voters have backed the Republican Party in more than 60 years. Atlantic.
At a time when Americans are preoccupied with the question of presidential fitness, it would be useful for us all to remember what President Trump looked like, what he said, and who he excluded.
This is the noise, and sometimes the alarm bell, of the 2024 campaign. Trump's goals are to win the White House, get his federal lawsuit dismissed, and avoid going to prison. Maybe he'll pick a vice president of color if he thinks it will give him an advantage. But that doesn't mean Trump and his MAGA movement have grown, changed, or suddenly made peace with American pluralism and inclusiveness. It's the political calculation of a desperate man, and I (just as desperately) hope that by now most voters have grown past their delusions.
Related:
Today's News
- The judge in President Donald Trump's New York hush money case has postponed the criminal sentencing hearing until September, in light of the Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity.
- Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and former lawyer to President Trump, has been officially disbarred for his role in President Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
- Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first sitting Democratic politician to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the presidential race after his debate performance.
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My life depends on playing chess 40 times a day
Cory Leadbeater
For the past five years, I played close to 40 games of chess every day. I still work a full-time job, write a novel, and raise my kids, but these responsibilities don't prohibit me. I play late into the night when my daughter goes to play, get some sleep, and then get up very early to play again. I play during my free time at work, on my lunch break, in my writing time when I can't think of a scene, and on Saturday mornings after I've fed the cats, made coffee, and egged Alma. The addictions in my life have this quality: they become all-consuming, things I never did before: drinking, smoking cigarettes, collecting coffee cans, plucking my facial hairs one by one with tweezers.
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Stephanie Bye contributed to this newsletter.
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