Yesterday, for reasons unknown the Man, Trump went the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago – not to make a speech, but to be interviewed for an hour. By a Black woman. What could possibly go wrong? “I didn’t know she [Kamala Harris] was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and she wants to be known as Black, so I don't know – she is Indian or is she Black. She was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person.” Oh. That. Got it. It's always fascinating to watch Trump go for the Black vote. I recall Republicans trying to make this same “not really Black” argument about Barack Obama. It worked SO well for them, in two elections. But then I also recall birther Trump himself making the “he’s not really an American” argument about President Obama, too, that was the foundation of what launched his political career. So, none of this came as a shock. And that doesn’t even include his lifetime of racism, starting with getting sued by the federal government for racial discrimination on his rental properties. And taking out a full-page newspaper ad calling for the return of the death penalty during the Central Park Five trial of five Black young men – who were all later exonerated. And more. And more. Still, there’s something really weird even by Trump standards to claim that Kamala Harris, the first Black Vice President in United States history, and the first Black woman about to be nominated for President by any major political party, when talking to a room of Black journalist who most certainly know worlds more about Black history than Trump does, which likely borders on zero. And we haven’t even got to him telling this convention of Black journalists that VP Harris “turned” into becoming “a Black person,” whatever in the world that means. Putting aside that her father is Black. And she went to Howard University, a historically Black college. And is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first Black sorority. And all the Black journalists in the room knew all that – you have to wonder what they were all thinking. Okay, you probably have an idea what they were thinking, so probably the better question is that you have to wonder what Trump was thinking. Assuming that you’re willing to assign the concept of thought to this. Whatever support Trump had among Black voters plummeted once Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee for President. And that “sucking down the drain” sound you heard is whatever leftover support he had after that being shredded by kitchen disposals. At one point during the Q&A, ABC News congressional correspondent Rachel Scott – who served as one of the moderators – laid out a laundry list insults and smears Trump has made against Black people. To which she continued: "You've attacked Black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, stupid and racist. You've had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?" And after this very detail, blunt and accurate question, what was Trump’s answer? He went on a long rant, calling Rachel Scott “hostile,” "rude" and “nasty” (which supports her question to him, his go-to response to hard, pointed questions…especially by Black women) and slammed the Black Journalist itself -- to which everyone in the room was a member -- for supposedly being 30 minutes late because of technical issues. He then claimed (again, to a roomful of Black journalists) that he was “the best president for the Black population since President Lincoln." The crowd reportedly laughed out loud. Trump also demanded Scott – a moderator, not the person there to be interviewed, define “DEI.” (I haven’t seen any reports whether or not she said, “It stands for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. I'm surprised you were unaware of that.") Also reported is that throughout the event, there were boos, jeers and shouts of “That’s a lie!!” Man, who could possibly have seen that coming??! Though the event was scheduled for an hour, his team took Trump out of the room after about 45 minutes. Well, there’s a shock. This is known in some circles as an Act of Mercy. And none of this even includes Trump throwing his VP nominee J.D. Vance under the bus. When asked if Vance was ready to take over as president if necessary -- which is about as softball a question as a presidential candidate can get -- Trump went on a long explanation about how unimportant a VP selection is!! Pro Tip: The answer to give is "Yes. Absolutely. That's why I picked him." Even if, in the case of J.D. Vance, that's not true. To say, instead, that the VP choice doesn't matter is...weird. And disastrous. (By the way, while I don’t expect the Harris campaign to pick up on this, they may because it would be a good issue for them to make that Trump didn’t even say Vance was ready to be president, the one requirement any vice presidential nominee has.) My favorite headline about the Black Journalists event was one from RawStory-- "'Absolute dumpster fire': Trump's interview with Black journalists shocks Fox News pundit". I mean, seriously (as in, seriously) WHAT ON EARTH did anyone sane expect??! How self-deluded do you have to be to have actually thought that Trump answering questions for an hour at the National Association of Black Journalists conference would have gone well? It's been amusing watching MAGOPs and Fox tying themselves in knots trying to defend (or perhaps “explain”) this disaster for Trump. What such people don’t realize is that this only makes them and Trump look worse by creating utter disbelief. The most whimsical may have been Sen. Kevin Kramer (R-ND) who insisted that what Trump was doing was just “satire” – which is the standard MAGOP defense of horrible statements by Trump. (Hey, at least he didn’t call it “performance art.”) Putting aside that the only people who will accept this lunatic explanation are those who will be voting for Trump anyway – and who believe JFK is coming back to life – the problem is that Trump went on his social media site and doubled-down. Further, it's more counter-productive than Trump is likely to grasp. After all, it's not just Black voters who will likely find his words pathetic here, bizarrely questioning the racial identity of Kamala Harris, but probably the vast majority of all voters, undecided voters most importantly, who all can understand easily with rolling of their eyes, clenching of teeth and weariness of heart that the racist "charge", that Kamala Harris is not really Black, is ludicrous, divisive, delusional and offensive to the sensibility of everyone -- most notably since Trump and MAGOP officials have been trying to scare the country for the past three years that Kamala Harris is actually Black!! In fact, I suspect most Republicans (to whom the "Harris is Black" attacks have been targeted) even at least understand how stupid and exhausting it is. Only days ago, they were being told that Kamala was supposedly a "DEI Vice President"!! And now, mere days later, Trump is trying to suggest she isn't even Black. Party members have to be either totally confused or shaking their heads in stomach-churning "Just shut up already" sadness. So, there he sits on the stage, chaos actor and racist birther, saying the same old, same old, everyone recognizing "been there, done that." Many, if not most, wondering "Do I really want to go through this again??? A friend wrote to me that he thought visuals of Kamala Harris’s big, enthusiastic rally in Georgia would trigger Trump, who puts great stock in such things. He’s right, though honestly, at this point, Trump seems so lost about what to do and seems scared by what he's seeing in news coverage and polls, too, begging Christians to vote, that I wouldn't be surprised if most anything triggers Trump. Especially with you factor in his early dementia, which is degenerative. And being in a room of Black journalists, questioned by three Black women not only transcends “most anything,” but might sit near the top of the list. I must say that I was very disappointed after reading about this event and what happened. But what disappointed me was different from what, I think, most people were upset about. Me, I was extremely disappointed that Saturday Night Live is off with their Summer break. Just thinking about what the cold open sketch would be gets me laughing. On Monday, Trump told us who was a good Jew and who was a bad Jew. Tuesday, he told us who is Black and who isn't. Lord knows what group he's going to lose by insulting them, telling them who they really are. But then, Trump has always been my go-to guy for telling me who other people are, especially those he hates. (And this doesn't include last Friday when Trump begged "my beautiful Christians" to vote for him so that he could fix things enough that they wouldn't have to ever vote again. Which MAGOPs defended as "Trump being Trump," which is actually much worse than if they'd claimed it was just "satire." Explanations aside, you have to admit, this has been quite an impressive three-weekday streak. I refer you again to my observation that, at this point, most anything seems to be triggering Trump...) What we are watching is Trump terrified of losing -- and worse to him, losing to a Black woman -- and not knowing what to do, to the extent that he's not just having his standard meltdown, but we're watching him break down day by day. Man, only Trump could knock a fascist Christian dictatorship meltdown story off the front page with a Good Jew/Bad Jew meltdown story the very next weekday, and knock that off the front page just two days after that with a "She's not Black" meltdown story to a roomful of Black journalists. That, ladies and gents, is quite a trifecta. That is Trump being Trump. Of course, in fairness, while telling off those he hates who they are, Trump hasn't even figured out that he himself is a sociopathic white supremacist, pathological liar. Which is actually Trump being Trump. That, and he's just plain weird.
2 Comments
Nikon1
8/1/2024 09:15:02 am
I could be wrong but I think you missed the whole point of trumps appearance before a group of BLACK WOMEN.
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Robert Elisberg
8/1/2024 10:54:55 pm
Thanks for your note. And no, I didn't at all miss the point. Of course it was a dog whistle. But as I wrote, "Further, it's more counter-productive than Trump is likely to grasp." The point is that it only appealed to his base who is *already voting for him.* And the race is so close, and Kamala Harris has so much momentum, that he has to expand on his base. But what he did was "counter-productive" and stupidly offend so many people, he is likely to lose far more undecided voters, and might even lose a few GOP voters on the edge who decide, "No, that's too far, I can't vote for him" and go for a third party, or just not vote in the race. And worse, every day that voters see Kamala Harris, they will be reminded of Trump's "stupidly racist" comment. Because it wasn't just racist, it was stupid, because most everyone sane -- even non-MAGOP base Republicans -- know, OF COURSE, she is Black.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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