Donald Trump’s appeal to black voters rang hollow and was done insultingly.
Stephen Colbert has some fun with Trump’s take on black voters
Donald Trump’s recent pseudo appeal to black voters met the deserved ridicule from Stephen Colbert. Was Trump really soliciting the African American vote?
Colbert played a montage of clips from Donald Trump’s speech.
“Tonight I am asking for the vote of every single African American citizen in this country who wants to see a better future,” Donald Trump shouted. “Look how much African American communities have suffered under Democratic control. To those, I say the following. What do you have to lose by trying something new like Trump? … You’re living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs. Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?
Donald Trump’s first mistake was to group black people as one monolith. All black people are not poor, unemployed, nor do they all live in crime riddled areas. In fact most do not. It is true that a larger percentage than the majority population are living in dire straits. But it is not the majority. Trump could give that speech in many parts of Appalachia and rural areas while noting that those areas are controlled by Republicans.
The problems are systemic. And ‘trying Trump’ who has no grasp of public policy nor awareness of the genesis of the problems either in the inner city or Appalachia, will solve anything. One first has, to be honest with the articulated facts. Claiming that Fifty-eight percent of black youth is unemployed was already debunked.
Colbert’s reaction to Trump’s appeal was humorous. To be clear, it is impossible for Donald Trump to win any substantial portion of black voters. He has a history of negative comments and actual discriminative business practices against people of color and specifically black people. But the appeal was not really one to black voters. Note he did it in front of a predominantly white audience. Trump is attempting to give white people permission to vote for him. He is trying to tell them he cares about the other, so it is morally okay to support him. He will probably fail there as well.