I have been in the US now for three days. With all the hoopla over the midterms and taking a few days to rest and get over jet lag (yes, it is a real thing!), I have been watching the news—both Fox and CNN. One of the themes that I see on CNN, over and over again, is that Donald Trump has a problem with black women. And, today, I hear he has a problem with all black people.
They come to this conclusion based on his criticisms of Maxine Waters, Andrew Gillum and Stacy Abrams. And then, he went too far, attacking Michelle Obama (Don’t let the fact that he actually attacked her husband—not her, and it was only after she attacked him, cloud your judgment). [of him].)
Indeed, he did call Gillum a thief and said that he has done a horrible Job as mayor of Tallahassee. He wants Stacy Abrams to concede in Georgia. And, yes, he has referred to Maxine Waters (who has encouraged violence again Republicans) as “low-IQ Maxine”. Then on Friday, he went after Michelle Obama. She wrote in her new book that she would never forgive President Trump for advancing the birther debate. He responded that he would never forgive former-President Obama for gutting the military.
And now he is attacking the black leader of the Broward County Election Commission, Brenda Snipes, over irregularities in the way they count votes. Well, he didn’t mention her by name, but he did refer to the “political corruption” in Broward County. That should be enough for CNN and MSNBC to label him a racist.
Equal Opportunity Offender
If we simply look at these statements, sure, we can make a case that President Trump has a problem with African Americans. But we have a problem. He has made more statements than these—many, many more statements—AGAINST WHITE MALES! President Trump has actually proven he is not a racist! He has been rude, mean and critical of people of every race, not based on the color of their skin, but rather, on the content of their “politics.”
Trump Must Hate White Males, Too!
If we are to conclude that President Trump hates blacks based on his harsh rhetoric, then we must conclude that he really hates white men! Here is a list of some of the mocking nicknames he has had for white men:
• Lyin [sic] Ted (Cruz) • Little Marco (Rubio) • Sleepy Joe (Biden) • Da Nang Richard (Blumenthal)…mocking his fictitious tour of duty in Vietnam. • Low Energy Jeb (Bush) …effectively putting an end to Jeb Bush’s hopes of becoming president. • ‘Leakin’ [sic] James Comey • Al Frankenstein • Crazy Bernie (Sanders) • Cryin [sic] Chuck Schumer
The list of people that he has labeled with clever, even if mean nicknames is made up overwhelmingly of white males!
Based on his mean words to white men, should we conclude that he hates white men? Of course not! Just read his twitter feed. He is going after Taylor Swift and Hillary Clinton. He calls faux, native-American Elizebeth Warren, Pocahontas. He calls Nancy Pelosi, High-tax, High-crime Nancy. Does he hate white women?
Not A Saint/Not a Racist
My desire is to look honestly at President Trump. I don’t think he is a saint. And I do not think that the “Trump is never wrong” mentality is good for our nation. I do think that he has contributed (along with Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi and certain unhinged people in Hollywood) to the division in this country. He could do better. And yet, he seems to understand the frustration of the average American who feels judged by elite left for “clinging to their guns and religion.”
I do think that he could be gentler and kinder in the way he speaks of others. I do think that he is easy to goad, because of his thin skin and short temper. While I think CNN’s Jim Acosta is a grandstanding narcissist, he knows exactly what he is doing when he challenges the president. He knows how easy it is to provoke President Trump into going off script and losing his cool.
However, to conclude that he is a racist based on the way he speaks against certain African American politicians or entertainers is utterly dishonest. Look at the black people he has embraced from Ben Carson to Kayne West, from Mike Tyson to Jim Brown. In addition, there is Hershel Walker, Terrell Owens, Latrell Sprewell and others. Just the other day, President trump said this about Oprah:
“Oprah was a friend of mine until I ran for office. Once I ran for office we diverged slightly … until I ran for office, we did very well. We had a good relationship. I like Oprah.”
How can someone who hates black women say such things?
The fact is, the president has made many verbal missteps, but these have nothing to do with race. If we are going to conclude that hatred of an entire ethnicity or gender are the same as criticism of a particular individual’s stance or politics (regardless of their ethnicity or gender), then we have to conclude that he hates (along with every other classification) white, Anglo males the most…because that is who he attacks the most.
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