A Black Conservative’s Trump Lament
Last Fall, before the Trump phenomenon became all too “real” for my liking, I would watch his rallies…just to see what newsworthy item the Mainstream Media would latch onto for the next day. I remember one rally that took place in Georgia. The crowd was large and enthusiastic as always. It was almost as if they were waiting for a boy band rather than a Republican candidate for president. Trump soon took the stage to a thunderous applause from the loud, and largely white, crowd. Soon after his usual pleasantries, Trump began introducing the audience to his two very special guests. Their names were Diamond and Silk; two Black women who had generated Youtube fame with their decidedly Pro-Trump message. Many in the Pro-Trump conservative media appreciated the boldness that it took for these two women to speak their truth for the whole world to see. Their tone was shrewd and tough. They seemed entirely no-nonsense and spoke with a tone that anyone with a Black mother would find very familiar.
Yet something eerie happened about halfway through his rally. Donald Trump warmly introduced the two women and said to them:
“Go ahead, do a little routine.”
The two women began to fire up the crowd with their usual Pro-Trump rhetoric and I couldn’t help but wonder what Trump meant by “routine.” Yes, they were funny (so is Trump); yet I doubt he would refer to his rally speeches as “routines.” This one small comment, as brief a moment in time as it was, shed a light on just how deep the divide there was between the Trump Campaign and America’s growing minority communities. I can only assume that Trump, who has been known to bring up respected African American leaders to speak at his events on occasion, felt as though bringing up these two women to do a “routine” was a serious attempt to engage with the Black Community.
As a young, black conservative, the road isn’t easy. Many would seek to tell you that those like me are “Uncle Tom’s” and shameless suck ups who vote against their best interest. Others would tell you that we are largely mythical creature that are rarely seen in the wild. Truth be told, neither of those descriptions are accurate. I exist and in no way do I feel as if I’m voting against the interests of myself or my community.
As a black conservative, I often do my best to convince others in my community about the virtues of my ideology or my Party. I always loved showing folks that, contrary to popular opinion, there are conservative solutions that can help those in our country struggling in poverty. I frequently made the point that in the upper echelons of the Democratic Party, Blacks are largely taken advantage of and taken for granted. However, in the Republican Party, we see people like Congresswoman Mia Love and Senator Tim Scott being hailed as future leaders. And for awhile, it seemed as though this argument became more and more convincing. Republicans such as Marco Rubio would frequently comment on the urgent need to diversify the Party. Issues such as School Choice struck a chord with minority and urban communities.
Then Trump happened. While the mainstream media found themselves buzzing about over Trump’s ability to reach a mythical “missing” white working class voter who had supposedly been voting for Obama, the impact of Trumpism on the Black Community was largely ignored. When asked about Trump’s appeal to black voters, most Trump surrogates argued something along the lines of “African Americans care about jobs and Trump will bring them back.”
Fair enough. You’ve all cracked the code. Us African Americans are very pro-Job. Spoiler alert: We are also pro-Air and Anti-Cancer. Yet, our political interests and views go so much further than that. Conservative or Liberal, it bothers most Black Americans when we see white nationalists celebrating over the rise of a political candidate. It bothers most Black Americans when said political candidate makes offensive comments about other marginalized groups and makes no attempts to warm them over with a dose of thoughtful interaction with those groups. Trump on the stand promises that he will do “Great” with African Americans and Hispanics.
As an Black voter, I would much rather hear about the great things Trump plans to do for African Americans and Hispanics as opposed to how “Great” he’ll do with African Americans and Hispanics. Our greatest need from a President is not a Savior, but rather a problem a solver.
Now I’m not here to say that Donald Trump is a racist. As opposed to his candidacy as I am, I truly don’t believe that. In fact, many of the African Americans that have worked with him seem to say quite the opposite. I don’t worry about him being a racist, though I do worry about what his candidacy means for racists.
Think about his well beloved tagline “Make America Great Again!” Stop and think about that for a moment. What exactly is this supposed to mean to a Black American? When did America possess some greatness that we don’t have anymore? Was it when my ancestors were slaves on plantations? Was it when my Grandparent struggled under crippling Jim Crowe laws in Mississippi? Was it when my parents were not even shown houses to purchase in “certain” neighborhoods because of the color of their skin? The greatness of our country lies in its ability to self-correct and move closer towards a more perfect union. Our country was great and still is great.
Yet as a Black American, at a time when we experience greater political power and freedom then ever before in the history of this nation, it is simply offensive to tell us that America is not as great as it used to be.
Yet I write these things not as a critic of the Conservative Movement, but rather as a believer. I believe that Conservatism can be a great agent for change in Black Community. I also know many that agree with me. I can say that after conversations with family members and friends, there are many Black Americans that are listening. I remember the morning after Marco Rubio dropped out of the presidential race, a friend of mine gave me a call. This friend is African American and in her mid 20’s. She’s hardly someone that a political analyst would assume would vote anything but Democratic.
“I can’t believe that Marco Rubio dropped out of the race. I was going to vote for him,” she told me. She then asked me if I thought Donald Trump was going to win the nomination. I told her that I did and she responded by telling me that she would have to vote for Hillary. Honestly, I’ve heard this view expressed from more than a few of my friends and family members.
They’re not listening to Donald Trump. He lost their votes a long time ago. Yet, they are listening to words of people such as Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Paul Ryan, Tim Scott and many others. It is people such as them that espouse a brand of Conservatism that unites instead of divides, that heals instead of hurts and that fixes instead of complains.
Diamond and Silk, as entertaining as they may be, will never be the future of the GOP. We do not need more of their animated “routines”, we need conservative voices that truly seek to engage a Community that so far has not heard from us enough.