During his closing argument before the South Carolina GOP primary on Friday, former President Donald Trump decided to remind the world of how truly racist he is by attacking Black voters with dehumanizing tropes. This is nothing new for Republican presidential candidates—or white conservatives in general—but the tactics remain despicable nonetheless.
His downright discriminatory remarks include how Trump believes that Black folks “embraced” him because he was indicted on criminal charges: “You see Black people walking around with my mugshot.” At the event—which was reportedly full of Black conservatives—Trump continued with his incendiary commentary.
“Would you rather have the Black president or the white president?...I think they want the white guy.” He also stated he knows Black people because they built his buildings. But one of the most egregious things he said was: “These lights are so bright in my eyes that I can’t see too many people out there. ... I can only see the Black ones.
“I can’t see any white ones, you see. That’s how far I’ve come. … That’s a long way, isn’t it?” Trump—who believes Black people are in his corner because he is “being discriminated against”—is hardly the first white president to use racism to court followers.
It happened with Nixon’s push for “law and order” during his tenure, with Reagan’s “welfare queen” stereotypes and his infamous call to “make America great again,” with Clinton’s 1994 crime bill, and with George W. Bush’s tax cuts that widened the racial income divide.
However, Trump is being called out by several organizations including DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika who released the following statement:
“This might come as news to Trump, but pushing tired tropes, wannabe Jordans, and mugshot t-shirts isn’t going to win over Black voters who suffered through record high unemployment and skyrocketing uninsured rates under his leadership. Trump is showing Black voters exactly what he thinks of them – and his ideas to win them over are as corny and racist as he is. Meanwhile, President Biden and Vice President Harris are keeping their promises to Black voters and delivering real wins: record low Black unemployment, historic investments in our HBCUs, and billions in student debt relief.”
Though Trump’s behavior has been met with outrage and disgust, it will continue to worsen as we inch closer to the election.