The Former Prez and the B(l)ack-Hand Side
There's no reason for Blacks to support the former president.
During several campaign speeches, the former president said:
“Would you rather have the Black president or the white president?”
At one of his recent rallies, one Black supporter was attacked by two White supporters.
It is neither safe, wise, or logical to be a Black supporter of the former president.
But if you listen to his campaign and some of the media, you might wonder why Black people would ever support Vice President Harris.
At a Georgia rally, a Black supporter of the former president said that “the only time (Harris) is Black is when she’s running for office.”
Whether Vice President Harris was Black or not, or claimed to be Black or not, she’s not racist.
Disgraced former professional football player Antonio Brown has come out and endorsed the former president.
His reasoning:
"Nah, I like Donald Trump. I seen Joe Biden online. He was [expletive] on himself and like falling all over. I’m like, 'Yo, what’s going on with him?' He's got teleprompters everywhere. I got a good political opinion. I just want the world to be a better place. I feel like you can probably do better with Trump helping more business, like, coming back and taking over in 2024."
And as is always the case when a Black person is running for office against a racist, the Black candidate is always questioned about how they plan to appeal to the voters of their racist opponent.
During her interview on “60 Minutes,” Kamala Harris was asked by reporter Bill Whitaker how she can connect with the former president’s “million and million” of supporters when she’s called him “racist and divisive.”
While Vice President Harris gave a politically astute answer, she could have responded by saying that millions and millions of his supporters are racist like him.
When will the media change its narrative and ask the racist candidate how they plan on appealing to minority voters?
It is alarming how many Black people and other People of Color ignore their best interests and the best interests of their people to support a racist, xenophobe like the former president.
Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, the pastor of Detroit megachurch 18Church says that other Black faith leaders should support the former president.
For those who questions his candidate’s character, he said:
"God uses people who we may question their character. Furthermore, he who has not sinned, let them cast their first stone, right? So we all know that we all have all sinned and we've all fallen short of the glory of God."
There are Black conservatives who know the former president and say that he’s not prejudiced because he treats them well.
For all of the reasons Blacks may support him – currying favor, being sympathetic with his conservative policies, mental disorders, or plain graft, any Person of Color who supports him is ignoring the many statements that demonstrate his bigotry and prejudice.
His stances on Israel and abortion, cited by Pastor Sewell as reasons he supports the former president, will never offset the damage he caused Black people in his time in office, and the worse calamities that would befall us if he’s returned to office.
Nothing – no pseudo-Christian political stance, no parading compromised, greedy, or salable Black people who support him – justifies supporting him.
He doesn’t see us as human beings.
He doesn’t see us as worthy of dignity or respect.
We are assets when he can use us, and liabilities when he’s through with us.
We mean nothing to him now, and we never will.
We must not vote against our self-interests.
We must not be foolish and vote for him.
We must not be foolish and vote for third-party candidates that can’t win like Cornel West and Jill Stein. They can’t and won’t win.
We must not stay at home as if it doesn’t matter because it has never mattered more.
He, his supporters, and Project 2025 will further disenfranchise us.
Vote for the candidate who cares about and understands you.
The other one doesn’t care and will never understand you.