President Trump- Racist Against Black Female Reporters? Sad…

 
April Ryan, who is White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks, referred to Trump’s attacks on a number of prominent black women recently:

On Wednesday, Trump was telling reporters about his low opinion of CNN reporter, Jim Acosta after their altercation at a presser, when he changed tack and said that Ryan was “a loser, she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing”.

“She gets publicity and then she gets the pay raise…she’s very nasty and she shouldn’t be,” he said, adding that “you have got to treat the White House and the office of the presidency with respect.”

But in a piece for The Washington Post, Ryan, who was the National Association of Black Journalists Journalist of the Year in 2017 said Trump often took swipes at women of color and she was simply the latest victim.

“Though there’s hardly anyone, from his predecessors to senators in his own party, he won’t try to shout down with ad hominem insults, Trump relishes, and injects venom into, verbal attacks against women of color,” she wrote.

She contended that his attitude to women of color was demonstrated in his description of Rep Maxine Waters as having a “low I.Q.” as well as his feud with Rep. Frederica Wilson over her criticism of his response to the death in action of her constituent, Sergeant LaDavid Johnson.

She also referred to his description of Stacey Abrams as “not qualified” to be Georgia’s governor and his Twitter feud with National Association of Black Journalists’ 2018 journalist of the year Jemele Hill.

“He leaves little doubt about what he really thinks of us,” she wrote in The Post.

“You can tell, though, by the way Trump has responded in recent days to more than one black woman journalist that he sees our presence there as illegitimate. If he didn’t, he’d either answer our questions or simply ignore them, not berate us.

“But when Trump denigrates black women, he’s sending the message that he doesn’t see us equally,” she added.

On what planet is Ryan living on?  How narcissistic to believe that she and other black women are so special, that Trump reserves a special kind of crassness toward only them.  Trump is an equal opportunity basher.  Was his “abusive” treatment of Jim Acosta earlier in the week kinder or gentler?  God Almighty, thank goodness Acosta isn’t black or we’d never hear the end of it.

How about Kovaleski?  And no, he didn’t make fun of Kovaleski’s disability.  He was mocking the reporter, treating him with equal disrespect that he treats others who don’t have a physical disability.   In other words, he treated Kovaleski on the same par as he treats all his adversaries (as an equal idiot).

Trump is at war with much of mainstream’s journalists, in general.  He is an equal-opportunity basher.  It would be more disrespectful to April Ryan and other female black journalists if he insulted them with kid gloves.  The soft bigotry of low expectations and affirmative reaction.

In a statement, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) said it was “appalled” by President Trump’s “continued disrespect” of African-American women journalists. The White House has not yet responded.

In the Washington Post, David Nakamura writes:

President Trump’s verbal assaults against black reporters, candidates and lawmakers have renewed criticism that the president employs insults rooted in racist tropes aimed at making his African American targets appear unintelligent, untrustworthy and unqualified.

Over the past several days, including before he left Washington for an Armistice Day ceremony here this weekend, Trump has launched personal attacks against a trio of black female journalists. He accused one of asking “a lot of stupid questions.” He demanded another “sit down” at a news conference and followed up later by calling her a “loser.” He lambasted a third for asking, in his view, a “racist question.”

Trump recently called Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D), a gubernatorial candidate in Florida, a “thief,” and declared that Stacey Abrams, the former minority leader of the state House in Georgia and the Democratic candidate for governor there, was “not qualified” for the job. A feature of his campaign rallies ahead of Tuesday’s elections was mocking Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a black lawmaker who has been highly critical of him, and calling her a “low-IQ person.”

Trump’s supporters say he fights all opponents with equal gusto, and he has gone after other reporters in an escalation of his war against the media since emerging from the bruising midterm elections — most notably stripping the White House pass of CNN’s Jim Acosta.

But the president’s rhetoric toward prominent African Americans is being singled out as far more offensive.

He called Stormy Daniels “horse face”.  How were his insults toward John McCain, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz (and these are supposedly political allies that he’s insulting) any less harsh than his criticism of “people of color” on the other side of the political aisle?  Any less demeaning and disrespectful?  Just how special do these minorities think they are?  Playing the racial victim card:

“His supporters are right, he does attack everyone. That’s clearly true,” said Adia Harvey Wingfield, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis who writes frequently about race and gender. “But there’s also a clear commonality in the attacks he levels against people of color and black professionals. These are straight out of historic playbooks about black workers and professionals in particular — not being qualified, not being intelligent or having what it takes to succeed in a predominantly white environment.”

The latest example came Friday when the president stopped on the South Lawn of the White House on his way to Marine One to field shouted questions from the assembled media. He was asked several questions about the role of Matthew G. Whitaker, who he appointed as acting attorney general Wednesday, as well as about several other topics.

But when Abby Phillip, a CNN correspondent, asked whether Trump wanted Whitaker to rein in the special counsel’s ongoing Russia investigation, he snapped.

“What a stupid question that is,” Trump replied to Phillip, who is black. “What a stupid question,” he repeated, pointing his finger at her. “But I watch you a lot. You ask a lot of stupid questions.”

The attack prompted an outpouring of support from fellow journalists, Democrats and others for Phillip, who previously covered the White House for The Washington Post. Many praised her for asking the most important and pertinent question of the day.

But Trump’s supporters reveled in the exchange, holding it up as an example of Trump showing his tormentors who is the boss.

I personally am not entertained by Trump’s unpresidential, unstatesmanlike behavior.  But I know a lot of readers here think this shows Trump is “a fighter”; that it’s refreshing not to have a politician (no, he absolutely behaves like a politician) in office and to have someone who speaks his mind and calls it like it is.  I don’t mind confrontations that are worth having; but I think Trump fights a lot of needless battles and burns a lot of bridges for no rhyme or reason.  I’m amazed handlers haven’t taken away his Twitter account (someone please defend his Tweet yesterday regarding California’s wildfires- ignorance and appallingly insensitive; AND unpresidential).

That said, there is nothing special or different about his demeaning insults toward “people of color”.

Trump has assembled a largely white roster of senior advisers.Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson is the only African American among the Cabinet and senior White House staff.

Ok, that may be.  But is the selection of senior advisers based upon meeting racial quota of “mostly white”?  Or based upon who he thinks are best for the jobs?

Was his selection of Nikki Haley as UN ambassador based upon his racist leanings?  Before being fired, he hired Omarose Onee Manigault Newman as a political aide.  Why?  Token black Auntie Tomina?  Token female?

How about his nomination of Marine Corps Col. Lorna Mahlock back in April to serve as the first black female brigadier general in the U.S. Marine Corps?  Was that a racist move?

Since taking office, the president has repeatedly questioned the intelligence of black public figures. Perhaps most vicious have been his persistent attacks on ­Waters as “low IQ” and calling her the de facto leader of the Democratic Party.

But Trump has similarly called CNN’s Don Lemon the “dumbest man on television” and, after Lemon interviewed basketball star LeBron James, said in a tweet that the television anchor, who is black, “made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do.” James had been critical of Trump, calling him a “bum” after the president revoked an invitation for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors to visit the White House amid reports that the team didn’t want to attend.

Just like the “arm flapping” he displayed in mocking Kovaleski (a physical gesturing he occasionally does when mimicking anyone who is wishy-washy or flustered), he regularly insults the intellect of adversaries while praising his own.  IQ level is just another one of those things he seems obsessed about; and retains in his verbal bag of insults.

Robert de Niro (white celebrity):

“Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be “punch-drunk.” I guess he doesn’t…”

Chris Matthews (white “journalist”/political pundit):

“@hardball_chris must have the lowest IQ on television—now telling people that domestic terrorists are from the right.” (April 16, 2013)

Rick Perry (white Republican governor):

“.@GovernorPerry failed on the border. He should be forced to take an IQ test before being allowed to enter the GOP debate.”

Rick Wilson (white Republican political strategist):

“Weak and totally conflicted people like @TheRickWilson shouldn’t be allowed on television unless given an I.Q. test. Dumb as a rock! CNN

Two more white journalists insulted on IQ:

“I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came.” (June 29, 2017)

>Thinks his IQ is higher than Both predecessors:

“@gharo34: @realDonaldTrump Not only is your IQ somewhere between Barack Obama and G.W.Bush…but you’re entertaining!”Much higher than both”

He simply has an obsession or insecurity about IQ levels:

“Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest -and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure,it’s not your fault”

Jon Stewart, white journalist comedian:

“@NJWineGeek: @realDonaldTrump but Jon Stewart has a much higher IQ. Wrong, Jon Stewart(?) is an obnoxious lightweight with a lower I.Q.” (May 8, 2013)

Fellow white male Republican:

“@ardow: @realDonaldTrump Jebs got no IQ … same as his brother.”

More from Nakamura’s article:

Trump also has called Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.) “wacky” and disparaged his former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman as a “dog” after she wrote a tell-all book that accused him of using racist language.

“There is a pattern,” said April Ryan, who has covered the White House for America Urban Radio Networks since President Bill Clinton’s second term and now is also a CNN political analyst.

Uh, yeah…there’s a pattern.  Like challenging IQ scores, he has a habit of comparing his adversaries to dogs.  It’s not exclusive to blacks.

while it’s racially insensitive and irresponsible to apply dehumanizing language to African-Americans, especially from a presidential platform, it’s well worth noting Trump compares just about everyone to dogs. Over at National Review, Charles C.W. Cooke did us all a favor by compiling examples of other people Trump has described as having been either “fired like a dog” or “dumped like a dog.”

Cooke writes: “Far from being an aberration, ‘fired like a dog’ is in fact one of Trump’s favorite phrases — and one that he’s used thus far on David Gregory, Erick Erickson, Ted Cruz, Chuck Todd, Bill Maher, and Glenn Beck. Another variation of his — ‘dumped like a dog’ — has been deployed against Hosni Mubarak, Steve Bannon, and Reverend Jeremiah Wright. ‘Thrown off ABC like a dog,’ meanwhile, was reserved solely for George Will.”

And the list goes on. “Over the last five years or so,” Cooke adds, “he has suggested that Mitt Romneyhad ‘choked like a dog’; he has called Mac Miller an ‘ungrateful dog’; he has complained that Kristen Stewart ‘cheated on’ Robert Pattison ‘like a dog’; he has boasted that the Union Leader newspaper was ‘kicked out of the ABC News debate like a dog’; and he has accused Brent Bozell of having come ‘begging for money like a dog.'”

Granted, Trump didn’t just compare Omarosa to a dog — he actually called her one. But a quick search of his Twitter reveals he’s done the exact same to Mac Miller, David Axelrod, and Arianna Huffington in recent years.

This was wrong, and Trump has certainly been guilty of using reckless language on more than one occasion. But evidence suggests his motivations were not racist.

Pastor Darrell Scott:

Dr. Darrell Scott, Pastor, New Spirit Revival Center and CEO of The National Diversity Coalition for Trump, joined Brian Kilmeade to discuss the backlash President Trump has received after calling Omarosa Manigault a “dog” and talked about the existence of a tape with President Trump using the N-word. When asked if his view of President Trump would change if there is a tape of the President saying the N-Word, Pastor Scott said, “No, it wouldn’t. I don’t think he did… I have been around him a lot the last couple of years and I have seen no indicator at all, no indication of racism…there are certain subtle things you can look for, especially when you are an African American, there are certain subtle things you can look for and recognize subtle hints of racism that people do and might not be overt and imply and I haven’t seen any out of him.” Scott added, “Here is the thing with President Trump that people have a problem with, especially when you have those espousing women’s rights, whatever. Women want to be treated “equal to” but he treats everybody “same as”. There is a difference between equal to and same as. I’ll give you an example, if equal to means I’ll tell a man to shut up but I won’t tell a woman to shut up because she is a woman. Same as means I’ll tell both of them to shut up, there is no difference there, I see them both the same. He treats a lot of people “same as.”

And back to WaPo:

During a formal Trump news conference at the White House on Wednesday, Trump demanded that Ryan “sit down” after she repeatedly attempted to ask him a question about alleged voter suppression in the midterms. Trump was so steamed about it that he brought up the incident again ­Friday during his impromptu ­performance on the South Lawn, ­calling her a “loser” in a rambling answer to a question about ­Acosta.

In an interview, Ryan, who is black, noted that Trump often hails his accomplishments for African Americans, citing historically low unemployment rates during his rallies.

But “there’s a lot of shock-and-awe moments that make you turn head and say ‘Wow!’” she said. “Black people have been down this road before . . . name-calling, derogatory statement against those in this community who are held in high regard and hold positions to help. It’s not going unnoticed.”

Last year, Jemele Hill, a prominent sports journalist who is black, called Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter, prompting White House press secretary Sarah Sanders to call it a “fireable offense.”Hill was warned by her employer at the time, ESPN, and she called the remark inappropriate. She has since left ESPN.

More recently, Michael Cohen, who served for years as Trump’s personal lawyer before they severed ties after Cohen was indicted, said he had heard Trump use racist language in the past. Asked about the allegations at the White House on Wednesday, Trump flatly denied it. “I would never do that and I don’t use racist remarks,” he said.

Back in August, there was a lot of nonsense distractions questioning whether or not President Trump ever said the “N”-word.  Who the eff cares?!  Well, liberal opponents, I suppose.  But It’s likely that almost every American, at some point in life, has said the word.  Context, of course, would be important.

Trump has sought to insulate himself against criticism over race by inviting prominent black figures, such as influential Christian pastors, to the White House to talk about such issues as criminal justice reform. Several weeks ago, he met with Kanye West, who was a vocal Trump supporter, in the Oval Office, although West later sought to distance himself from the White House.

I don’t know if it was West distancing himself from Trump so much as distancing himself from Blexit and Candice Owens’ attaching his name to it.

During the news conference Wednesday, Trump sought to turn the tables on his questioners after Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for the PBS NewsHour who is black, asked if he had emboldened white nationalists on the campaign trail with his rhetoric.

“I don’t know why you’d say that. That’s such a racist question,” Trump said, asserting that he has the highest job approval ratings of his presidency among African Americans. He appears to be basing that on a pair of dubious polls from conservative-leaning outlets, whose findings have conflicted with other polls. Trump twice more called Alcindor’s question “racist.”

I think Trump was fine in defending himself; and that Alcindor was fine in asking the question, which he said is just a question that people [re: liberals] want to know.  And Trump’s response after waxing indignant, was good:

“I love our country,” Trump said. “You have nationalists. You have globalists. I also love the world and don’t mind helping the world, but we have to straighten out our country first.”

WaPo:

On Friday, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) called Alcindor, Ryan and Phillip three of the best White House reporters and, in a tweet, said that “dismissing them or their questions as dumb, racist or stupid says more about @realDonaldTrump and his #dogwhistle racism than it does about these fine women.”

Eddie Glaude Jr., chairman of the African American studies department at Princeton University, said Trump’s language was not a dog whistle because “it is not subtle.” He compared Trump’s attacks on the intelligence of black public figures to “The Bell Curve,” a widely disparaged 1994 book that connected intelligence to race.

“He does it over and over again,” Glaude said. “It’s important for us not just to reduce it to Trump just being transactional and understand this as a central part of who he is.”

The constant default to “racism” as the motive for all things from Trump or the right in general is absolutely disgusting; and perpetuates the very issue of racism that liberals claim they are championing against in this country.

In closing this post, I leave you with this video from 1998 (when Trump was hob-knobbing with Democrats) where he is praised by Jesse Jackson for “a lifetime of service to African Americans”.

Mar a Lago Country Club had a policy of not allowing Jews or black membership into the Club. The first thing Trump did when he bought the Mar a Lago Country Club was to reverse the racist policy; and open club membership to everyone.  Trump also gave free rental space to minorities for which he was honored by Jesse Jackson.