Trump’s racism expertly put on display

If you’ve been wondering about the convicted criminal’s mood, now that his campaign to stay out of prison has been trumped by a decent opponent, you need only watch his sitdown this week with the National Association of Black Journalists.

It’s beyond me why anyone in his gang thought it’d be a great idea for him to vent his anger and racism in such a forum, but I’m glad he did it. Just mic him up and let him bray.

MAGA Kool-Aid imbibers will tell themselves he aced this latest test, but I’ll venture to guess that mainstream Americans who revere pluralism and grasp the concept of biracialism will find his critique of Kamala Harris to be insulting and ignorant:

“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black,” Trump said. “She was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person.”

I’m tempted to quote Mose Allison, who famously sings, “Your mind is on vacation/ And you’re mouth is working overtime.” But that’s too gentle. Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist on CNN, said it far better: “He did crap the bed. The only question is whether he’s gonna roll around in it or get up and change the sheets.”

Let’s fact-check Trump, although it shouldn’t be necessary: Harris didn’t “all of a sudden” make “a turn” and become a Black person. She attended Howard University and joined a Black sorority, like, 40 years ago. Her Jamaican father was of African descent; her Indian mother was of South Asian descent. Why is that so hard to grasp?

Trump’s on-stage riff was a cinch to decode. He basically said that if you’re not white, you are by definition a shape-shifting grifter who’s not really American. That totally jibed with his general disdain for African-Americans (they like me for my sneakers! they like me for my criminal convictions because they get convicted too!). Which explains why folks in the audience either booed him or laughed at him.

Rachel Scott of ABC News nailed him for his racist attitude with her very first question: “You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals – from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama – saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four congresswomen of color, who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabid’ to describe Black district attorneys…You’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you: Why should Black voters trust you, after you have used language like that?”

Well, he didn’t like that. The questions are a lot tougher in the real world; they’re not simpering softballs served up by lickspittles like Laura Ingraham. So the event was roughly one minute old when Trump basically lost control.

“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. You don’t even say ‘Hello, how are you.’ Are you with ABC? Because they’re a fake news, terrible network,” Trump said. “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. That’s my answer.”

Trump didn’t just advertise his racism. He also highlighted his lawlessness.

When asked about his pledge to pardon those who stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, Trump tried to change the subject by denouncing last week’s pro-Palestinian protesters near the Capitol. But Scott dragged him back to the Jan. 6 rioters: “Would you pardon those people?”

“Oh, absolutely I would,” Trump responded. “If they’re innocent I would pardon them.”

“They’ve been convicted,” Scott shot back, prompting the audience to laugh at Trump again.

That caused Mr. Law and Order to claim that the rioters had suffered too much order, because “they were convicted by a very, very tough system.” Too tough, he said, because “nobody died that day.” Which should be news to the families of the people who died that day.

Shortly after that exchange, Trump’s handlers cut off the interview. Even they had seen enough.

Some observers think the Black journalists were wrong to host the guy in the first place. I disagree. As ex-Republican strategist Tim Miller says, “(This) interview is a great example of why the people who demand that we deplatform Trump are wrong. People should see this! A grumpy, cruel, hard-of-hearing, race-baiting asshole having to actually answer for his track record in an environment outside of his comfort zone.”

More please! Every voter he repulses brings us one step closer to a bluer America.

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Dick Polman, a veteran national political columnist based in Philadelphia and a Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania, writes at DickPolman.net. Email him at [email protected]