Tag Archives: Donald J. Trump

POLITICS, RACE

Why Trump’s Radio Ads Should be Considered Offensive by Black Men: Joe Biden’s Ads Are Not Any Less Offensive Either

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Earlier this week, I discussed that Joe Biden’s campaign was making a concerted effort to reach out to the often-ignored Black male voter with two political ads. Undoubtedly, these efforts by the strategist behind Joe Biden’s campaign are being conducted to ensure that the votes of Black men do not slip through the Democratic Party candidate’s hands.

I am sure that the Biden campaign is not overly concerned that Black men will vote for an embattled Donald J. Trump. However, there should be some concern that Black men may very well stay at home and not cast a ballot for either candidate. Hence, Joe Biden’s decision to court Black men with barbershop talk ads is a strategic move designed to encourage them to get out and vote in key battleground states. There is no one who believes that the Trump campaign will convince many Black male voters to vote for the embattled incumbent. Yet, the politically astute realize that he may not need many more than the 8% who cast a ballot for him in 2016 to steal a battleground state from Joe Biden.

As a firm believer in the saying “monkey see monkey do,” I knew it would not be long before the Trump campaign sent some form of communication to Black male voters residing in urban America. I did not have to wait long. The Trump campaign unveiled new radio ads that will run in urban areas such as Detroit, Flint, Raleigh, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

The new ads featuring Herschel Walker and Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones are attempting to convince Black voters that they have nothing to lose by voting for Trump over Joe Biden. It would be wise for Trump to remind Black America that it was Joe Biden who created the 1994 Crime Bill that proved disastrous for many Blacks.

In the Trump ad, Herschel Walker shares the following fond recollections of the polarizing Donald J. Trump.

I’ve known Donald Trump for 37 years. He keeps right on fighting to improve the lives of Black Americans.

Vernon Jones is quick to second the spirit of the famed NFL running backs feelings by adding,

I’m a lifelong Democrat and I’m part of a large and growing segment of the Black community who are independent thinkers and we believe that Donald Trump is the president that America needs to lead us forward.

The above blasé statements by Herschel Walker and Vernon Jones remind me of automobile commercials that advertisers aim at urban Blacks. Ads that tell their target audience nothing about why they should purchase the advertised product. Positioned in the place of pertinent information such as miles per gallon or safety features is blaring music, neon lights, and stylishly dressed actors. Unfortunately for Black America, the alluded to fluff advertising has historically worked on Blacks. And as you well know, in the political world, if a piece of propaganda works, candidates will use the strategy over and over again.

It is time that Black America forced all politicians, not just those seeking the Oval Office, to provide substantive information regarding their platform and timetables for implementation in exchange for their political support. A bland blasé statement by Herschel Walker and Vernon Jones fails to meet that standard; in fairness, I must state that the Biden campaign usually fails to meet that mark as well.

I am certain that the politically astute within our community, regardless of their political leanings, care little that Herschel Walker and Donald J. Trump have been friends for nearly four decades. Friendships and connections to notable Blacks is a ridiculous reason for anyone to cast support for a political leader. Black America must develop its own political agenda to address its particular issues and demand its acceptance and implementation in exchange for our political support. Failure to do so proves that Black voters are still naïve enough to follow political leaders who remain committed to the grand tradition of “talking loud and saying nothing.”

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.

 

 

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When Spreading “the Good News” Comes at Too High of a Cost: Understanding White Evangelicals Faustian Deal with Donald J. Trump

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A recent Pew Research Center poll reveals that the foremost priority of White evangelicals is advancing their religiosity “by any means necessary.” Trust me when I say that nothing else matters to such folk. The alluded to seriousness has facilitated their agreement to what can be best termed a Faustian Deal that they believe allows them to spread “the Good News” in unprecedented ways; they’ve forgotten that the Devil always gets what’s due to him one way or another.

When White evangelicals were polled if they thought the term “morally upstanding” was an appropriate characterization of Donald J. Trump, 15% of them answered affirmatively, while 45% of like-minded individuals thought the characterization fit him “fairly well.” The perspective of White evangelicals stands at odds with the majority of Americans, 66% believe the above term fails to fit the embattled U.S. President.

White evangelicals appear motivated by a dubious set of beliefs that explain their draconian viewpoints and deplorable actions. According to White evangelicals,

  • America is a nation founded by “Whites.”
  • America is a nation founded on “Christian principles.”
  • America was founded to serve the interests of “Whites.”
  • The Holy Bible, meaning their interpretation of scripture, is the foundation of this nation.

The above beliefs form the tumultuous battlefield that political battles in this diversifying nation occur. Buoyed by a set of beliefs, philosophies, and conclusions that bolster their claims to ownership of this nation, White evangelicals are the very personification of the axiom that “all is fair in love and war.”

I will tell you that there was a time when I believed that White evangelicals were crazy; however, I eventually realized that they were merely following the footsteps of their ancestors by fanatically advancing a self-serving version of White Christian Nationalism. It is this realization that helped me realize that support for Donald J. Trump does not sit atop their priority list; despite their public espousal, even White evangelicals realize that Trump is morally challenged every moment of his life. That space is reserved for the championing of White Christian Nationalism.  Trump is merely an extraordinarily reliable tool that paves a path for the espousal of a White Christian Nationalist philosophy that serves as the most reliable means of extending white world supremacy.  

The same Pew Research poll mentioned above reported that the seemingly unbreakable tie binding White evangelicals to Trump were the unmistakable belief that they are currently winning the battle to spread a White Christian ethos under his administration. Of course, this is a stark reversal from an Obama administration that paved a path for the LGBTQ community to make tremendous strides toward center stage. The Pew survey reveals that 63% of White evangelical Protestants believe that they are “winning politically” under the Trump administration.

In many ways, it is ironic that as Americans reject Bernie Sanders’ Democratic Socialism for a greedy avaricious Capitalism, White evangelicals have grasped for religion in a way that reminds me of one of Karl Marx’s most reverberating observations. While larger cultural and economic forces stand as ominous threats to an increasing number of Americans, White evangelicals have predictably grasped for religion as their “balm in Gilead” to assuage all that is wrong with this nation. Marx summed up this moment when he wrote,

“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

At the present moment, White evangelicals are the most acceptable voice of a larger White Nationalism movement whose foremost demand is that this nation addresses their needs before all others. If the alluded to population had their way, there would be no separation between “church and state.”

In fact, the sub-discourse behind Trump’s ascension proves that evangelicals of every Race/ethnicity want their President to serve as an advocate for Christian ethos and principles. The reality that Trump’s public stance is a charade matters little to White evangelicals.

Why should it?

After all, the goal of warring factions of Americans is to win the never-ending cultural wars that lead to an increase in politico-economic power. Despite the protestations of progressives, White evangelicals are not only winning under the Trump administration but also eager to provide the embattled President with a second term if it means a continuation of their “winning streak.” After all, any White Christian Nationalist will tell you that this nation was formed to serve the interests of Whites and no one else.

May God bless America!!!!!!  

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

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