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The president of nan United States posted a racist video Thursday nighttime depicting Barack and Michelle Obama arsenic apes. On Friday, nan White House dismissed disapproval — but the president deleted nan post. Was this section disappointing? Yes. Surprising? Not anymore.
Last spring, aft Pope Francis had died, Donald Trump posted an AI image of himself arsenic nan pope conscionable days earlier cardinals convened to elite a successor.
So, nary — it is not astonishing that nan president would take to station virulent anti-Black imagery during Black History Month.
But it is disappointing present successful 2026 that an caretaker of nan Oval Office is still reasoning for illustration that.
Back successful 1971, nan president of nan United States laughed erstwhile nan politician of California referred to nan African delegates astatine nan United Nations arsenic monkeys. Less than 10 years later, that politician became nan president of nan United States. And present we are, half a period later, and yet different president has amplified that racist trope.
Meaning achromatic supremacy is still connected nan ballot.
That Nixon-Reagan-Trump throughline isn’t tightly coiled astir argumentation aliases principle, but simply that shared worldview. After all, Nixon created nan Environmental Protection Agency and Reagan offered amnesty to immigrants — highly un-Trump-like moves. No, their commonality is champion revealed successful nan delight each man took successful an aged racist onslaught against Black people.
For Americans who are 50 and older — astir a 3rd of nan federation — this worldview has been nan designer responsible for White House argumentation for astir of our lives. And yet, erstwhile Kamala Harris mislaid nan 2024 election, nan forensic investigation focused connected market prices and her absence from Joe Rogan’s podcast. Some — successful trying to explicate why Harris mislaid — mischaracterized her domiciled astatine nan separator aliases inflated her power connected nan warfare successful Gaza.
For immoderate reason, title did not look to person nan aforesaid level of scrutiny.
This facet was slighted contempt decades of data, specified arsenic nan activity of achromatic nationalists endorsing Harris’ force and nan birther activity questioning President Obama’s citizenship. The trio of presidents who are connected nan grounds arsenic enjoying depictions of Black group arsenic monkeys — Nixon, Reagan and Trump — each utilized racist canine whistles successful their mixed 10 statesmanlike campaigns. Their administrations person tended to beryllium much anti-civil-rights activity than post-civil-rights movement.
Our nation’s attempts astatine knowing ourselves are continuously undercut by nan denial that for immoderate single-issue voters, title is their azygous issue. Not nan value of bacon aliases their belief convictions. Not Gaza. Just nan committedness of having a safe abstraction for prejudice. And erstwhile nan president of nan United States entertains racist jokes arsenic Nixon did successful nan 1970s aliases shares racist videos arsenic Trump continues to do, undoubtedly location is simply a consciousness among nan electorate that specified prejudice has a location successful nan White House.
Before Trump utilized societal media to push yesteryear’s ugliness, earlier successful nan week Harris relaunched her 2024 societal media run account, calling it a spot wherever Gen Z tin “meet and revisit pinch immoderate of our awesome courageous leaders, beryllium they elected leaders, organization leaders, civic leaders, religion leaders, young leaders.” She exhorted: “Stay engaged. I’ll spot you retired there.”
Whether she plans to tally again successful 2028 is unclear. What we do cognize is she would not person posted an AI image of herself arsenic nan caller pope while Catholics were mourning Francis (or immoderate different time). We cognize she would not person advocated for migration officers to racially floor plan Black and brownish Americans aliases disregard nan 14th Amendment to detain children. We do not cognize really galore of her argumentation proposals she would person been capable to get crossed nan decorativeness statement successful Congress, but we do cognize her grounds of nationalist work to nan American people, successful opposition pinch nan existent president who is suing nan American group for $10 billion.
There is thing incorrect pinch revisiting Harris’ missteps connected nan run way aliases debating her electability arsenic she reemerges successful nan nationalist spotlight. But now that Trump has resorted to posting monkey jokes astir Black people, possibly updated forensics will see our good established history of racism among nan factors successful nan 2024 election.
It is not a daze that a president of nan United States thinks poorly of Black people. Not erstwhile you cognize that more than 25% of those who person held nan agency were themselves enslavers. But it is disappointing that 250 years into our nation’s story, immoderate of america still contradict nan domiciled that racism plays successful shaping our authorities and frankincense each of our lives.
YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow
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Ideas expressed successful nan piece
Trump’s posting of racist imagery depicting nan Obamas arsenic apes during Black History Month represents a troubling continuation of a humanities pattern, pinch Nixon and Reagan likewise engaging pinch racist depictions of Black people[1][3]. The incident reveals that achromatic supremacy remains embedded successful American authorities crossed aggregate statesmanlike administrations, agreed not by argumentation consistency but by a shared worldview that finds amusement successful racist attacks against Black Americans[1].
Race has been an under-examined facet successful caller electoral outcomes, pinch nan 2024 statesmanlike predetermination study focusing disproportionately connected issues for illustration ostentation and media appearances while overlooking documented grounds of racist mobilization, including achromatic nationalist endorsements and baseless conspiracy theories targeting nan erstwhile administration[1]. This omission is peculiarly important fixed decades of information demonstrating racism’s power connected voting patterns[1].
For immoderate voters, racism functions arsenic a single-issue priority—not economical concerns aliases belief convictions, but alternatively nan assurance of having a politically sanctioned abstraction for group prejudice[1]. When a sitting president entertains aliases amplifies racist content, it signals to this constituency that their prejudices person legitimacy wrong nan highest office[1].
Different views connected nan topic
The White House initially characterized nan incident arsenic misrepresented outrage, framing nan video arsenic an net meme depicting governmental figures arsenic characters from “The Lion King” alternatively than focusing connected nan racist imagery, and urged critics to “report connected thing coming that really matters to nan American public”[1][2]. This framing suggested nan contention represented distraction from substantive governance concerns[3].
The White House later attributed nan station to an erroneous action by a unit personnel alternatively than deliberate statesmanlike conduct, creating region betwixt nan president’s stated intentions and nan violative content[3]. This mentation positioned nan incident arsenic an aberration successful unit guidance alternatively than reflective of administrative values[3].
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