If actions speak louder than words, President Trump is no racist. If he were truly one, he’d be oppressing minorities, not uplifting and empowering them with policies he’s implemented that improve their lives.
Take criminal justice reform. President Trump led the charge and passed the First Step Act — working with leaders of the black community and lawmakers including Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, his administration has succeeded in freeing thousands of inmates, most of them black, from U.S. prisons and helping those reentering society find jobs and benefit from other life enhancement services.
If the president were a racist, as he’s being called by Democratic politicians and partisan media alike, would he be focused on giving thousands of black men freedom, job opportunities and a second chance at life? Or would he be throwing a generation of them in jail like Democrats did with the 1994 crime bill then-President Bill Clinton; Sens. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and Joe Biden D-Del.; and other lawmakers passed and signed into legislation?
Then there’s the economy. In less than three years, the Trump administration has created more than 5 million jobs and ushered in historically low unemployment for all Americans. In fact, under Trump’s stewardship, cutting job-killing regulations and implementing other pro-growth measures, the unemployment rate for black Americans today is less than half what it was under President Barack Obama. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in June 2009 that the black unemployment rate was 14.7 percent. In June this year, that rate was 6%. Wages are also up, putting more money in Americans’ wallets.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week, “The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Tuesday published its annual revisions to personal income data, and the surprise was the huge jump in disposable income and employee compensation.
“The revisions show that employee compensation rose 4.5% in 2017 and 5% in 2018 — some $4.4 billion and $87.1 billion more than previously reported. The trend has continued into 2019, with compensation increasing $378 billion or 3.4% in the first six months alone. Wages and salaries were revised upward to 5.3% from 3.6% in May year over year.”
The Editorial Board continued, “And in June wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 5.5%, which is a rocking 4.1% after adjusting for inflation.”
But that’s not all. The passage of the GOP 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is not only benefiting the middle class with lower utility costs, lower taxes and doubling of the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per qualifying child; tax incentives have been put into place to spur $100 billion in private capital investment to revitalize distressed communities throughout the country.
So while Trump’s political opponents on the left accuse him of being a racist for some gruffly worded tweets, voters should look at what he does, not what he says.
If Donald Trump were a white supremacist or a racist, someone who didn’t respect or value minorities, why on Earth would he be signing executive orders and legislation to pump billions of dollars into their cities and neighborhoods, making them nicer, safer and stronger?
And why would he hire a black man, Dr. Ben Carson, to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development in revitalizing thousands of these distressed communities? “In 2018, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council,” states the White House website. “The Council is improving revitalization efforts by streamlining, coordinating, and targeting existing Federal programs to economically distressed areas, including Opportunity Zones.”
Real racists don’t uplift and empower people of color with freedom, jobs, higher wages and other life enhancements.
Additionally, President Trump is working to free an American black rapper, ASAP Rocky, who’s being imprisoned in Sweden. Trump has contacted the Swedish prime minister personally to secure his release and tweeted about it to his millions of followers.Wouldn’t a racist president be freeing only white people and focusing his attention elsewhere?
Here’s another place the president is focusing his attention: on executing a white supremacist on death row. Attorney General Bill Barr announced this week that after a decadeslong hiatus, the federal government is resuming the death penalty. Top of the list? Daniel Lewis Lee, a real racist who brutally murdered a family of three in 1999. He’s scheduled for execution Dec. 9.
So the next time Americans hear a Democrat — or the media echo chamber — falsely label the president a “racist,” they should look at the president’s actions. That’s a far better barometer than any slur or sound bite coming from his enemies.
Adriana Cohen is a syndicated columnist with the Boston Herald. Follow her on Twitter @AdrianaCohen16. To find out more about Adriana Cohen and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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