Despite the gleeful chatter in some quarters, Donald Trump’s ugly, misogynoir-soaked performance today at the National Association of Black Journalists annual conference is not a laughing matter,
Trump didn’t fall on his face as some seem to think. He accomplished exactly what he went in there to do: draw the spotlight away from Vice President Kamala Harris and back to himself by attacking, insulting, and demeaning Black Americans, in general, and Black women in particular.
He did not do this “interview” to gain any Black votes. He’s not interested in our votes.
His purpose was to show white people that he’s not afraid of us and that he is willing to come into our spaces – in this case, by invitation – and disrespect us … and do it unashamedly.
In other words, he was just showing off. And, inexplicably, NABJ gave him the stage.
NABJ should never have invited him. Period.
But once they did, they should have ensured that their members, the Black community, the public at large and the three Black women on stage with him were not subjected to his vitriolic racism and sexism, lies and gish galloping.
And as soon as he began hurling insults – which unsurprisingly, occurred the second he opened his mouth – they should have shut him down on the spot, declared the interview over, and shown him to the exit.
I don’t care how bad he looked, I don’t care how many votes he lost, I don’t care how many votes Vice President Harris may have gained as a result of this debacle. There was nothing good or funny about any of this.