What do black voters think about Trump? One very prominent Democrat has great things to say.
Bob Johnson — founder of BET and America’s first black billionaire — told CNBC in a broadcast Friday that he continues to give the President an A+ for his management of the economy. And here’s why:
“You look at consumer confidence, you look at job growth, you look at unemployment for African Americans and women, and you look at wages beginning to show some movement upward — I still stand by that position, absolutely.”
He served up a salute in July as well:
“For African Americans, the trend continues to be favorable. There used to be an old saying, ‘When White America catches a cold, African Americans get pneumonia.’ It’s going the opposite way now. White unemployment is going down, African American unemployment is going down. That’s a plus-plus that you can’t argue with. I give the President credit for doing positive things; when I see a president doing positive things, particularly for African Americans.”
All that, combined with the Commander-in-Chief’s “style,” makes the 2020 election “his to lose”:
“I think the President has always been in a position where it’s his to lose, — based (on the fact that) he’s bringing sort of a disruptive force into what would be called political norms.”
Yeah he is.
“I don’t care whether it’s his way he conducts foreign policy, the way he takes on the government agencies, and when he deals with immigration. He brings his style. Now, a lot of people — particularly those who voted for him and those who will vote for him again in the next election — like that style.”
Bob — who’s a “longtime Democrat” — explained that his party’s leadership gets caught up in Trump’s manner and fails to address government:
“I think what the Democrats have to do is to be careful not to get caught up in stylistic Trump, and more substantive Trump.”
He also believes the Dems have wrecked themselves with radicalism:
“I do not see anybody in the Democratic primary races today that is enough in the center — where I believe most of the voters are…”
How about fellow billionaire Michael Bloomberg?
“Mike is willing to spend a lot of money to make the case for his voters. But more important than the money is his narrative as to exactly what he’s gonna do and how he introduces himself, particularly to the African American community. I think he’s got to address the stop-and-frisk issue that was under his leadership when he was mayor of New York City, and I think he’s gotta let the African American community know that he identifies with their issues…”
Back to Trump, Johnson may think it’s silly that I’m writing this:
“There’s a tendency in the media — both the conservative side and the liberal side — that if an African American speaks up in a positive way about something good that the President is doing, that in itself is a story, and not the facts. And so, yeah, if I were to say today again, ‘Hey I think Trump is doing a great job,’ they’d say…’A black man said this about Trump, and therefore, what’s wrong with him?'”
For Bob, it goes beyond mere praise from a distance. As noted by CNBC, he’s spent time with the President at the White House. “He said [ Trump] welcomed him in, got to work on [issues he believes are important to the black community].”
That’s certainly not a narrative being trumpeted from every place; but it’s a welcome one. America isn’t about warring factions; we’re supposed to be “One Nation, Under God.” The more we can come together, the better.
So as for Bob’s next-November vote, will he be doin’ it for The Donald?
“[I]’m gonna speak my mind and speak it in an independent way and based on the facts. And not try to get caught up in the politics of, you know, what I call a zero sum game: If Trump is for it, then the Democrats are against it; if the Democrats are for it, you know, sometimes the Republicans are against it. That’s a problem with the country today, and I don’t wanna play that game.”
Sounds good. Really good.
-ALEX
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