Don’t think Donald Trump bungled or miscalculated his appearance yesterday before the National Black Journalists Association. He did and said exactly what he intended.
Whenever Donald Trump talks to or about people of color, his target audience is white people. When he fakes sympathy and pretends outreach like at his Bronx rally earlier this year, he’s really trying to convince the few fair-minded white Republicans left that he’s not so bad. When he intentionally attacked Vice President Harris and highly respected Black journalists with racist tropes, misogyny, and racial animosity he’s sounding a blaring siren to the racist and sexist MAGA base who feed off of hate, grievances, and racial division.
And worst of all, Trump knows he can get away with both because other Republican leaders don’t have the courage or character to speak out against him.
So the conversation today shouldn’t be just about Donald Trump’s overt and disgusting racism and misogyny. It should be about Republican Senators, Representatives, and every Texas Republican leader who actively or passively condones his statements and views.
