The Racist Truth Behind Trump’s Lowest Black Unemployment Rate Statements

We have all heard it.

Trump loudly boasting that the black unemployment rate is at an all time low. Media, less boastfully, repeats this message over and over again. Yes, “liberal” media too.

Nothing else is stated except that Trump feels that this demonstrates that he can not possibly be racist and that he should be applauded for this great accomplishment.

When you look at the details, however, his statements reveal just the opposite. They reveal a racism so deeply embedded that it shows that he expects that black people should be thankful and we all should accept a very unequal situation.

And we don’t even need to dive into the weeds and compare types of jobs and incomes. It is there at the most obvious level.

These are the “great” numbers he has been talking about. They are specifically for the first quarter of 2019 although the pattern has remained the same since he started making these claims.

National Unemployment Rate: 4.1
White Unemployment Rate: 3.7
Black Unemployment Rate: 7.1

Notice that the black unemployment rate is considerably higher than the national rate and nearly double the white unemployment rate.

And this brings us to the racist nature of Trump’s claim. He no doubt knows this or someone does who is feeding him this line and, yet, he is claiming that this is a good thing as though black people, and others, should be satisfied with this discrepancy.

This is where the racism resides in plain site and it is not that the numbers are different. If he pointed out the discrepancy and said there is still work to do, that would be one thing. That he appears to be satisfied with this difference and expects other people, including black people, to be satisfied is another thing — that thing is racism it is purist, most blatant form.