Dahleen Glanton: Black support for Trump is a mirage, despite what foul-mouthed rappers say

If you have been paying attention to the news lately, it might appear as though African Americans are abandoning Democrats and lining up to vote for Donald Trump.

That would be a disaster for Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who has no chance of becoming president unless Black voters turn out for him in large numbers.

The polling organization FiveThirtyEight reported Monday that Trump is losing ground with white voters but seems to be gaining momentum with Latinos and African Americans, particularly young Blacks.

Trump always has had the support of a handful of high-profile African Americans such as rapper Kanye West, former NFL player Herschel Walker and video bloggers Diamond & Silk. Is it possible that he’s winning over a new crop of voters?

In his first public rally after testing positive for COVID-19, Trump made a political statement using African Americans and Latinos as optics. These unlikely supporters, some without masks and wearing “Make America Great Again” caps, cheered from the South Lawn as Trump spoke from a White House balcony.

The message was that Blacks are welcome within his base and are just as enthusiastic as white supporters. It was revealed later that conservative activist Candace Owens’ group, Blexit, paid the travel expenses for some of them to attend.

Then we learned that Ice Cube, the former N.W.A. (N---- Wit Attitudes) rapper known for anti-establishment songs like “F--- Tha Police,” had joined forces with Trump on a new “Platinum Plan” for African Americans.

Facing a backlash from the Black community, including many of his fans and fellow rappers, Ice Cube embarked on a public relations campaign last week, attempting to explain why he would allow Trump to use him.

He said that both the Biden and Trump campaigns reached out to him regarding his proposed “Contract with Black America,” and he agreed to work with the one that seemed most interested. He added that he has never met Trump and doesn’t trust either campaign.

On Monday, rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, who was among the wealthiest hip-hop artists before filing for bankruptcy in 2015, appeared to endorse Trump on Instagram. He posted a graphic showing the tax rate for those earning over $400,000 a year under Biden’s plan and wrote, “ … (VOTE ForTRUMP) IM OUT.”

But “Blacks for Trump” is a mirage. And celebrities, particularly foul-mouthed rappers, don’t represent typical African American voters.

Some African Americans, however, know at least one Trump supporter this time, as opposed to four years ago. There’s a reason they want to keep their opinions about Trump to themselves.

They know that Trump will use them until he gets whatever he wants and then discard them. Just ask Omarosa Manigault Newman or Gregory Cheadle, the man Trump called “my African American” during a rally in 2016.

Cheadle’s life was never the same after that. His girlfriend dumped him. He lost other friends and had to go into hiding.

He told CNN that he’s not supporting Trump this time. In addition, he said he has lost respect for some Black Republican conservatives, whom he compared to “ventriloquists dolls — puppets employed by powerful white people to mouth political platitudes that hurt Black people.”

The 63-year-old real estate broker also told CNN that he was disappointed in the Republican Party’s reaction to the death of Black businessman and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who died of the coronavirus in July shortly after he was pictured dancing without a mask at a Trump rally.

“It was like, ‘He’s dead. No problem. Goodbye,’” Cheadle said.

In many ways, Black Trump supporters are no different than white ones. They see Trump as the ultimate renegade, someone they have always longed to be.

They are drawn to what they see as an anti-politician, a president who isn’t afraid to stand up for what he believes in, even though those beliefs are generally unpopular. They are excited to see a president so willing to defy the establishment, particularly the media, and who refuses to be bullied into submission.

They are convinced that he is good for the country economically and that only he can rescue us from pandemic-induced financial despair.

But there is one way in which Black Trump supporters are unique. They have convinced themselves that they are more woke than African Americans who support Biden.

Their eyes have been opened to the self-loathing idea that Blacks are more responsible for their unequal status in America than society is. Trump has made them understand that racism is a crutch that Black people hold onto because they are too weak to acknowledge their own failures.

It’s the exact argument racists have been making for 400 years. Now some Black folks are helping them make their case.

Owens, one of the most vocal among them, is committed to promoting Trump’s claim that he has done more for Blacks than any president since Abraham Lincoln.

As she intimated in a 2017 YouTube video, “How to Escape the Democrat Plantation,” Black people are fed up with lying Democrats and are ready to give the GOP a shot. Her Blexit movement is there to help them make the transition.

The plantation analogy isn’t new. The GOP has been making the argument that the Democratic Party is nothing more than a modern-day plantation for Black people for years. But Owens and other right-wing African Americans have added a fresh element — that Blacks ought to flee like runaway slaves.

Trump is attracted to the notion that he can do what no Republican president has done since Dwight D. Eisenhower got 39% of the nonwhite vote in 1956. Of course, Trump has a selfish motive for trying to woo Black voters too.

How better could a president who has been so blatantly accused of racism prove that he is not a racist? And what better excuse could Republicans use to blow off those assertions and vote with a clear conscience for a man who most African Americans despise?

In the end, the truth always comes to light. It didn’t take Ice Cube long to find out that he is just a pawn in Trump’s political game.

On Tuesday, Trump’s son Eric Trump shared a doctored photo of Ice Cube and 50 Cent sitting side by side wearing “Trump 2020” hats. He added the caption, “Two great, courageous Americans.”

Ice Cube wasn’t happy. He responded as any hardcore rapper would, tweeting, “N----- please.”

Both tweets have since been deleted.

———

ABOUT THE WRITER

Dahleen Glanton is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

———

©2020 Chicago Tribune

Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.